IT INVESTMENT GUIDEFOR MOLDOVA

A comprehensive guideto Europe’s next tech
powerhouseMarket potential
Opportunities and incentives
Digital Moldova
Towards Moldova’s first unicorn

IT INVESTMENT GUIDEFOR MOLDOVA
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Innovation Technology Park (MITP), with the support of USAID,
Sweden, and UKAid through the Future Technologies Activity andWestern NIS Enterprise Fund, and remains the exclusive property of
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Published by Emerging Europe April 2024

A comprehensive guideto Europe’s next tech
powerhouseMarket potential
Opportunities and incentives
Digital Moldova
Towards Moldova’s first unicorn

Table of contents
Foreword.................................................7

Tech ecosystem and start-ups......... 70

Why Moldova? ....................................... 8

Digital transformation of public
services..................................................74

Moldova today..................................... 13

Infrastructure and connectivity........76
Moldova’s IT sector............................. 14

Other innovative industries...............80

Success stories.....................................16
Market potential, evolution,
forecast and confidence.................... 22
Market perception —Moldova’s IT in a global context........ 32
Technologies and services
delivered from Moldova...................... 42
Regional positioning ofMoldova’s IT Sector ............................ 44
An overview of incentives in
Moldova and selected countries
in the region.......................................... 50
Moldova from a broader techperspective ......................................... 56
Labour market and workforce,
education and talent........................... 58

How to IT in Moldova? A guide forinvestors, buyers and partners,
and individuals....................................82
A guide for investors........................... 84
A guide for buyers and partners....... 86
A guide for analysts and site
selection consultants.........................88
A guide for individuals........................ 90
Appendices.......................................... 92
Methodology......................................... 94
References andacknowledgements ...........................107
About Emerging Europe...................110

Doing business in IT, businessservices and creative sectors........... 62
Regulatory and legal environment.... 64

< 4 >

< 5 >

Foreword
Dumitru Alaiba

Natalia Donțu

Welcome to Moldova, a nation
experiencing a dynamic
digital transformation that
presents innovative opportunities for both investors
and individuals seeking a growing tech environment
and a place to call home.

Let me welcome you to
the Moldova Innovation
Technology Park (MITP),
Europe’s first e-Park and a place where the IT sector
grows exponentially.

Deputy Prime Minister
and Minister of Economic
Development andDigitalisation of Moldova

Our commitment to digitalisation goes beyond
technological advancement. It is a story ofresilience and growth. Our Digital Transformation
Strategy 2023-2030 strengthens this commitment,
prioritising the interests of our citizens, promoting
innovation and entrepreneurship, and attracting
foreign investment. By aligning our ambitions with
the European Union's Digital Transformation Strategy,
we ensure interoperability, access to resources, andcollaboration with EU nations.
Through our innovative policies, strategic
investments, and thanks to international
collaboration, we have built a foundation for asecure and thriving digital landscape. The recent
establishment of the Cybersecurity Agency(ANC) and the National Institute of Innovations in
Cybersecurity (Cybercor) further strengthens ourcommitment to safeguarding our cyberspace andpromoting a workforce equipped to address threats.
Here's what awaits you in Moldova: a booming IT
sector which stands as a testament to the success ofEurope's first e-Park. The extension of this initiative
until 2035 underscores our commitment to attracting
investments. With streamlined services, an open
labour market and valuable talent we want to makesure we've got the right people with the right skills,
and to make sure tech's a win for everyone.
This guide delves deeper into the specifics of thislandscape, providing insights into the opportunities
that await you in Moldova. We invite you to explore
the possibilities and join us in shaping a secure,innovative, and inclusive digital future.

< 6 >Administrator
Moldova Innovation
Technology ParkMy astonishing journey with this virtual placestarted right at its birth. I advised the government
on legislation that paved the way for the park.
Crafting a new tax system for the IT industry was an
exciting experience reinforcing my belief in Moldova's
capacity for innovation, even in public policy.
I then assumed leadership at MITP and I discovered
the park’s vast potential beyond its exceptionaltax incentives and business-friendly environment.
Through strategic vision, bold initiatives, andunwavering commitment, we have grown MITP into
the largest IT community in Moldova, now embracing
80 per cent of the country’s IT sector and five percent of Moldova’s GDP.
We are now sharing this IT Investment Guide, anessential road map and manual helping you navigate
the dynamic landscape of Moldova's thriving IT
industry.
In crafting this guide, we aim not just to showcase
Moldova's IT advantages but also the vibrant spirit ofinnovation and collaboration that defines MITP. Fromgrowing start-ups to established industry leaders,
MITP serves as a dynamic hub for talent and business
opportunities.
I extend my deepest gratitude to all contributors
to this guide. Your passion and expertise haveinfused these pages with life, shaping it into aninvaluable resource for investors, entrepreneurs, IT
professionals, and tech enthusiasts alike.
So, join us as we embark on this journey of
exploration and discovery. Let's tap into Moldova'svast IT opportunities and work towards a brighter
future for Moldova and the global IT industry.

< 7 >

Why
Moldova?
operates Europe’s
1 Moldova
first remote technology

park with more than 1,700
residents and offers a simplified
taxation model, a virtual
operating regime, and simplified
interaction with public authorities< 8 >The IСT sector’s share in
2 thecountry’s GDP now topsin 2022 had the
4 Moldova
highest ICT services

is included in the
6 Moldova‘high’ E-Government

five per cent, surpassing

growth rates among

Development category for

the wine industry, which
until recent years was theleading sector in the country's
economyneighbouring countries andregional competitors (Ukraine,
Belarus, Romania, Estonia,
Latvia and Lithuania)

its implementation of digitalpublic services, according
to the UN E-Government
Development Index

4.4 per cent of Moldovans
3 areemployed in the ICT

average internet speed
5 The
in Moldova is higher than in

Moldova is an EU candidate
7 country
and has been part of asector, the second highest

some more developed countries(such as Germany, Switzerland
or Estonia), according to the2023 Worldwide Broadband
Speed League

Deep and Comprehensive Free
Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with
the EU since 2014

percentage in any country inemerging Europe, after Estonia< 9 >Moldova
in numbers

IT SECTOR

COUNTRYEDUCATION

23,59737.1%

40%

employed in the IT-adjacent sector
in 2022

average annual revenue growth of
IT companies, between 2016 and2022 (euros, current prices)

average annual growth of IT
exports (computer services)
between 2016 and 2022 (euros,
current prices)(IT-adjacent sector is the sum of divisions J58.20
Software publishing, J62 Computer programming,
consultancy and related activities and J631 — Data
processing, hosting and related activities; web portalsof section J — Information and telecommunications)

2,512,758

33,843

47

4,245

840

31.8%

population, 2023

(area in square kilometres)

countries whose citizens can workwithout a temporary permit

number of IT students in 2023,
bachelors and masters

number of IT graduates in 2022,
bachelors and masters

share of the population aged
30-34 who have completed tertiary
education, 2022

(as of January 2024)

ECONOMY

MITP

2.5%

8.8%

58.8%

1,621

14.6%

21,190average real GDP growth between
2016 and 2022

average growth of exports between
2016 and 2022

share of services in GDP, 2022

number of residents at the end of2023

share of residents with foreign
capital in 2023

MITP resident employees’
headcount, end of 2023

(growth in USD, constant prices)

MITP INCENTIVESLABOUR FORCE
890,000

56.7%

4.1%

7%

0%

4

economically active population in2022

share of employed population
working in services in 2022

unemployment rate in quarter III,2023

single tax paid by MITP residents(replacing the entire tax burden ofcompanies and employees)

corporate income tax, local taxes,
real estate and road taxes forresident companies and social andhealth contributions paid for andby resident companies and theiremployees as well as personal
income tax for residents’ employees

year-long work permits for top
managers (and two-year work
permits for IT specialists, including
their family members) within the IT
Visa Programme< 10 >< 11 >

"...With few natural resources andperhaps best known internationally for
its outstanding wine, Moldova’s future
development will depend on the further
growth of its knowledge economy...

Moldova today:
A country readyto make its markAfter much concern that the country could
buckle under external pressure caused by
Russia’s war on Ukraine, Moldova’s economy has
instead been on an upwards trajectory.
Constitutionally neutral, sandwiched between
Ukraine and Romania and with a slither of its eastern
territory occupied by a breakaway, Russian-backed
separatist government, Moldova, more than any of
Ukraine’s neighbours, faced an unprecedented crisis
in February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scaleinvasion.
Reliant almost entirely on Russian energy, lesser
countries may have crumbled. Moldova didn’t.
Moldova has taken the opportunity offered by an
influx of support from Western allies to uncouple
itself from Russia, both politically and economically.
In May 2023, Prime Minister Dorin Recean confirmedthat the country had fully weaned itself off Russiangas, saying that while at the start of the war 100 per
cent of the energy consumed in Moldova originatedin Russia, “today Moldova can exist with absolutely
no natural gas or electricity from Russia”.
The country has also formally applied for EU
membership and was awarded candidate status inJune 2022. At the European Council’s meeting in
December 2023, it was given the green light to start
formal accession negotiations.
Several key EU initiatives in support of Moldova arealready delivering results. In the summer of 2023,
European and Moldovan telecom operators signed anagreement to lower data and voice roaming charges
that will help connect citizens and businesses.
The Economic and Investment Plan (EIP) meanwhile,
set to mobilise up to 1.6 billion euros in public andprivate investments for flagship projects, is alreadydelivering on projects being rolled out, worth more

< 12 >

than 670 million euros, in key sectors such assupporting SMEs, energy efficiency and investments
in infrastructure. Other initiatives include Moldova’s
participation in the EU’s joint gas purchase platform.
Moldova has also quietly increased engagementwith NATO on various issues, with the main aim ofreforming and modernising Moldova’s defence andsecurity structures and institutions.
According to the World Bank, Moldova has seen solid
economic performance over the past two decades,
although challenges remain.
Moldova’s economy contracted sharply in 2022, GDPfalling 5.9 per cent, although it is expected to havereturned to growth (of around 2.5 per cent) in 2023.
Inflation, which reached 30 per cent in 2022, hadbeen reduced to 4.2 per cent by December 2023.
With few natural resources and perhaps best known
internationally for its outstanding wine, Moldova’s
future development will depend on the further
growth of its knowledge economy. The governmentis aware of this and has in recent years implemented
measures to foster the growth of its IT sector andadvance the use of digital technologies.
This effort has put the country at the forefront ofdigital transformation in government services, whileboosting its reputation as an IT and technology
hub—with the creation of the Moldova Innovation
Technology Park (MITP) a key part of this effort.
Almost five per cent of the workforce is now
employed in the IT sector, a figure set to growsubstantially in the coming years. Moldova’s external
trade developed strongly in 2022 with a 37.9 percent increase in exports, much of this driven by theservices sector.

< 13 >

Moldova's
IT sector< 14 >< 15 >

Success stories
In this chapter, you will learn how global,
regional and local companies’ operations in
Moldova have helped them succeed. Few
people are better placed to talk about therole that Moldova Innovation Technology Park
(MITP) has played in developing Moldova’s IT
ecosystem than the leaders of the companies
who have taken up residence in the park.
With backgrounds from across the world, they
explain why all roads led them to Chișinău.

Bloomcoding is an
online after-school thatspecialises in providing engaging coding
education for children aged 7-14, developing
3D experiences for VR/AR, Minecraft, andRoblox. The company joined MITP in 2021.
Crunchyroll connects
anime and manga fansacross 200+ countries and territories withthe content and experiences they love. In
addition to free ad-supported and subscription
premium content, Crunchyroll serves the anime
community across events, theatrical, games,
consumer products, collectibles and manga
publishing. Crunchyroll’s headquarters is
located in Coppell, United States. The team in
Moldova was acquired by Crunchyroll in 2016.

Emil Chichioi
Founder & CEO

Amdaris is headquarteredin Bristol, UK, and has beenpresent in Moldova since
its foundation in 2009. Operating across theUK, Moldova, Romania, Bulgaria, and Ukraine,
Amdaris excels in software application
development, managed services, strategy
and consulting, product development, anddata solutions. In 2023, with 100+ clients, animpressive Net Promoter Score (NPS), andsix delivery centres, Amdaris was acquired by
Insight Enterprises Inc., a Fortune 500 Solutions
Integrator focused on digital transformation.

