SBA country profile: The Republic of Moldova

A first round of evaluation of the SME policy based on the Small Business Act (SBA), conducted in 2010, showed a relatively developed institutional framework with important initiatives taken to simplify its legislative and administrative procedures. The current assessment shows some improvement in almost all indicators on registration procedures and e-government. The regulatory framework has been further simplified with the second stage of regulatory reform yet to be completed. A third stage, tackling permitted documents, started in 2011. While reforms are ongoing, addressing the needs of businesses already operating remains an important issue. Public-private dialogue rarely involves representatives from the SME community, and could strengthen their formal influence on the decision-making process. There is limited support for the provision and improvement of the quality of business services, and access to finance for SMEs remains a crucial issue.