Fiscal facilities, public services digitalization, high speed internet, multilingual human capital and simplified interaction with the authorities are just some of the advantages that make the Republic of Moldova attractive for foreign investors in the IT sector. Several business opportunities were presented to businessmen, members of the Belgium-Luxembourg-Romania Chamber of Commerce (BEROCC) during the online webinar "Explore Moldova's regional IT competitive advantages, BPO and SSC". The event took place on October 20 and was organized by the Investment Agency with the support of the International Cooperation Agency of Germany (GIZ).
During the event, potential investors received relevant information about state policies that support favorable entrepreneurial and investment climate offering advantages for the development of the IT sector in the Republic of Moldova. Belgian companies operating on the domestic market have shared their experience.
Rodica Verbeniuc, General Director, Investment Agency: "The Agency's objective is to provide as many platforms as possible for direct interaction with potential foreign investors, through which we promote the investment potential and advantages of the country, therefore facilitating the decision-making process of starting a business in Moldova.
Our country has a well developed telecommunications infrastructure, with a mobile penetration of over 100% and fiber optic network presence of 98.2%. This is a solid foundation for the development of the IT, BPO, SSC sectors that generate value-added services for the national economy and allow the employment and motivation of talented young people. Thus, the IT industry has grown three times in the last four years, and the volume of services exported for 2019 has exceeded exports from the country's wine industry. The webinar complements the investment promotion efforts in the IT and BPO sector submitted by the Investment Agency, as a governmental structure, in order to inform and provide all the tools necessary for the development of a successful business in the Republic of Moldova. ”
In 2015-2019, the IT industry recorded a threefold increase in annual sales revenue - from $ 126 million to $ 396 million, representing 3.1% of GDP.
Lilian Darii, Ambassador of the Republic of Moldova to Belgium: “I hope this event will stimulate the Belgian business community to invest in the Moldova’s IT sector, which is a growing one and has developed steadily in recent years. We also understand that it is important to identify other strengths for this sector, apart from low wages, as wages gradually increase in Moldova, and sooner or later this attractive part of IT and BPO & SSC investments will disappear, that's why it's important to create other initiatives for the business community.”
According to official data from the Public Services Agency, Belgium is on the 14th place among the main investors in Moldova considering the value of the invested capital.
Alain Schodts, Executive Director, BEROCC: “Our main goal is to develop trade and investment by promoting our members. A positive result from this pandemic is that the need for digitization has increased. I believe that this webinar is a good start to get used to digitalization and to see Moldova's investment potential. "
In order to boost the development of information and innovation technologies, in 2018 the Government launched a unique model for promoting the IT ecosystem - the IT Virtual Park, which currently has over 600 residents from countries such as the USA, Romania, Italy, Great Britain, Germany.
Natalia Donțu, Moldova IT Park Administrator: “IT Park offers the following benefits to members: virtual presence, taking into account that most businesses have moved their activity online, a simplified and reduced tax regime, social benefits, IT-Visa program, which stimulates the attraction of foreign human capital. 50% of sales revenues are due to the software development branch, 30% - IT consulting, 10% - data processing, and 10% - from other activities. "
The IT Park has been designated by the International Telecommunication Organization (ITU) as the best international example in promoting and developing the IT ecosystem.
Olivier Prado, GPG Consulting: “For 15 years I have been in Moldova, it has been a pleasure to make my business plans here. I like this country, I like these people, hardworking, talented and ambitious. In my view, Moldova can be considered a nearshore country, meaning a country that delivers products and services abroad, usually to European countries. This is an advantage because, being close to partner countries, it can easily interact with customers. "
We mention that the Republic of Moldova ranks 4th in the world in terms of the population covered by a gigabit internet and is the 6th country in terms of internet accessibility.