Petru Haheu
Centre Director

Joining MITP has been atransformative milestone for
Amdaris, as it propelled our
growth through invaluable
financial incentives and government support.
The tax incentives provided a robust foundation,
fostering economic resilience and enabling
us to channel resources strategically.
Simultaneously, the government support,
reflected in progressive policies and regulatory
frameworks, fortified our operations.
Amdaris stands as a testament to the symbiotic
relationship between the IT sector and MITP,
charting a trajectory of success. As we lookahead, our future plans are anchored incontinued collaboration with MITP, propellinginnovation, creating jobs, and elevating
Moldova’s stature in the global tech landscape.

< 16 >

Bloomcoding’s existence
today is very dependent
on the support of MITP.
Our profitable status andconsiderable growth are direct consequences of
the advantages provided by the IT Park.
After successfully persuading the Mozaic
Investor Syndicate to partake in our pre-seedround, we managed to expand to international
markets which led to the closure of our one
million euros seed round, one of the strongest
deals in the region. This fact can be attributed
to in-depth discussions with venture capitalfunds, highlighting the competitive edge
provided by MITP. Financially, one million euros
in the IT park outperforms 3.5 million euros inEurope.
Our future ambitions are high yet grounded;
we aim to establish Moldova’s first unicorn.
This vision is fueled by the desire to cultivate athriving start-up ecosystem, propelled by the
exceptional local talent and the encouraging
fiscal policies for emerging entrepreneurs.

Elena Ivanova
bully! entertainment is acreative experience agency,
headquartered in Baltimore,
Maryland, US. Our mission
focuses on developing innovative narrative andemerging tech experiences for global brands
that captivate audiences and inspire action. OurChișinău studio was established in 2019.
4. Your full name and job title;
Carlson William Bull, Founder /Exec. Creative Director at Bully! Entertainment
5. Your photo (to be published in the guide).

Carlson William
BullFounder & Exec. Creative
Director
MITP has been instrumental
to our development as acreative studio, enabling growth of over 250 per
cent and the successful delivery of experiencesfor global brands ranging from Disney toMicrosoft. We look forward to a continued
relationship with MITP and the larger Moldovan
creative communities as we expand theorganisation, invest in the development of ourcreative teams and explore new production anddevelopment workflows. We see a very bright
future in Chișinău.

Director PBP & Managing
Director for Moldova
MITP has played a pivotal
role in Moldova’s investment
and operations. Streamlined
processes and regulatory support facilitated
our organization, promoting our services andconnecting us with a vibrant tech society.
Moldova’s dynamic community and passionate
people shape the vision for sustained
growth. Moving forward, we wish MITP morecollaborations and investments in the local
market, aligning with residents’ challenges tomeet evolving tech market demands positioning
Moldova as a key player in the technologicallandscape. MTIP’s goal should be to foster amarket of innovation and progress, contributing
to the region’s respected reputation in the techindustry.

< 17 >

Endava is a global
company headquarteredin London. By combining world-classengineering, industry expertise and a peoplecentric mindset, it consults and partners
with its customers to create technologicalsolutions that drive innovation and transformbusinesses. It helps clients to accelerate
and take advantage of market opportunities
across various industries, including payments,
insurance, life sciences, automotive and travel.

Veaceslav Panfil
Country Manager

Founded in 2000, Endava
is the largest IT company
in Moldova. Our constantgoal has been to provide our
employees with the best working environmentand development. Thanks to the talents trainedin Moldova, we have managed to grow a teamof professionals whom we are proud of andwith whom we build advanced solutions for ourclients.
Over the years, we have experienced constant
growth, and MITP has helped us to increase
this growth. As such, we have managed toreduce the emigration of specialists abroad andto form a pool of talents experienced enoughto contribute, together with the academic
environment, to the growth of the number of
specialists in the Moldovan market.

< 18 >

FusionWorks is a softwaredevelopment company
focusing on full-cycle product development,
outsourcing services and IT community
building. The company was founded in 2011by Genadii Ganebnyi and Anton Perkin.
FusionWorks is ISO 9001 and ISO 27001
certified by TUV Austria and provides services
for customers in 20 countries

Anton PerkinCEO

As a member of Moldova
Innovation Technology
Park (MITP) since2019, FusionWorks has
experienced transformative growth andsuccess. Joining MITP not only provided us withvaluable incentives and support that catalysed
our development but also opened doors to a
thriving community of tech innovators.
The new IT policies developed by MITP
significantly reduced our operational costs andenhanced our global competitiveness. Thispartnership has been instrumental in expanding
our market reach and attracting top talent.
Looking ahead, we are excited to leverage
MITP’s dynamic ecosystem to drive further
innovation, expand our services, and continue
contributing to Moldova's growing IT sector.

Langly is an edtech start-up basedin Moldova, developing an English
language learning innovative
product. It is a cross-device platform, whoselearning process integrates AI, gamification,and content based on the official Oxford
Educational Methodology. The company’s main
product development takes place in-house at
its headquarters in Moldova.

Vitalii Petrosyan
CEO

MITP supports techinnovation andentrepreneurship in Moldova,
offering resident companies
tax benefits, cutting production costs,
allowing us to hire top-professionals and pay
competitive salaries.
Our team permanently attends MITP-organised
events, gaining fresh perspectives and valuable
tools while sharing experience. As a start-up
actively seeking investment for a globalmarket product, we are provided by MITP
with special opportunities for participating ininternational events, attracting new partners.
The growing cluster effect strengthens theecosystem, increasing interest for external
investments. Having been in the market for 10
years and developing our third major project,
we can observe all the all the positive changes
provided.

Orange Systems is theIT hub of Orange Moldova
and a resident of the MITP,
with more than 16 years of activity in Moldova.
With a team of 850+ employees, it is thesecond-largest IT employer in the country. The
company has the key ambition of developing
the IT sector under the brand of creativity,
quality, and competitiveness, by creating
its own software products and local centresof competence, oriented towards digitaltransformation solutions.

Sergiu Placinta
Director

Orange Systems
strengthened its position in
the IT services market byjoining Moldova Innovation
Technology Park in 2018 to boost growth andexpansion in the IT services sector. This includes
software development, quality assurance,
control and management of IT projects,
business intelligence and Data&AI.
MITP has contributed to the adoption of a new
strategy by Orange Systems—transitioning fromservices-driven operations to the investmentof funds obtained within the fiscal regime
for the development of enterprise grade
products and solutions oriented towards digitaltransformation, e-commerce/digital channels
and automation of business processes—that
today supports more than 50 enterprisecustomers in Europe, the Middle East andAfrica.

< 19 >

Salt Edge is a financial API
platform that offers PSD2
and open banking solutions for every business.
The company is headquartered in Ottawa,
Canada, but has a global presence with offices
in London, Bucharest, Chișinău, and Milan,
with plans to expand into the Middle East. Salt
Edge has been involved in the fintech andopen banking industry for over a decade andhas assisted over 450 clients in navigating thecomplex world of open banking.

Vasile Valcov

Chief Commercial Officer
As a member of Moldova
Innovation Technology Parkfor over three years, Salt
Edge has had the privilegeof experiencing the unique advantages ofbeing part of such a prestigious tech hub. From
the transparent and timely environment that
promotes innovation to the competitive salaries
that enable local talent to focus on innovationand creativity instead of worrying about
financial instability, we are confident in thepositive results that our continued membershipwill bring to our company and, in return tothe country as a whole. We are proud to be aresident of MITP and grateful for its support
throughout the years in our journey towards
excellence.

< 20 >

Software Mind
provides companies
with autonomous development teams who
manage software life cycles from ideation torelease and beyond. For over 20 years it has
been enriching organisations with the talent
they need to boost scalability, drive dynamic
growth and bring disruptive ideas to life byimplementing leading technologies, including
cloud, AI and data science.

GhenadieGorincioi

General Manager
Software Mind’s partnershipwith MITP supports the
dynamic growth of ourcompany and shows our commitment toinnovation, as well as R&D initiatives. It’s also
an opportunity for us to reach more businesses
looking to develop evolutive solutions,
implement emerging technologies and speed up
software delivery.
With MITP, we can tap into a talent pool of highly
skilled specialists who join our engineering
teams to work on ambitious projects for industry
leaders, share their domain knowledge andgrow their competences.

Stefanini Moldova
operates as a technology
company offering innovative solutions in
IT services and outsourcing. Established in
Moldova in 2016, the company specialises insoftware development, IT consulting, digitaltransformation, and cybersecurity. Stefanini
Moldova is committed to delivering cuttingedge technology solutions to meet global
business needs.

Ion Girleanu

XOR.ai is a Silicon Valley
start-up founded in 2016.
It specialises in streamlining the recruitment
process with chatbots and texting applications
since. Headquartered in San Jose, California,
the company has had an office in Moldova
since 2018.

Country Manager

Joining MITP and establishing
operations in Moldova has
been a transformativedecision for our company.
The strategy has not only accelerated ourdevelopment through access to a skilledworkforce and advanced infrastructure but
has also provided a supportive ecosystem forinnovation.
The collaborative environment fostered by MITP
has propelled our growth, and we’re excited about
the future. Moldova’s commitment to technology
and the partnership with MITP align perfectly withour company’s future plans, ensuring continued
success and global competitiveness in the everevolving tech landscape.

Nikolay Manolov
CTO & Co-founderWith the help of MITP,
Moldova is an excellent
location for a back office anddevelopment team. At XOR.
ai, we build a world-class solution in our nicheand help the local community through Startup
Moldova and MITP events.
We plan to keep building our company andpresence in Chișinău, aiming to one day
become a billion-dollar business.

< 21 >

Market potential, evolution,
forecast and confidence

Figure 3. Structure of
IT-adjacent enterprises
by size, 2022; total
number of IT-adjacent*companies in 2022:
1,813

Source: NBSRM* Here IT-adjacent includes companies engaged computer programming,
consultancy and related activities of Section J (Information and Communication)

Looking at the size of MITP residents, small-, middleand large-sized residents consist of approximately
95, four and one per cent of the total number ofresidents respectively. When compared with thestructure of companies in ICT and IT-adjacentsectors, in the MITP small-sized companies are far
better represented, while medium- and large-sizedcompanies are underrepresented.
Figure 6. Share of MITP
residents by size, 2023

This chapter looks at the size of the Moldovan
IT sector: the number of companies and theirheadcount, exports, the industry’s share in
the economy, investment (including foreign
investment), as well as how companies see their
future growth and opportunities.

Figure 1. Number of ICT and IT-adjacent* enterprises

According to the Moldova Innovation Technology
Park, over the last six years there has been a sharp
increase in the number of residents: from just 338 in2018 to 1,621 in 2023. The number of residents withforeign capital for the same timeframe also saw a big
increase, more than doubling from 97 to 237.

Source: MITP statistics

Figure 4. Number of MITP residents at end of year

You will learn that the sector, both across the country
and among MITP residents, has been growing steadily
and sustainably. Within the last decade, the turnoverof IT-adjacent companies has almost quadrupled.
The headcount in the sector has also been growing
and as many as 4.4 per cent of Moldovan employees
now work in the ICT sector, the second highest
percentage in any country in emerging Europe, after
Estonia.
However, Moldova could welcome some moreinvestment in the IT sector. Between 2018, when
the MITP was launched, and 2023, total investments
grew eight times. Since the Covid-19 pandemic,
foreign direct investment in the IT sector has slowed.
Nevertheless, companies operating in the sector
appear confident and optimistic about its potential
and future growth. The tax regime in place in the
MITP until at least the end of 2035 offers a wide
range of opportunities (see page 62).

Turnover and sales revenues
Source: The National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova (NBSRM)*Here, IT-adjacent includes companies engaged computer programming,
consultancy and related activities of Section J (Information and Communication)

Considering the structure of ICT enterprises bysize (see figure 2), Moldova’s ICT sector in 2022
was dominated by micro-sized enterprises, whichconstituted 89 per cent of all enterprises in the
sector, followed by small-sized enterprises (nineper cent), and then by medium- and large-sizedcompanies (approximately two per cent and 0.45
per cent of all ICT enterprises respectively). The total
number of ICT companies grew to 3,306 in 2022.
Figure 2. Structureof ICT enterprises
by size, 2022; total
number of ICT
companies in 2022:
3,306

Number and size
Official statistics show that the number of both ICT
and IT-adjacent enterprises has grown constantly
over the last few years. From 2015 to 2022 thetotal number of ICT companies grew from 1,946 to
3,306—an increase of more than 66 per cent, while
the number of IT-adjacent enterprises (in this case– companies engaged in computer programming,
consultancy and related activities, which is thelargest IT-related division) grew over the period 2015
to 2022 from 771 to 1,813—by more than 135 per cent.

