Economic development, digital transformation of Moldova's southern region on agenda of discussions at Cahul Business Summit

Chisinau, 15 June /MOLDPRES/ - The economic development and the digital transformation of Moldova’s southern region have been on the agenda of the discussions at the third edition of the Cahul Business Summit, held in Cahul.    

The event brought together over 150 participants – entrepreneurs, young people, representatives of local and central public authorities, development partners, experts, representatives of associations, clusters and academic community.     

The portfolios of investments, opportunities of grants for the Cahul region, the results of the projects on digitalization were unveiled and ways of integration of digital solutions in business were displayed at the summit.  

„The Cahul region and the southern part of the country are rich in traditions and through these events and programmes, we create new traditions for the future. Starting from 2019, we have been implementing, with the support of development and local partners, an ambitious project which regards the consolidation of the potential of the digital economy in the southern region. We achieved outstanding performances as a result of the initiatives fulfilled, especially as regards the giving of access to qualitative STEM education, development of the entrepreneurial ecosystem and the promotion of a culture which encourages the innovation. We believe in the region’s potential and we are happy to notice the impact achieved through joint efforts and actions,’’ Director of Operations ATIC (Moldovan Association of ICT Companies) Irina Oriol said.      

„Sweden is a fervent supporter of the digital development and we are happy to see the emphasis put on the development of this field, here in Cahul. I am sure that, through solid partnerships and common connection, we can contribute to the economic progress and prosperity of the region,’’ a representative in charge of cooperation at the Embassy of Sweden in Moldova, Thomas Alveteg, said.  

The participants in the summit stressed that the southern region held the potential to become leader in the sector of innovation and digitalization and turn to good account the important opportunities in the field of development of entrepreneurship, consolidation of the cross-border cooperation and boosting of the role of the human capital in the region’s transformation.    

One of the central subjects of the summit was the reanimation of the line of processing dairy products in the Cahul municipality.

The local entrepreneurs in the animal husbandry field and representatives of the Agriculture and Food Industry Ministry (MAIA) analyzed and discussed opportunities of development of the animal husbandry sector in the Cahul region and the reviving of the dairy products’ industry at a panel titled, Consolidation of the value chain of dairy products in the Cahul region.    

„This year, we have noticed a significant progress for the food industry field and the increase in the export of fruits to EU markets. We hope that Moldova will have more people as you, as only together we can cover this way of integration into EU. We will stay with you to back these programmes, so that this happens as early as possible,’’ said Aurica Butnari, a programme manager on economic development, European Union’s Delegation, said.     

The panel, Cahul in the travel of digital progress, brought into the focus of the public the success projects in the field of digital transformation carried out in the region, including the Active Cahul platform, the project on digitalization carried out for the Museum of Cahul Region, the Sumboard, Oto and eCharge projects.   

„With the help of our partners, EU, Sweden, government of Japan, as well as in partnership with the local public authorities, I think that we managed to significantly contribute to the region’s transformation, through an integrated approach and by working on those three dimensions: local public administration, economic development, as well as the involvement of the civil society in development. The things carried out so far give us confidence in the huge potential of the region and we are happy to see the dedication of the local partners,’’ a specialist in programmes at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Andrei Darie, said.    

The Cahul Business Summit marked an important stage of the commitment taken by the local authorities, business community and development partners: placement of the southern region on the national and international market as model of sustainable regional development, investment attractiveness and inter-community cooperation.   

The summit provided a platform for the consolidation of the dialogue and cooperation between the public sector and private environment.

„For the private sector, this economic forum can bring the fulfillment of expectations; the participants can benefit from relevant information for their own business and can explore opportunities of starting a business or which are the support programmes on behalf of the state,’’ the mayor of the Cahul municipality, Nicolae Dandis, said.    

The Cahul Business Summit 2024 was organized by the Inotek Foundation, in partnership with the Cahul city hall, with the financial support of the European Union and Sweden, within the project, EU4Moldova: Startup City Cahul, implemented by the National Association of ICT Companies.