< 22 >

Source: NBSRM

Looking at the structure of IT-adjacent enterprises in
2022 in Moldova, it is almost exactly the same as in
ICT, the only difference is a heavier bias towards smallsized companies compared to micro-sized companies,
which represent 10 and 88 per cent of all enterprises
respectively.

The latest data on ICT companies’ turnover shows thatapproximately 49 per cent of turnover is allocated to
the large companies, even though they constitutejust less than one per cent of all ICT enterprises. Small
companies account for 18 per cent of turnover, withmedium- and micro-sized companies accounting
for approximately 17 and 16 per cent of the total
approximately 1.1 billion euros turnover respectively.
Figure 7. Share of turnover of ICT enterprises by size, 2022;
the total number of ICT companies in 2022 is 3,306; total
turnover is 1.1 billion euros
Source: MITP statistics

In 2023, the share of MITP residents with foreign
capital was approximately 15 per cent.
Figure 5. Share of MITP
residents with local andforeign capital, 2023

Source: MITP

Source: NBSRM

For IT-adjacent enterprises (companies engaged
in computer programming, consultancy andrelated activities of Section J Information andCommunication), the situation is different: bigcompanies are responsible for approximately 17 percent of turnover, medium-sized companies produced
around 30 per cent of all turnover, while small- andmicro-sized companies generated approximately 29
and 24 per cent of the 438.5 million euros turnover< 23 >

respectively.
Figure 8. Share of turnover of IT-adjacent enterprises bysize, 2022; total number of IT-adjacent companies in 2022
is 1,813; total turnover is 438.5 million euros

euros in 2018 to more than 187 million euros in 2023,
growth of approximately 549 per cent.

Overall labour productivity for the period 2018-2023
has grown substantially.

Figure 10. Sales revenue, cost of sales and gross profit from
eligible activities of MITP residents, million euros

Figure 12. Sales revenue and gross profit from eligible
activities per employee, thousand euros

Figure 14. Share of ICT sector in GDP

Source: NBSRM

Source: NBSRM

From the intertemporal perspective, there has been a
constant growth of turnover (in current prices) since 2015.
For the ICT sector, turnover increased from around 559
million euros in 2015 to around 1.1 billion euros in 2022:
growth of almost 96 per cent. For the IT-adjacent* sector,
the growth in turnover is even higher: from almost 92.9
million euros in 2015 to almost 429 million euros in 2022,
an impressive 372.1 per cent growth. This demonstrates
the overall steady and rapid development of both sectors,
and the sharp increase of turnover in 2021, the year after
the Covid-19 pandemic, shows strong resilience in these
sectors.
Figure 9. Turnover of ICT and IT-adjacent enterprises,
million euros

Source: MITP statistics

Talking about the dynamics of local sales and exports(in current prices) by eligible activities. Both havegrown, although at a different pace: local sales havegrown from a bit more than 18 million euros in 2018
to almost 72 million euros in 2023, while exports
started from a bit more than 79 million euros andincreased to 566 million euros in the same timeframe. This shows that MITP residents are strongly
export-oriented, but that there has also been some
growth in local market sales as well.
Figure 11. Sales by eligible activity, local and exports,
million euros

As far as the annual change of the physical volume of
production of the ICT sector is concerned, ICT shows
growth during the whole observed period from 2015
to 2022 with the exception of 2020. In the year 2020
a decline of 14.9 per cent occurred, but it completely
recovered in the following year, when ICT grew by 22.5
per cent. The average real growth rate of ICT for thistime frame is 6.1 per cent, which is higher than the
average GDP growth rate of Moldova for this period, 2.1
per cent, by a significant four percentage points.

Source: MITP statistics

Exports and value-added
There is constant growth of value-added (current
prices) in the ICT sector with the exception of 2020,
marked by Covid-19. For the period 2013-2022, value
added grew from 345 million euros to almost 910
million euros—overall growth of almost 164 per cent.

Figure 15. Physical volume production index of ICT, change
to the previous year

Figure 13. ICT value added, current prices

Source: NBSRM

m
Source: NBSRM* Here IT-adjacent includes companies engaged computer programming,
consultancy and related activities of Section J (Information and Communication)m
Source: MITP
Source: NBSRM

The growth of sales of MITP residents from eligible
activities from almost 96 million euros in 2018 to morethan 637 million euros in 2023 is significant increaseof more than 565 per cent. At the same time, the costof sales for the same period grew from almost 67
million euros to a bit more than 450 million euros, anincrease of more than 572 per cent.
As such, the gross profit of MITP residents from
eligible activities increased from almost 29 million< 24 >

From the perspective of sales revenue and grossprofit from eligible activities per employee employedin eligible activity (in current prices), there is growthin both indicators for the given time frame: from a bit
more than 16,100 euros to more than 35,000 euros
for sales, and from almost 4,900 euros to more than
10,300 euros for gross profit.

Next, the share of the ICT sector in Moldova’s GDP isconsidered. The dynamics vary from year to year, witha minimal value of 4.6 per cent in 2017 and a maximal
value of 6.6 in 2022. The increase in the share of ICT in
GDP from 2013 to 2022 is 1.8 percentage points.

Next, a look at the export dynamics of Moldova’s ICT
and IT-adjacent* sectors (here, ICT includes computer
services, information services and telecommunication
services). In the year 2013, the ICT sector strongly
dominated the IT-adjacent sector, meaning that thebulk of ICT exports in that year were telecommunication
services. Since 2014, there has been steady growthin the IT-adjacent sector. In 2013, total ICT sector
exports were almost 138 million euros, and for the
IT-adjacent sector 46.3 million euros, or 33.6 per cent of
ICT exports. In 2022, ICT exports were a bit more than
486 million euros, while the IT-adjacent sector totalled
almost 456 million, or 93.7 per cent of ICT exports.
Therefore, there is not only significant growth in boththe ICT and IT-adjacent sectors, but a substantial
shift in the structure of ICT exports towards the
IT-adjacent sector.

< 25 >

Figure 16. ICT exports, of which IT-adjacent exports,
million euros

Figure 18. Total investments of MITP residents

280 euros per month, and in ICT – almost 571 euros
per month. In 2022, the average cost per employee
in the overall economy was almost 658 euros permonth, while in ICT – almost 1,516 euros per month.

When it comes to the share of MITP residents who
indicated that they expected to grow their teams,
the results are similar: the biggest firms are the most
optimistic.

There has been an increase in both indicators, but the
average cost per employee in ICT has grown at a higher
pace and the gap between the indicators has widened.

Figure 22. Share of entities which anticipate growing theirteams over the next 12 months

Figure 20. Average monthly cost per employee in ICT sector
and in overall economy, euros

Source: National Bank of Moldova* Here, IT-adjacent exports are defined as exports of computer services andinformation services only; data in current pricesmSource: MITP statisticso

Investments

Cost of operations

The dynamics of foreign direct investment stock(in current prices) in Moldova’s ICT sector show adifferent dynamic. There has been no substantialchange in FDI stock in the ICT sector over the scopeof the last seven years. In 2016, total FDI stock was
220 million euros, peaking in 2019 at slightly morethan 271 million euros, before falling in 2022 toapproximately 235 million euros.

Cost of sales (current prices) in MITP has grown
substantially: from almost 67 million in 2018 toslightly more than 450 million euros in 2023.
However, as has been shown previously, this ismostly due to the growth in the volume of sales.
Figure 19. Cost of sales from eligible activities

Figure 17. FDI stock in ICT, end of the year

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Source: NBSRM

The next figure looks at the average expectation for team
growth by revenue: here we see those entities whichhave revenues from 200,000 euros to 500,000 euros
have the highest expectation of growing their team.

Future prospects

Figure 23. Expectation for team growth over the next 12months, average by revenue category

How do Moldovan IT companies see their future? Togauge their mood, companies were asked a series ofquestions about their prospects for the next 12 months.
The average team growth expectations for the next
12 months by the size of enterprise are shown. Here,the biggest companies are the most optimistic. (40per cent expect to grow their teams). On average,
MITP residents are relatively optimistic about growing
their teams over the next year.

mm

Figure 21. Expectation for team size growth over the
next 12 months, average by company size; average for allcompanies: 28.9 per cent

Source: MITP statistics

Source: National Bank of Moldova

The next figure looks at the dynamics of the sum ofinvestments by MITP residents in all kinds of assets(current prices): resident activity, tangible andintangible assets. From just 3.1 million euros in 2018,
investments peaked in 2021 at 38.5 million, and thendeclined to a bit more than 26 million euros in 2023.

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

The next section looks at revenue growth
expectations for the next year. Here there is a clear
division by size of entity. Large companies (with
250-1,000 employees) and micro-sized companies(with one to 10 employees) expect to see the highest
levels of revenue growth. The lowest expectations ofrevenue growth come from individual entrepreneurs,
medium-sized companies and, perhaps surprisingly,
the very biggest companies.

Next, a look at the average cost per employee in
the ICT sector of Moldova and the average cost per
employee in the overall economy (in current prices).
It can be easily noticed that the cost per employee in
ICT is significantly higher than in the overall economy
through the period: in 2013 the average cost per
employee in the overall economy was approximately
Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey< 26 >< 27 >

Figure 24. Revenue growth expectation for the next
12 months, average by company size; average for allcompanies: 29.9 per centIndividual entrepreneurs

Next, average revenue expectations by current
revenue are shown. The highest average revenue
growth is expected by medium-sized companies withrevenue from 200,000 to 500,000 euros.

17.3%
34.6%

1-10 employees

Figure 26. Revenue growth expectation for the next 12months, average by revenue category

Figure 28. Share of entities which expect the cost of goods
sold/cost of sales to increase, by size

51-100 employees

51-100 employees

27.2%

100-250 employees

94.7%
62.5%

38.0%

More than 1,000 employees

20.0%

The following indicator is how companies, grouped byrevenue, expect costs to grow.

59.1%

1-10 employees

84.7%

11-50 employees

83.8%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees

94.4%
87.5%

Here, the percentage of firms expecting the cost of
goods sold/cost of sales to increase are considered.
In general, smaller companies expect costs to growmore than larger companies.

89.5%

100-250 employees

62.5%

250-1,000 employees

60.0%
33.3%

More than 1,000 employees
Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Figure 32 shows the same indicator, distributed bycategories of revenue. The very biggest companies
show the lowest value of expected increases in theirown prices, while companies with revenue from one
million euros to five million euros show the highest
average values.

Figure 27. Cost of goods sold/cost of sales growth
expectation for the next 12 months, average by size;
average for all companies: 19.4 per centIndividual entrepreneurs

100.0%

11-50 employees

More than 1,000 employees

100.0%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

Figure 32. Own price growth expectations for the next 12months, average by revenue category

10.3%
18.3%

1-10 employees

250-1,000 employees

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

68.9%

Figure 29. Cost of goods sold/cost of sales growth
expectations for the next 12 months, average by revenue
category

Almost all companies expect to see their revenue
grow next year. Of the largest companies, 100 per
cent expect their revenues to increase.

Individual entrepreneurs

76.3%

51-100 employees

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Figure 25. Share of entities which expect revenue growthover the next 12 months

48.3%

Individual entrepreneurs

11-50 employees

66.7%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Figure 31. Share of entities which expect their own prices
to increase over the next 12 months, by size

1-10 employees

40.0%

250-1,000 employees

250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

75.7%

11-50 employees

26.6%

20.0%

81.3%

1-10 employees

11-50 employees

100-250 employees

48.3%

Individual entrepreneurs

Next, entities which expect their own prices toincrease over the next 12 months, by size. Acrossmost metrics, more than 50 per cent of companies
expect their prices to increase.

Individual entrepreneurs

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

19.0%

1-10 employees

15.3%
22.1%
10.0%
12.0%
6.7%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

12.7%

11-50 employees

Next, there is a look at how many companies expect
their own prices to increase over the next year. It is
worth noting that the very largest companies expect
their prices to fall.
Figure 30. Own prices growth expectations for the next 12months, average by size; average for all companies: 20.4
per cent

18.3%

51-100 employees

19.2%

100-250 employees

14.1%

250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

5.0%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Individual entrepreneurs

Next, the share of entities which have indicatedthat they expect costs to increase, by size. Here,companies with 51-100 employees expect to see thebiggest increases in costs.

11.7%

1-10 employees

16.5%

11-50 employees

15.5%
22.1%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees

12.5%

250-1,000 employees
More than
1,000 employees

4.0%

-6.7%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey< 28 >< 29 >

Results on the anticipated growth of the financial leverage
rate, by entity size are shown. Very few companies
anticipate any involvement in external financing.

Next, the same indicator, distributed among therevenue size categories.

Figure 33. Share of entities which expect to see a growth inleverage rate over next 12 months, by size

Figure 34. Share of entities which expect to see a growth inleverage rate over next 12 months, by revenue category

The next figure shows the main problems companies
expect to face over the next 12 months. Key issues include
talent acquisition and retention, the regional geopoliticalsituation, and the decline of the global IT market.
Figure 35. Main problems, share of answers, all entities

The percentage of entities in each size which rated theirlikelihood of relocating over the next 12 months as higher
than 50 per cent is shown, by size of company.
Figure 37. Share of companies who rate the likelihood of
relocating at more than 50 per cent, by size

Individual entrepreneurs

0.0%
15.0%

1-10 employees
11-50 employees

8.1%

51-100 employees

5.3%

100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees

12.5%
0.0%

More than 1,000 employees 0.0%
Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Next, the percentage of entities of each size which
rated their likelihood of relocating over the next 12months as higher than 50 per cent is considered, by
revenue.
Figure 38. Expectation of relocating to a different country
over the next 12-24 months, average by revenue

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

25.7%

0 - 100,000 euros

Given that IT companies in Moldova indicate thatthe current geopolitical situation could be a threat
for their operations, Emerging Europe asked about
potential relocation plans.
The following indicator is distributed in the range
from 0 to 100 and assesses the likeliness ofcompanies relocating their headquarters. The biggest
companies are the most likely to consider relocating,although the percentages for all categories are
relatively low.

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

23.0%

200,000 - 500,000 euros
500,000 - 1,000,000 euros
1,000,000 - 5,000,000 euros
More than 5,000,000 euros

21.0%
9.6%
18.8%
13.8%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Figure 36. Expectation of relocating to a different country
over the next 12-24 months, average by size; average for allcompanies: 21.9 per centIndividual entrepreneurs
Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

100,000 - 200,000 euros

16.6%
27.6%

1-10 employees

19.5%

11-50 employees
51-100 employees
100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

12.1%
17.5%
4.0%
30.0%

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey< 30 >< 31 >

Market perception —Moldova’s IT in a global context
Working with Moldovan IT
According to Emerging Europe’s Moldovan IT Perception
Survey, more than two-thirds already outsource IT
services or planning to do so in the near future.
Figure 39. Current practices and plans of outsourcing IT
services
63%

63%

57%

56%

54%

53%

Despite the challenges, many companies would
consider partnering with Moldovan IT firms. Quality of
IT services, operational cost effectiveness, Moldova's
EU candidacy status, and skilled talent availability are
primary reasons for collaborating with Moldovan IT
firms.

< 32 >

20%
21%

36%

29%

20%

23%
27%

Poland68.00%

32.00%

Sweden65.00%

35.00%

France61.00%

39.00%

UK

55.50%

44.50%

Germany

44.00%

56.00%

US

42.40%

57.60%

Romania

Other important factors included the development of
Moldova's IT sector (almost every fifth respondent),
compliance with data privacy regulations andproficiency in English (18 per cent respectively, andtransparent business practices (14 per cent).

Figure 42. Main three reasons why to partner with
Moldovan IT companies

67.00%

33.00%
YES

NO

30%

Comparatively, countries such as Sweden and France(between 60 and 65 per cent), the UK (55.50 per cent),
Germany and the US (39 per cent) exhibit lower levelsof willingness, with Poland notably more enthusiastic
about hiring or outsourcing from Moldova.
Figure 41. Reasons behind partnering with a Moldovan IT
company

23%
16%

17%

14%

US

Romania

PolandSweden8%

FranceThe perceived quality of IT services in Moldova
is a primary reason for partnering, followed bycost-effectiveness, labour costs, and Moldova's
EU candidacy status. Skilled talent availability,
compliance with data privacy regulations, andproficiency in English are also significant factors.

28%

Germany

Half of all the respondents express eagerness toconsider hiring or outsourcing IT services from Moldovan
companies. Poland demonstrates the strongest interest,
while Romania exhibits the least enthusiasm.

Figure 40. Considering to outsource from Moldovan IT services

Some 46 per cent of respondents highlighted costeffectiveness, a third mentioned labour costs, whilealmost 30 per cent valued Moldova's EU candidate
status. A similar group emphasised the availability ofskilled talent in Moldova.

The findings for each country reveal that Romania
is the least eager, with 67 per cent indicating ahesitancy to hire or outsource IT services from
Moldova (see figure 40). In contrast, Poland
demonstrates the strongest interest, with 68 percent expressing a willingness to hire or outsource IT
services from Moldova.

Emerging Europe surveyed almost 1,000 C-level
executives from seven markets — the United States,
the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Sweden,
Poland and Romania, and ran 20 in-depth interviews
with IT and outsourcing professionals from acrossthe globe. Its main objective was to understandthe current perception of Moldova’s IT and raiseawareness about its potential and capabilities.
Moldova is not as known an IT destination as it could
be considering its potential and growth, and the factthat its direct neighbours and the other countries inthe emerging Europe region are well established IT
destinations. Having learnt more, individuals suveyed
and interviewed demonstrated significant interest in
exploring the market, outsourcing in the country andidentifying potential partnership opportunities.

43%

When respondents were asked about whether
they intend to hire or outsource IT services fromcompanies in Moldova, half of them were eager toconsider that as an option.

Figure 41 displays responses regarding why
companies in seven markets might partner with
Moldovan IT firms, with respondents choosing up to
three options. The most popular reason, selected by
51 per cent of the respondents (501 mentions), is theperceived quality of IT services.

UK

This chapter looks at how the Moldovan IT
market is perceived by heads of companies
already operating in the country, as wellas C-level executives at internationalorganisations, foreign direct investment
advisers, site selection advisers and global
influencers. They also share their insights
regarding Moldova’s potential, value propositionand opportunities it offers.

to outsource IT services soon. Poland leads in futureinterest at 36 per cent, followed by Romania at 29 per
cent, and the UK at 28 per cent.

YesNo, but we plan to do so in the near future
No, and we don't plan to do soMany companies in these countries currently
outsource IT services, but there are differing levels
of interest in doing so in the future (see figure 39).
Germany and France have the highest current
outsourcing rates at 63 per cent, respectively, while
the UK has the lowest at 43 per cent. However, many
companies in all countries are considering or planning

Figure 42 highlights the top three reasons why
respondents from each of seven countries consider
partnering with Moldovan IT companies. The findings
emphasize the significance of quality services, costeffectiveness, and favourable labour conditions in
Moldova, along with the potential benefits linked
to its EU candidacy status and skilled workforce, in
attracting partnerships.

< 33 >

Figure 43. Main challenges related to the perception of
Moldovan IT companies' potential, capabilities, and value
proposition

Figure 44. Main three challenges to partnering with
Moldovan IT companies

Figure 45. Willingness of companies to outsouce from
Moldovan IT services and type of sector

Figure 46 provides insights into the outsourcing
from Moldovan IT companies preferences of different
types of organisations. Small and medium-sizedcompanies tend to lean towards keeping IT services
in-house, with 66 per cent of them expressing
a preference against outsourcing. In contrast,
multinational companies show a strong inclination
towards outsourcing, with 80 per cent considering
this option.

140
120
100
80
60

Large national companies and international
companies (present in not more than threemarkets) are less inclined to outsource comparedto multinational companies. Specifically, morethan a third of national companies and 30 per centof international companies would not consider
outsourcing. Conversely, two-thirds of large
national companies and 70 per cent of international
companies are open to the idea of outsourcing.

40

Other

Manufacturing

ICT andtelecommunications

Yes

Healthcare and pharma

Food and agriculture

No

Government/
public sector

Financial services
and insurance

Entertainment

EnergyConstruction andreal estateBusiness services

0E-commerce and retail20

fifth considering this option.

The data in figure 45 showcases the willingnessof companies across various sectors to consider
outsourcing IT services from Moldovan IT companies.
Leading the pack are ICT and telecommunications,with a significant 96 companies open to outsourcing,closely followed by e-commerce and retail, with 58
companies considering outsourcing.

Figure 43 illustrates the main challenges identified byrespondents regarding their perception of Moldovan IT
companies' potential, capabilities, and value proposition.
Each respondent could select up to three options.
The most prevalent challenges include a lack ofknowledge about the market's potential, regulatoryenvironment issues, and a skills gap in the talentpool. Other challenges encompass limited funding
and high interest rates, poor infrastructure, andnavigating the local business culture.
Respondents also highlighted challenges suchas inadequate international brand recognition,
retaining skilled talent and brain drain, and the lackof incentives. Less frequently mentioned challenges
include unstable local value chains, an unfavourable
tax regime, and insufficient global value chain
integration.

< 34 >

Meanwhile, figure 44 presents the primary threechallenges perceived by respondents in each of sevenmarkets regarding Moldovan IT companies' potential,
capabilities, and value proposition. Respondents
from France (33 per cent) and Poland (34 per cent)emphasize challenges in navigating local businessculture, while a lack of knowledge about market
potential is widespread, noted by respondents from
Germany (36.67 per cent), Poland (35 per cent),
Romania (32 per cent), Sweden (48 per cent), the UK(41.5 per cent), and the US (37.6 per cent).
Regulatory complexity is highlighted by respondents
from various countries, including France (32 percent), Germany (35.33 per cent), Poland (40 percent), Romania (31 per cent), the UK (39.5 per cent),
and the US (35.2 per cent).
Infrastructure deficiencies are notably mentioned
by respondents from Germany (32.67 per cent)and Romania (45 per cent), while challenges intalent retention and brain drain are emphasized byrespondents from France (32 per cent) and the US(35.2 per cent).
Limited funding and high interest rates are
mentioned by respondents from the US (32.8 percent), and a skills gap in the talent pool is noted byrespondents from Sweden (32 per cent).

On the flip side, energy and government/public
sector exhibit the least inclination towards
outsourcing from Moldovan companies, with only 17
and 23 companies respectively considering it.
Additionally, manufacturing sees a balanced stance,with 49 respondents open to outsourcing comparedto 31 that prefer to keep IT services in-house. Other
companies operating is sectors such as food andagriculture, entertainment, business services, andconstruction and real estate, also present mixed

Figure 47. Considering to outsourcing from IT companies in
Moldova and current outsourcing practices of companies

400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

No, and we don’t No, but we plan
to do so inplan to do so
the near futureNo

attitudes towards outsourcing.

Figure 46. Willingness of companies to outsouce from
Moldovan IT services and type of organisation
300
250

Yes

Yes

Figure 47 provides data on the number of companies
considering hiring or outsourcing IT services from IT
companies in Moldova and their current outsourcing
practices.
Some 365 companies that already outsource IT
services would consider doing so from IT companies
in Moldova. Moreover, 164 of them that do notcurrently outsource IT services would consider hiring
or outsource IT services from Moldova.

200
150
100
50
0

Start-ups, while showing a similar reluctance tooutsource like small and medium-sized companies,
exhibit a level of openness to outsourcing, with every

a largenational
company

a multinational
companya small/mediumcompanyNoYesa start-up an international
company (present
in not more than
three markets)

In addition, 117 that already outsource IT services
from abroad plan to outsource from Moldova in thenear future.123 that do not currently outsource
IT services from abroad do not plan to do so from
Moldova in the near future.

< 35 >

Among the companies that do not currently
outsource IT services, 194 do not either plan to hire
IT services from Moldova. Among the ones that do
not plan to outsource in Moldova, a mere 12 alreadyoutsource.

Figure 49. Outsourcing IT services and three main reasons
to partner with Moldovan IT companies

600

During a series of in-depth interviews with Moldova-based heads of international IT and techcompanies, C-level executives at international organisations, foreign direct investment advisers,
site selection advisers and global influencers, Emerging Europe asked about their perception of
the country’s IT sector and its capabilities.

500

Figure 48. Considering to partner with Moldovan IT
companies and three main challenges

400

200

200

300

180

Global perception

Yes; I'd consider

Unstable local value chains

Unfavourable tax regime

Retaining skilled talentand brain drain
Skills gap in talent pool

Regulatory environment

Poor infrastructure

Limited funding and highinterest rates
Local business culture

Lack of knowledge about
the market’s potential

Lack of incentives

embeddedness

No, I wouldn't consider

Figure 48 provides insights into whether thesurveyed companies would consider partneringwith IT companies from Moldova and the threemain challenges to doing so. Among the main
challenges mentioned is the lack of knowledge
about the market’s potential. Despite this, almost
every fifth company would consider partnering,
while a similar group would not. Similarly, some 17
per cent of companies would consider partnering
despite concerns about the regulatory environment,
compared to some 15 that would not.
Conversely, challenges like poor infrastructure
deter more companies, with almost 15 per centunwilling to partner compared to 12 per cent thatwould consider it. Other challenges that detercompanies from partnering rather than making themwilling to partner are insufficient global value chain
embeddedness, local business culture, unfavourable
tax regime, and unstable local value chains.

Transparent business practices
and fair competition

The quality education andcollaboration with universities

Quality of IT services

Moldova’s status as an EU
candidate country0

The IT sector’s inadequate
international brand recognition

20

Level of IT sector development

40

Labour costs

60

Geographic proximity

80

Data privacy and security
compliance100

Cultural proximity

Access to emerging markets

120

Accessible skilled talent0140Intellectual Property Protection

100

160

Yes
No, but we plan to do so in the near future
No, and we don't plan to do so

In figure 49 data reveals insights into theoutsourcing behaviour of companies in sevenmarkets regarding IT services, alongside theperceived motivations for partnering with Moldovan
IT firms.

David J Deadman
Mark Angus

CEO, Genesis Global Business
Services
It’s awesome from what I’ve heard, a beautiful
country. From a tourism perspective, it has a
lot to offer. If memory serves me correctly, it’s
famous for being a wine producer. [...] In my
experience, I haven’t really seen any marketingaround Moldova. I haven’t come across any
value propositions about the country. I knowthat it has a burgeoning BPO-CX industry.
The last time I checked, I think there were twoto three thousand people working in the BPO
sector (excluding ITO).

Among companies already engaged in outsourcing,
the primary reasons for collaborating with a
Moldovan entity include the perceived quality of IT
services (a third), operational cost effectiveness(almost 30 per cent), Moldova’s status as an EU
candidate country (almost 20 per cent), accessibilityof skilled talent (almost 16 per cent).

Lynda Arsenault

Among companies currently not outsourcing but
intending to do so in the near future, the leading
factors influencing their decision to engage
with a Moldovan IT partner are operational costeffectiveness, labour costs, and quality of IT
services.

I don't think I have ever seen Moldova at an
event. Based on my experience of working withvarious geographies it is essential to be seen, tobe talked about.

Also, for companies not presently outsourcing andlacking plans to do so, the top three reasons cited forconsidering partnership with a Moldovan IT company
are operational cost effectiveness, labour costs, andquality of IT services.

International FDI and
Outsourcing Adviser

As a country that has had the ability to provide
IT services for about 10-15 years, I’m aware that
Moldova has been growing and developing.

Anne Bibb

Co-Founder & COO, Ethos
SupportI have always been curious if Moldova had
the same infrastructure as Romania, Bulgaria,
or Georgia, if I could access the same typeof languages and resources. [...] That region
is great, whether it’s Romania, Bulgaria, orGeorgia. I have gone completely around
Moldova because it felt like the hole in thedoughnut; there was nothing for me to accessthere.

William Carson

Director of Market Engagement,
Ascensos

Wiktor Doktór
CEO, Pro Progressio

The first things that come to mymind are not connected to IT and Moldova.
I have absolutely no idea about the IT
environment in Moldova.

< 36 >

Procurement Director, RELXGroup

If there are technology aspects that Moldova
can genuinely point to and say ‘we do a lotof this,’ they might feel that if they focus ona niche, they might excel in that area while
missing out on other opportunities. It could
be in cybersecurity, for example. They shouldtell that story. Then people will recognise theirexpertise, and that expertise might lead to otheropportunities.

< 37 >

Loren Moss

Business Intelligence Adviser
I know very little about Moldova.
From a strictly businessperspective, I expect Moldova to be a lower-costversion of Romania. Being a neighbour, I amaware that the politics are somewhat different,
but I would expect to find similar talent although
not as deep a pool given its smaller size. I would
expect also the cost structure to be lower.

George Teodorescu
Elena Ivanova

Managing Director, Crunchyroll
Moldova
I can see that there is definitely a lot of potential
in Moldova. I believe it’s the people who makethis market impressive because we have talent.

Irina Strajescu

People and Communication
Director and HR Director,
MoldcellIt’s rewarding to hear that Moldova is second
after Estonia in the region when it comes to theshare of people employed in the economy.

Romek Lubaczewski
Olivier Prado

Founder and CEO, GPG Call
Centre & BPO Solutions;
President of the Board of theBusiness Leaders in Moldova
The economic environment in Moldova is known
for its friendliness and openness to business.

Retired Partner, PwC

The first time I went to Moldova, it
felt a bit like the first time I went to
Poland, Ukraine, Romania. It felt like Poland 30
years ago, Ukraine 20 years ago, 15, Romania
10 years ago. But I mean it as an advantage.
[...] One advantage is that there is not a lot ofcompetition, which can make you the big fish in
the small pond very quickly. The pool of skilled
people is very good and virtually untapped,
which is a great advantage. However, thechallenge will be on building leadership andmanagement teams.

Global Head of Risk andCompliance and Regional
Director for Moldova, Mixbook

The IT industry is blossoming in Moldova, andit’s a steady and bright spot in the country’s
economic and educational landscape. The
legislation optimizes taxation and allows for
maximum flexibility in employment matters– including specifically allowing for remote or
out-of-country employment, which allows local
IT firms to hire global talent and digital nomads.
This fosters a culture of employee loyalty, which
is just one of the many benefits for IT firms in
Moldova.

Shelli Ryan

Chief Executive Officer,
Founder, Ad Hoc Communication
Resources
I’m not familiar with [Moldova], but if they are
proficient in multiple languages, it would makesense to incorporate this in their customer
experience (CX). This capacity could enable
them to represent a great deal of clients acrossa variety of regions worldwide.

Elias Van Herwaarden

Head of Location Strategy,
Occupier Services EMEA, ColliersInternational
I can imagine Moldova isn’t exactly the ITor tech capital of the world. My position on
Moldova is that I will continue to showcase it infront of my clients to see if they are interested ininvestigating further.

Peter Ryan

Global BPO Adviser, President
and Principal Analyst, Ryan
Strategic Advisory
Moldova has been one of those countries thathas really fascinated me for quite some time.
Given the heritage of the country, and quite
frankly, the very strong levels of IT skills that you
can find on the ground, I’ve always thought it
could be a potential hub for like a mini hub, aniche hub for certain types of IT services.

< 38 >Olga Surugiu
Stephen Loynd
Founder and Principal,
TrendzOwl

I have not thought much about
Moldova, but if it’s mentioned to me, it would
be in the context of countries in that regionof the world, as well as countries like Estonia
that have done more and have a higher profile.
[...] I don’t have deep enough knowledge toconsider Moldova as a next-tier potential placein the world of IT, even though technologies are
spreading so quickly.

CEO, Orange Moldova,
Vice President, Moldovan
Association of ICT Companies
There are a lot of advantages because we now
have a very good political environment. [...]
When you teach behaviour that leads to value
creation, it becomes clear that cultural proximitywith our customers—most of whom are from theEuropean Union—plays a significant role.

Joel Walker

Co-Founder and Chief Operating
Officer, The Knowledge GroupThe IT sector in Moldova is clearly very mature.
When I think about outsourcing, I dividethat into two main domains: help desk andcustomer-facing IT for internal or externalcustomers, and then ADM, which I’d callapplication development and maintenance.
Essentially, it’s more classic softwaredevelopment.

< 39 >Strengthening the value
proposition
Emerging Europe also asked the C-level
executives and experts about how the
Moldovan IT sector could corroborate its
offering and reinforce its position on the
global market.

Peter Ryan

Global BPO Adviser, President
and Principal Analyst, Ryan
Strategic Advisory

Mark Angus

CEO, Genesis Global Business
Services
You’d want to ensure that you
clearly identify and articulate your value
proposition to make it stand out.

Cristina Ceban

Talent Acquisition Lead, Endava
To ensure talent availability in Moldova, it’s
important to invest in IT education programmes,
foster partnerships between universities andindustry for practical skill development andcreate a supportive ecosystem that encourages
innovation.

If they can communicate the presence of astrong ecosystem capable of supporting small
and medium-sized enterprises with their various
needs—whether AI or other services – it would
enhance their appeal or image. [...] There needs
to be a concerted effort raising of the gamewithin the country to elevate its image andpresent a professional organised front to theworld. Moldova should showcase its educatedtalent force that can undertake and excel incomplex projects.

Alexandru Gozun

Head of PwC Moldova Office,Director Business and Public
Sector Advisory Services,
President, Amcham Moldova
We need to build a proper communication
strategy, and we can do it. We already havechampions.

David J Deadman

Joel Walker

Co-Founder and Chief Operating
Officer, The Knowledge GroupTo truly make an impact on a larger scale wemust strive for something truly outstanding. We
need a claim—a value proposition—that sets us
apart, much like Estonia’s renowned 100 per
cent digital service offering, which continues toinspire awe. [...] We must integrate in a broader
context to distinguish ourselves as a countryof 2.5 million people, situated between Eastand West, still possessing a potential to make atransformative impact.

Shelli Ryan

Chief Executive Officer,
Founder, Ad Hoc Communication
Resources

Stephen Loynd
Founder and Principal,
TrendzOwl

Now, if they are very interested and motivated,
they should start by refreshing and updating
their message to talk about their changing
landscape.

< 40 >

CEO, Orange Moldova, Vice
President, Moldovan Associationof ICT Companies

If it’s a non-EU country, I thinkpeople will be interested to understand data
privacy, ITIP protections, data protection
regulations.

Procurement Director, RELXGroup
[When I look for new providers],
I’m looking for a company that either provides
standard technology services like .Net or Java.
I'm more interested in companies that havemore esoteric skills and a strong focus on
quality, client satisfaction and efficient delivery.

Olga Surugiu

Elias Van Herwaarden
Head of Location Strategy,
Occupier Services EMEA, ColliersInternational

Provide us with tours so we canthen come back to your country and explain
to our clients who are looking for maybe acompetitive price point.

Efforts should focus on enhancing the local
talent pool, mirroring the successful models
seen in many other cities across Central Europe,
which have demonstrated a track record ofachievement in this area.

< 41 >

Technologies and services
delivered from Moldova
This chapter looks at the strengths of
the Moldovan IT sector, the services andtechnologies it provides, as well as the verticals
in which it operates.

The IT industry might be quite diverse as far as services
and technologies are concerned but e-commerce,
Fintech and mobile software development comprisealmost a third. Trade, telecommunications, transportand entertainment are the leading industries and — as
the IT sector is export-oriented — the vast majority ofcompanies deliver B2B projects.

Figure 53. Types of activity of companies in the MITP, 2023

Next, the number of fields in which SMEs operate isconsidered. As with individual entrepreneurs, themajority by and large operate in just one field. The
exception is for the biggest SMEs, those with 100250 employees, where the highest number operates
in three fields.
Figure 55. Share of the number of sectors of SMEs

VerticalsThis graph shows the fields of activity in which
companies in the MITP operate. Note that one
company can operate in more than one field ofactivity. The most widespread fields of activity aretrade, telecommunications and entertainment.
Figure 51. Fields of activity of companies in the MITP, 2023

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Technologies
The following graph shows which technologies
companies in the MITP make us of. Note thatcompanies often make use of more than one of thetechnologies listed.
Figure 50. Technologies used by companies in the MITP,
2023

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Source: MITP

Types of projects
Here, the share of types of projects carried out by
firms in the MITP is shown. As above, companies may
carry out more than one type of project.
Figure 52. Types of project of companies in the MITP, 2023

4%
B2G

15%
B2C

The following figure shows the number of fields
in which individual entrepreneurs operate – thehorizontal axis indicates the number of sectors
in which individual entrepreneurs are active, andthe vertical axis shows the share of individual
entrepreneurs who are active in the respective
number of sectors. The same is applicable for thefollowing figures. More than half (almost 52 per cent)of all individual entrepreneurs operate in just one field.

Finally, the following figure depicts big companies
by the number of sectors in which they are active.
In contrast to individual entrepreneurs and SMEs,
there is no trend. Some big companies have few
specialties, while others operate in several.
Figure 56. Share of the number of sectors of big companies

Figure 54. Share of the number of sectors of individual
entrepreneurs

81%
B2B

Source: MITP

Source: MITP

Confidence survey
The next figure shows the structure of the types ofactivity of respondents to our Confidence Survey.
It shows that the most widespread fields are
e-commerce, fintech and mobile software—similar to
the MITP’s internal statistics.

< 42 >

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey

Source: Emerging Europe Confidence Survey< 43 >

Regional positioning ofMoldova’s IT Sector
together with the growing number of IT companies andincreasing exports, shows a positive trend.

In this chapter, we look at how the Moldovan IT
sector performs in comparison with its regional
peers across a number of indicators looking
at talent and skills, IT infrastructure, businessenvironment, economic impact, as well as theapproach to sustainability.

Sustainability and Environmental, Social andGovernance (ESG), which are high on the agenda forthe vast majority of global companies, appear to be
on track in Moldova too. In the Planet componentof the Sustainability, the country ranks third in theemerging Europe region.

Even though the chapter explores the entire emerging
Europe region with 23 countries, it focuses on Moldova’sneighbours and other economies similar in size and thedevelopment of the IT sector: Albania, Belarus, Georgia,
North Macedonia, Romania and Ukraine.
IT infrastructure is Moldova's strength. In thatcomponent of the IT Competitiveness Index, thecountry ranks 7th, and only Romania, among Moldova’s
direct competitors, ranks higher. Overall, Moldova's
position in the Index has improved over the years, which

IT Competitiveness
In Emerging Europe’s IT Competitiveness Index for 2023,
Moldova took 17th place of the 23 countries includedin the ranking, ahead of Armenia and below North
Macedonia. Across the various metrics, Moldova’s score
was consistent, ranking between 16th and 18th places.

Figure 57. IT competitiveness Index, 2023

Rank Country
TOTAL Talent
1
Estonia64.4
25.1
2 Poland
60.9
26.1
3 Czechia
59.2
23.7
4 Lithuania
57.7
21.0
5 Slovenia
57.3
22.6
6 Romania
57.1
23.1
7
Slovakia
55.9
23.6
8 Latvia
55.8
22.4
9 Hungary
55.2
22.7
10 Kosovo
55.0
27.6
11 Bulgaria
53.5
20.8
12 Serbia
52.5
22.9
13 Croatia
52.0
20.9
14 Ukraine
51.6
22.3
15 Belarus
51.3
23.3
16 North Macedonia
45.7
19.6
17 Moldova
44.8
15.6
18 Armenia
44.0
18.4
19 Georgia
42.7
12.2
20 Montenegro
38.9
12.6
21 Azerbaijan
38.7
11.3
22 Albania
38.2
12.9
23 Bosnia and Herzegovina 33.9
12.7
Source: Emerging Europe< 44 >IT Infrastructure Economic Impact Business Environment
12.5
9.5
17.3
12.6
8.2
14.0
9.6
9.2
16.7
13.3
7.7
15.8
9.9
8.2
16.7
12.5
9.6
11.9
9.7
8.0
14.6
9.0
8.0
16.4
11.8
7.9
12.8
10.3
9.7
7.4
12.0
8.8
11.9
9.4
8.8
11.4
8.6
8.8
13.6
9.9
10.3
9.1
10.2
9.6
8.3
6.4
8.6
11.1
11.3
8.0
9.8
7.6
7.2
10.7
6.2
10.0
14.4
5.6
9.2
11.6
7.1
11.5
8.7
6.6
9.3
9.4
4.8
9.2
7.2

Figure 58. English proficiency Index, 2023

Talent
The number of ICT students per 100,000 inhabitants,
for the period 2017-2021 in Moldova showed an average
growth rate of 5.8 per cent, almost 0.5 percentage
points higher than the emerging Europe average. In thismetric, Moldova performed better than its neighbours
and some competitors—Albania, Belarus, Ukraine andRomania, but worse than Georgia. Over the same timeframe Romania also saw higher growth than Moldova inthe number of ICT graduates per 100,000 inhabitants.
Of persons employed in ICT as a percentage of all people
employed in the economy, Moldova had the second
highest share in the region —4.4 per cent, 0.35 percentage
points more than in the emerging Europe region as awhole. Here, Moldova is outperformed only by Estonia.
Moldova also saw more growth in the number ofpeople employed in ICT (as a percentage of thetotal workforce) compared to its neighbours andcompetitors, with the exception of Albania.
In 2023, Moldova took 13th place out of 17 countries
in the region in English proficiency. Out of Moldova’scompetitors which were indicated at the beginning of
the chapter, Albania and Ukraine performed worse.

Country
Croatia
PolandRomania
Bulgaria
Hungary
Slovakia
Lithuania
Estonia
SerbiaCzechia
Georgia
Belarus
Moldova
Albania
UkraineArmenia
Azerbaijan

Score
603
598
596
589
588
587
576
570
569
565
541
539
536
533
530
528
463

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

Source: Education First (only countries from emerging Europe region included in
the Index are listed)

In PISA testing (a new round of which was performed in 2022), pupils from Moldova took 13th place out of 20
countries in the region by overall score, 14th place in mathematics and science and 13th place in reading. Thereis an improvement compared to the previous PISA round in 2018, when Moldova took 15th place by overall score,
17th place in mathematics and 14th in reading.
Figure 59. PISA score, 2022

PISA score, 2022, mathematics
Country
Score Rank
Estonia
510
1
Poland489
2Czechia487
3
Slovenia
485
4
Latvia483
5
Lithuania
475
6
Hungary473
7
Slovakia
464
8
Croatia
463
9
Ukraine441
10
Serbia440
11
Romania
428
12Bulgaria
417
13
Moldova414
14Montenegro
406
15
Azerbaijan
397
16Georgia390
17
North Macedonia
389
18
Albania368
19
Kosovo355
20

PISA score, 2022, science
Country
Score
Estonia
526
Slovenia
500
Poland499
Czechia
498
Latvia494
Hungary486
Lithuania
484
Croatia483
Slovakia
462
Ukraine450
Serbia447
Romania
428
Bulgaria
421
Moldova
417
Montenegro
403
Georgia
384
Azerbaijan
380
North Macedonia
380
Albania
376
Kosovo
357

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

PISA score, 2022, reading
Country
Score Rank
Estonia511
1
Poland489
2Czechia489
2
Latvia475
4
Croatia475
4
Hungary473
6
Lithuania
472
7
Slovenia469
8
Slovakia
447
9
Serbia440
10
Ukraine428
11
Romania428
11
Moldova411
13Montenegro
405
14Bulgaria
404
15
Georgia
374
16
Azerbaijan
365
17North Macedonia
359
18
Albania358
19
Kosovo342
20

Source: PISA

< 45 >

Figure 60. Total results, PISA 2022

CountrySum

Estonia
PolandCzechia
Slovenia
LatviaHungary
Lithuania
Croatia
Slovakia
SerbiaUkraineRomania
Bulgaria
Moldova
Montenegro
Georgia
Azerbaijan
North Macedonia
Albania
Kosovo

1547
1477
1474
1454
1452
1432
1431
1421
1373
1327
1319
1284
1242
1242
1214
1148
1142
1128
1102
1054

Figure 62. ICT services exports, share of GDP

Mathematics, % of Science, % of Sum of three categories, Moldova’s ranking
Moldovan Result Moldova result% of Moldova result
by overall score123.19%118.12%117.63%117.15%116.67%114.25%114.73%111.84%112.08%106.28%106.52%103.38%100.72%100.00%98.07%
94.20%
95.89%
93.96%
88.89%
85.75%

126.14%119.66%
119.42%119.90%118.47%116.55%116.07%115.83%110.79%107.19%107.91%102.64%100.96%100.00%96.64%
92.09%
91.13%
91.13%
90.17%
85.61%

124.33%118.98%118.98%114.11%115.57%115.09%114.84%115.57%108.76%107.06%104.14%104.14%98.30%
100.00%98.54%
91.00%
88.81%
87.35%
87.10%
83.21%

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
13
15
16
17
18
19
20

Source: PISA

Economic impact

In the following graph, the share of services export of
GDP is analysed. Moldova’s services export share is
the third biggest among its main competitors.

Figure 61. Services exports, share of GDP

Source: World Bank

The next figure represents the output and value added per employee in ICT in 2021. Moldova performs poorly—
20th by output of ICT and 22nd by value added.
Figure 63. Output per employee in ICT per month,euros, 2021

1

Estonia

Comparison
Ranking Country
to Moldova
11 064584%
1
Estonia2

Romania

10 677

Position Country

Figure 62 shows the share of ICT sector exports as a percentage of GDP. Moldova has the third largest shareamong competing countries. In addition, Moldova’s share of ICT in GDP saw a higher pace of growth than theemerging Europe region average.

Comparison
Ranking
to Moldova
6 403
590%
1

Romania

6 090

Euros

564%

2

Euros

561%

2

3

Czechia

9 795

517%

3

Czechia

5 930

546%

3

4

Slovenia

8 730

461%

4

Slovenia

5 087

468%

4

5

Croatia

7 946

420%

5

Croatia

4 482

413%

5

6

Bulgaria

7 233

382%

6

Latvia

4 191

386%

6

7

Poland

7 099

375%

7

Slovakia

4 082

376%

7

8

Lithuania

6 975

368%

8

Poland

3 851

355%

8

9

Slovakia

6 757

357%

9

Kosovo

3 786

349%

9

10

Latvia

6 485

343%

10

Hungary

3 537

326%

10

11

Hungary

5 948

314%

11

Bulgaria

3 501

322%

11

12

Albania

5 396

285%

12

3 190

294%

12

13

Montenegro

5 103

270%

13

Montenegro
Bosnia andHerzegovina

2 618

241%

13

4 954

262%

14

Georgia

2 472

228%

14

4 587

242%

15

Lithuania

2 340

215%

15

15

Bosnia andHerzegovina
Serbia16

Ukraine

4 295

227%

16

Albania

2 284

210%

16

17

Georgia

3 354

177%

17

Ukraine

2 209

203%

17

18

Belarus

3 126

165%

18

Belarus

2 165

199%

18

19

North Macedonia

2827

149%

19

Serbia

2 046

188%

19

20

Moldova

1 893

100%

20

North Macedonia

1 382

127%

20

21

Armenia

1 606

85%

21

Azerbaijan

1 092

101%

21

22

Azerbaijan

1 568

83%

22

Moldova

1 086

100%

22

23

Kosovo

1 356

72%

23

Armenia

1 008

93%

23

Emerging Europe

6 469

342%

Emerging Europe 3 668

338%

14

Source: World Bank

Figure 64. Value added per employee in ICT per month,euros, 2021

Source: Emerging Europe< 46 >< 47 >

Figure 65. Emerging Europe Sustainability Index

Infrastructure

Business environment

In the IT Competitiveness Index 2023, Moldova had
the third-best internet speeds in the region, behind
only Romania and Hungary. Moldova was also in 2022
ahead of Albania, Georgia, Romania, Belarus andUkraine in the Online Services Index.

The ICT Regulatory Tracker in 2022 assigned 90
points to Moldova, 2.2 points more than the emerging
Europe average. Moldova performed better than
Albania, Belarus and Ukraine, but worse than
Romania and Georgia. However, the gap between
Moldova and Georgia is 0.5 points, and to Romania– 1 point, which is a marginal difference. From theperspective of the Human Development Index, theonly neighbouring and/or competing country which
performed worse than Moldova, is Ukraine.

Economic impact

Sustainability and ESG

The share of the ICT sector in value added in
Moldova’s GDP was 5.34 per cent in 2021, morethan 0.7 percentage points higher than the regional
average and sixth best in the region – after Belarus,
Estonia, Bulgaria, Romania and Czechia.
The average growth rate for this indicator for 20172021 in Moldova is also 0.6 percentage points
higher than the regional average. If countries which
outperformed Moldova from the perspective of
the share of ICT in GDP are compared, Moldova’s
workforce in this sector in 2021 is cheaper: in Belarus,
the average salary in ICT is 45 per cent higher (it was
1,058.6 euros per month in Moldova), in Estonia –almost 165 per cent higher, in Bulgaria – almost 80
per cent higher, in Romania – higher almost by 108 per
cent, and in Czechia it was 147 per cent higher.

(Environmental, Social and Governance)
Moldova is 13th in the Emerging Europe Sustainability
Index. It ranks 20th in the People category (educationand healthcare), third in Planet (sustainable lifestyles
and green energy), 14th in Prosperity (people-firsteconomy and inclusive entrepreneurship), eighth inPeace (world order, democracy and the rule of law
and media freedom) and 18th in Partnership (regional
collaboration and modern leadership). In the overall
ranking, Moldova outperformed Albania, Belarus andUkraine.

Total Index
Country
Estonia
Slovenia
Czechia
LatviaLithuania
Slovakia
Croatia
PolandHungaryMontenegro
Romania
Armenia
Moldova
N. Macedonia
Bulgaria
Albania
SerbiaKosovoGeorgia
BiH
UkraineBelarus
Azerbaijan

Points
78.2
70.1
69.9
69.1
68.9
65.5
62.5
61.6
56.9
56.4
55.8
52.3
51.7
51.3
51.1
50.9
50.9
50.1
49.7
44.1
42.0
40.5
31.0

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Prosperity
Country
Points Rank
Estonia
88.3
1
Slovenia
58.3
2
Czechia57.2
3
Lithuania
56.5
4
Latvia55.1
5Poland53.6
6
Slovakia
52.8
7
Croatia51.3
8
Romania47.8
9N. Macedonia
40.9
10Montenegro
40.7
11
Hungary
40.2
12
Serbia36.5
13
Moldova
34.7
14
Kosovo34.0
15Bulgaria
32.9
16Georgia
32.7
17
Armenia
32.2
18
BiH
28.3
19
Belarus28.2
20
Albania
27.8
21
Ukraine24.2
22
Azerbaijan
17.1
23

PeopleCountry
PointsEstonia
82.3
Czechia
80.2
Slovenia
76.4
Poland72.1
Lithuania
68.8
Croatia
65.7
Latvia64.9
Slovakia
64.3
Montenegro
62.7
Hungary
60.5
Serbia58.2
Belarus
55.6
Armenia
51.7
Bulgaria
51.4
N. Macedonia
51.1
Romania
50.8
Kosovo50.3
Albania
50.1
BiH
48.4
Moldova
41.1
Georgia
40.8
Ukraine39.1
Azerbaijan
35.3

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

Peace
Country
Points Rank
Estonia
89.9
1
Czechia82.6
2
Lithuania
82.2
3
Latvia81.2
4
Slovakia
78.5
5
Slovenia
76.6
6
Croatia
67.4
7
Moldova
63.7
8Bulgaria
62.8
9Poland61.2
10
Romania59.6
11
Kosovo58.3
12Montenegro
57.4
13
Georgia
56.9
14
Armenia55.3
15
N. Macedonia
54.7
16
Hungary
53.9
17
Albania51.1
18
Bosnia and Herzegovina 48.5
19
Ukraine44.3
20
Serbia43.9
21
Azerbaijan
25.5
22Belarus10.4
23

PlanetCountry
PointsAlbania
75.0
Armenia71.5
Moldova
70.7
Croatia
69.3
Latvia68.9
Romania
67.8
Hungary
67.5
Montenegro
67.5
Georgia
65.3
Slovenia
65.2
Azerbaijan
63.7
Belarus63.1
Kosovo62.7
Slovakia
61.9
Serbia61.6
Poland60.4
Lithuania
58.4
Czechia
56.5
N. Macedonia
56.4
Ukraine55.0
Estonia
54.2
BiH
53.0
Bulgaria
46.0

Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23

PartnershipCountry
Points Rank
Lithuania
78.5
1
Estonia76.1
2
Latvia75.4
3
Slovenia
74.1
4
Czechia73.3
5
Slovakia
70.3
6Bulgaria
62.5
7
Hungary
62.2
8
Poland60.7
9
Croatia
58.7
10
Serbia54.1
11Montenegro
53.8
12
N. Macedonia
53.4
13
Romania52.8
14Georgia52.7
15
Armenia
50.9
16
Albania50.4
17
Moldova
48.4
18
Ukraine47.3
19Belarus45.3
20
Kosovo
45.1
21
BiH
42.4
22
Azerbaijan
13.4
23

Source: Emerging Europe< 48 >< 49 >

An overview of incentives
in Moldova and selected
countries in the region• Poland has property tax exemptions in special
economic zones and on the municipality level for
newly started businesses as part of de minimis
aid to support the development of modern
technologies, innovations and research anddevelopment activities.

Tax Exemptions
Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Exemptions:• Moldova offers a single tax on sales income toresidents of the Moldova Innovation Technology
Park (MITP) and their employees, set at afavourable rate of seven per cent. This tax
streamlines the taxation process by replacing
seven other taxes and fees, including corporatetax, personal income tax, social security andhealth insurance contributions at the level of
employer and employee, local taxes, road taxes,
and real estate taxes (see Doing business in IT on
page 62).
• Belarus offers zero per cent corporate income tax
until 2049.
• Georgia exempts IT companies (after obtaining
virtual zone status) from CIT, for income received
through services provided abroad.

for earnings up to 120,000 Polish złoty, and 32
per cent for amounts above that. The IT industry
often chooses the IP BOX for its five per cent PIT/CIT tax rate. Limited liability companies in B2B
cooperation can choose from nine per cent CIT,
IP BOX relief with five per cent tax, or flat-rate
income tax at 8.5 per cent (for companies using an
individual’s assets).
• Slovakia provides corporate income tax relief for
projects lasting up to five years (or up to sevenyears for larger projects). Companies must apply
to the Ministry of Economy, and the relief lasts
for a maximum of ten consecutive tax periods,
starting no later than the third year after approval.
Annual relief is capped at 20 per cent of the total
corporate income tax.
• Ukraine provides companies in Diia City with achoice between the 'classic' corporate income tax,
or profit tax, charged at a rate of 18 per cent, or the
corporate income tax on special conditions, often
called withholding tax, which has a lower rate ofnine per cent.

• Moldova offers zero VAT rate to the export of goods
and services.

• Belarus offers a zero per cent property and landtax until 2049 for assets within the Hi-Tech Park.
• Estonia taxes land with rates varying from 0.1 percent to 1.0 per cent annually.

• Estonia taxes only dividends, not earnings
reinvested in the company.

• Lithuania offers local incentives for property tax
exemption.

• Latvia also has zero per cent CIT on reinvested
profits. The taxation of corporate profitis
postponed until those profits are distributed as
dividends or deemed to be distributed.

• Latvia provides various property tax exemptions,
including those within its five special economic
zones offering an 80 per cent rebate on property
tax, potentially reducing rates to as low as
0.3 per cent of the cadastral price until 2035.
Municipalities offer exemptions with rebates
ranging from 0 per cent to 90 per cent for newly
established businesses.

• Poland offers various income tax options,
including IP BOX relief and flat-rate income tax.
For sole proprietorships, income tax is 12 per cent< 50 >• Bulgaria offers VAT exemptions on IT/software
services and products.
• Georgia offers preferential tax regimes forexporters of IT service: a five per cent corporatetax, zero per cent on dividends, five per centpersonal income tax, and zero per cent VAT.
• Estonia has various VAT rates and special schemesfor e-commerce. A zero per cent VAT rate also
applies to services provided outside Estonia.

Training and Skills Development Credit:• Estonia allows the deduction of training expenses
related to professional or vocational competence,with specific criteria for eligibility.
• Lithuania does not offer tax credits for trainings,
but some individual upskilling programmes may beavailable.
• Poland exempts certain benefits financedby employers for improving professional
qualifications from personal income tax.
• Slovakia provides contributions for training
employees from the local labour office, withspecific eligible costs and conditions.

Import Duty Exemptions:• Belarus offers zero per cent customs duty on
imported IT equipment until 2049.

Investment Tax Credit:• Bulgaria has no customs duty on imported VAT on
IT/software services and products.

• Belarus offers investment tax credits in a generalorder.

• Georgia imposes a zero per cent import tax onlisted products.

• Estonia imposes a zero per cent tax on retained
and reinvested profits.

• Poland does not provide tax exemptions on
the import of hardware and software, but if
the purchaser of computer software is the end
user, then such a purchase does not qualify forwithholding tax.

Property Tax Exemptions:• Moldova exempts IT park residents from realestate tax.

• Slovakia offers a superdeduction incentive for
R&D. Before 2018, taxpayers could deduct only
25 per cent of eligible R&D costs if they had tax
losses. Since January 1, 2018, they can deduct 100
per cent. This was further increased to 200 per
cent for R&D costs from 2020 onwards.

Export-related Tax Exemptions:• Belarus offers zero per cent export tax until 2049.

This chapter looks at IT-related incentives
offered by Moldova and compares them withthose offered by several other countries in theemerging Europe region: Belarus, Bulgaria,
Estonia, Georgia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.

also retroactive and can be used to pay personal
income tax liabilities for R&D employees.

Tax deductions
Investment Deductions:

Tax Credits
R&D Tax Credit:• Belarus offers R&D tax credits within the legal
framework of the Hi-Tech Park.
• Lithuania offers a triple R&D expenses deduction– a 300 per cent deduction of eligible R&D
expenditures.
• Poland provides R&D relief for start-ups and R&D
centres, offering deductions for specific eligible
costs that can be deducted in the current year
or carried forward up to six years. The relief is• Estonia offers a basic exemption from taxable
income up to 6,000 euros per calendar year.
• Lithuania provides a temporary incentive allowing
companies to reduce taxable profit up to 100 per
cent for investment projects in fixed assets.
• Poland offers relief for robotisation andprototypes, allowing deductions from the tax basefor expenses incurred in these areas.
• Slovakia provides a special tax regime forcompanies with R&D operations, allowing
additional deduction of R&D costs from theincome tax base.

< 51 >

Depreciation Deductions:• Estonia's CIT system does not require depreciation
rules, but there are no limits on carrying forward
losses.
• Lithuania offers accelerated depreciation for R&D
assets, with depreciation time depending on the
category of assets.
• Poland allows depreciation write-offs for various IT
assets, including electronic equipment, software,and licenses, with specific depreciation rates andmethods.

Financial Grants & Subsidies
Start-up Grants:• Moldova offers to technological start-ups accessto financial resources from the Fund for Supportof Digital Innovation and Technological Start-ups,
which operates under government-approved
regulations.
• Estonia offers funding support throughvarious programmes such as the Eurostars
product development programme, the productdevelopment programme, and support for thedigital transformation of companies.
• Georgia provides grants through innovation
co-financing and FDI grants implemented by
LEPL Enterprise Georgia/Invest in Georgia,
including cashback of up to 15 per cent of capital
expenditures and workforce training costs, with
ICT being one of the eligible sectors.
• Latvia offers funding through European Funds
for Social Development and European Funds for a
Modern Economy.
• Poland provides support through European
Funds for a Modern Economy, including measures
like Startup Booster Poland and Innovator'sLaboratory.
• Slovakia offers support through several
programmes, including European Funds for Social
Development and measures aimed at digitisationand cross-border cooperation.

• Estonia offers grants through programmes like EIC
Accelerator, Innowwide, and development grants.
• Georgia provides grants through various
programmes such as innovation co-financing
grants and export promotion initiatives.
• Latvia offers innovation grants for companies,
including ICT firms.
• Poland provides support through Regional
Operational Programmes, Horizon 2020, and othergovernment grant programmes.
• Slovakia offers support through programmes
aimed at digitisation, research, and innovation.

Export Promotion Subsidies:• Moldova has a programme supporting export
promotion activities including co-funding from thestate for the participation of private companies
in exhibitions, summits, B2B meetings andconferences. Also, it has a zero per cent VAT rate
for exported goods and services.
• Belarus provides subsidies for IT firms exporting
software/services internationally within the legal
framework of the Hi-Tech Park.
• Estonia offers support for export activities throughmeasures such as workshops in various languages
and business consultation services. Also, Estonia
has a zero per cent VAT rate for exported goods.
• Georgia supports export promotion activities
through participation in international trade fairs
and exhibitions (organised by LEPL Enterprise
Georgia)• Latvia provides support for export activities
through programmes aimed at promotinginternational competitiveness.
• Lithuania provides measures aimed at export
promotion activities, such as for the identificationof new export markets, product certification andfor products exhibitions held abroad.
• Poland offers support for export promotion
through programmes such as Internationalisationof SMEs (Eastern Poland), Industry Promotion
Programmes, and the Polish Economy Brand
Programme.
• Ukraine provides support for export promotion
activities through state and donors funds.

Innovation Grants:• Moldova provides financing to SMEs on threethematic financing components including
progress in R&D related to green technology,
digital innovation, and sustainable production.

< 52 >

Special economic and technologydevelopment zones, high-techzones, and science and technologyparks
IT-specific zones/parks:• Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP) offers
residents several benefits, including the flexibility
to work from anywhere in Moldova, remote
working from abroad, simplified tax administration
with a single seven per cent tax on sales
revenue replacing seven other taxes, and easy
employment of foreign nationals through the IT
Visa Programme. No payroll taxes are due neither
by the employer, nor by its employees. Salaries are
not subject to any salary withholdings and, thus,
the gross and net salaries equal, while employes
enjoy full state health insurance and limited social
security benefits.
• The Belarus’ Hi-Tech Park offers a special legal
regime for IT companies across the country.
• Estonia hosts several science and business parks
including Tehnopol Science and Business Park,
Tartu Science Park, and Ülemiste City.
• Latvia has five special Economic Zones (SEZs),
including Riga Free Port, Ventspils Free Port,
Liepaja Special Economic Zone, Rezekne Special
Economic Zone, and Latgale Special Economic
Zone. They offer tax Incentives such as 80 per
cent of rebate on the applicable CIT, which canmake the tax rate as low as four per cent, 80 per
cent rebate on the applicable property tax which
can make the tax rate as low as 0.3 per cent.
• In Poland, the Polish Investment Zone (PSI) has
been in operation since 2018; IT companies andshared services centres can benefit from theseincentives. It provides income tax exemptions for
up to 70 per cent of the investment value for aperiod of 10-15 years.
• Ukraine’s Diia City offers a legal and tax regime
specifically tailored for IT companies. Benefits
for its residents include 5 per cent income tax, asocial security fee (22 per cent of the minimum
wage,) nine per cent exit corporate tax or 18 percent income tax.
• In Lithuania, free economic zones (FEZs) offer CIT
tax exemption for up to 10 years and a 50 per cent
CIT rate reduction for the following six years forcompanies that meet specific investment criteria.

Free Trade Zones:• Belarus: There are seven Free Trade Zones inBelarus, providing relaxed customs regulations forinternational IT trade.
• Estonia: Estonia has three Free Trade Zones
located in different parts of the country, monitoredby the Estonian Tax and Customs Board, offering
benefits like VAT exemption for goods destined forre-export.

Intellectual Property Rights
IP Box Regime:• Lithuania provides a reduced corporate income tax
rate for profits earned from qualified intellectual
property rights developed through R&D activities.
• Poland implements an IP BOX regime where a
reduced tax rate of five per cent applies to income
generated from qualified intellectual property
rights, including copyrights to computer programs,
patents, and industrial designs.

Patent Box:
• Poland offers incentives for income derived frompatents, utility patents, designs, and software,
including a reduction in the taxable base for suchincome.
• Slovakia introduces a regime where income from
granting the right for using patents, utility patents,
design and software patents, utility patents,
designs, and software can benefit from a reduced
tax rate. In case of cooperation (of more subjects)
on the research, the amount of eligible income is
proportionally reduced.

Employment Incentives
Employment Tax Credits:• In Moldova, IT Park resident companies offer salary
packages to their employees that are exemptedfrom all payroll taxes. Moreover, the country
operates an IT Visa Programme. This programme
enables foreign nationals employed by MITP
residents to secure a work permit either for four
years (managers/founders/board of directors'
members) or for two years (specialists) under< 53 >

simplified immigration procedures lasting about
one month. Family members (parents, spouse, andchildren) of the employees are also eligible for thisprogramme.
• Belarus has no specific employment tax credits
but offers simplified procedures for employing
foreign specialists in Hi-Tech Park, allowing them
to be employed as easily as local employees. Also,
the Hi-Tech Park residents enjoy reduced incometax (nine per cent instead of 13 per cent) andsocial contributions (seven per cent instead of 35
per cent) on their salaries.
• Estonia offers a tax system that is uniform to
all sectors. There are no tax cuts nor benefits. It
offers the Work in Estonia programme, which may
include tax incentives or benefits for employees.
• Latvia provides incentives for hiring foreign
specialists with a gross salary above acertain threshold through salary co-financing
programmes. Also, it provides a low flat social
tax incentive for start-ups and eligible start-up
employees enjoy a zero per cent individual income
tax rate.

Regulatory & Administrative
Incentives• Moldova: Business registration can be done in
72 hours, and the process can be completed
electronically.
• Belarus: Expedited licensing is available within the
Hi-Tech Park.
• Georgia: Business registration processes inGeorgia are generally fast, taking one day.
• Estonia: The Estonian Investment Agency helps
expedite the licensing process for strategicallyimportant investors.
• Latvia: Business registration can be completed
within 1-3 days, and the process can be conducted
electronically.

• Ukraine’s DIIA.City provides employment
incentives such as a personal income tax at therate of five per cent.

• Belarus: IT companies within the Hi-Tech Park
benefit from reduced bureaucratic procedures andsimplified compliance.

Employee Stock Ownership Plans:• Estonia: Various measures are in place to simplify
compliance, including digital signatures for legal
documents, online reporting and taxation, andthe Estonian Information System Authority (RIA)
ensuring security and implementing measures tosafeguard digital identities and transactions.

• Moldova: MITP residents should submit only one
report on the single tax to the fiscal office, insteadof seven different reports (on taxes included in
the single tax), as well as a unique transaction of asingle tax to the state budget.

• Latvia offers a green corridor for priority
investment projects that included two times
faster administrative procedures for construction,
migration procedures, and spatial planning.

• Latvia’s tax treatment of share options is outlinedin certain regulations.
• In Poland employees receiving shares from thecompany may face taxation based on the specificprogramme and provisions. There are provisions
allowing for deferring tax payment deadlines until
shares are sold.
• In Ukraine some companies offer the opportunity
for employees to buy company shares as a form ofbenefit.

< 54 >

Collaboration & Clustering
Cluster Development Initiatives:• Moldova has some organisations that provide
support programmes for the local tech community,
such as the MITP community, networking
programmes, knowledge-sharing programmes,
private-public connectors, tech segmented
communities, start-up community organisations(accelerators, hackathons, mentorshipprogrammes), etc.
• Belarus provides cluster development initiatives topromote collaboration in the IT ecosystem.

Simplified Compliance:• Lithuania has a special regulation that should beassessed case by case.

• Estonia provides business service providers
through the e-Residency marketplace.

Fast-Track Licensing:• Poland has no specific employment tax credits
for employers, however some IT workers who are
working based on employment contracts or civil
contracts may benefit from a 50 per cent tax
deductible costs formula in case of creation andtransfer of copyrights to employers.

• Estonia offers an Employee Share Option Scheme(ESOP) with tax benefits for employees receiving
company shares as compensation. ESOPs
incentivise employees by allowing them to acquire
shares in the company.

• Belarus offers single points of contact tostreamline IT business registration and licensing.

Investment Facilitation
One-Stop Shops:• Invest Moldova serves as a one-stop shop andprovides information on investment climate,sector-specific information, consulting on suitablelocations (Invest Moldova database, information
on relevant tax, legal and administrative issues).

• Bulgaria engages in cluster development
initiatives to promote collaboration and knowledge
sharing in the IT ecosystem.
• Georgia’s ICT Cluster promotes collaboration andknowledge sharing within the IT ecosystem.
• Estonia’s ICT Cluster and other initiatives like theBriefing Centre foster collaboration and knowledge
sharing in the IT ecosystem.
• Lithuania is engaged in offering cluster
development initiatives.
• In Latvia, the Latvian IT Cluster is involved inpromoting collaboration and knowledge sharing in
the IT ecosystem.
• In Poland various initiatives like PWCyber, Tech
Leaders Polska, and IT for SHE and POLISH IT/
ICT focus on cluster development and knowledge
sharing.
• In Slovakia, the Slovak Alliance for Innovation
Economy (SAPIE), a non-profit platform connects
technological and innovative companies.
• Ukraine: IT associations and clusters like IT
Ukraine Association, Lviv IT Cluster, and Kharkiv IT
Cluster promote knowledge sharing within the IT
ecosystem.

documents (work permit, residence permit, visa)
if they meet specific conditions, such as holding
a Moldovan State Identification Number (IDNP)
and an electronic identity. A new legislative
package for the digitisation of the economy wasrecently presented for public consultation to be
implemented as of January 1, 2025. Under thisinitiative it is proposed to regulate the concept ofdigital nomads, foreigners having the right to carryout their activity on Moldovan territory while being
an employee of a company registered abroad, byusing communication and information technology.
Digital nomads will not be subject to Moldovan
legislation in respect of employment contracts.
After the 183 days during 12 consecutive months,
the digital nomad will be considered to have tax
residency in Moldova.
• Georgia: Although not formally labelled as a digital
nomad visa, Georgia allows remote work during
stays. To qualify, individuals must either earn amonthly income of 2,000 US dollars or possess abank statement showing deposits of 24,000 US
dollars. After 183 days, individuals become tax
residents, subject to a 20 per cent income tax.
Georgia's Individual Entrepreneur scheme offers afavourable one per cent tax on business turnover
up to 155,000 US dollars, particularly beneficial for
remote employees and freelancers.
• Estonia: In June 2020, Estonia pioneered theworld's first official digital nomad and freelancer
visa, allowing individuals to work remotely in the
country for up to one year. Estonia is also known
for its e-residency programme, which facilitates
the management of EU-based businesses forforeign entrepreneurs through digital signatures.
• Latvia: Following Estonia's lead, Latvia has
implemented its own digital nomad visa, available
for foreign nationals working for employers orbusinesses registered in OECD countries. The visa
is valid for one year, with the possibility of renewal.
• Romania: In December 2021, Romania introduced
its digital nomad visa, permitting remote workers
to reside in the country for up to 12 months,
with the option to extend for an additional year.
Originally requiring a monthly income of 1,100
euros, the visa now mandates 3,700 euros permonth.

Digital Nomad and Remote Worker Visas• Moldova: New provisions introduced in 2023
allow for remote work without the need for aphysical presence in the country, under certain
conditions. Foreign citizens can perform remote
work in any country without obtaining immigration< 55 >

Moldova froma broader techperspective< 56 >< 57 >

Labourmarket andworkforce,
educationand talentsecondly, the Moldova IT sector continues tobe highly competitive among other sectors of
Moldova’s economy and is able to pay more and more
remuneration.
Now, considering ICT in Moldova, the average grossmonthly salary growth for the time frame from 2013 to2023 was from almost 442 euros to 1,396 euros, which
is 216 per cent, while in the country’s IT-adjacent forthe same period from a bit more than 468 euros toslightly more than 1,865 euros—more than 298 percent growth. For MITP residents average monthly
salaries increased from almost 1,270 euros in 2018 toslightly more than 2,031 euros in 2023.

Figure 68 looks at the change in average monthly
earnings in the IT-adjacent sector (we define
IT-adjacent as computer programming, consultancy
and related activities of Section J ‘Information
and Communication’). For the period from 2013 to2022, earnings have grown from 468 euros grossand 386 euros net in 2013 to a bit more than 1,865
euros gross and slightly more than 1,835 euros net
in 2022, showing growth of a bit more than 298 percent gross and slightly more than 375 euros net. In
2013, net earnings were 82.5 per cent of gross, whilein 2022 this share has grown to 98.4 per cent, again
demonstrating Moldova’s preferential tax regime.

Figure 66. Average gross salary, euros

Figure 68. Average monthly earnings in IT-adjacent, euros
2000
1800
1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0

2500
2000
1500

This chapter considers the stance and dynamics
of the labour market, as well as the data on thenumber of students and graduates who are
future specialists, and dives into some indicatorssuch as the gender structure of employees.

1000
500
0

Although the share of female employees has notbeen growing, the absolute number of female
employees in ICT increased substantially: from 7,769
in 2013 to 11,781 in 2022, almost 52 per cent growth.
Taking into consideration the continuous decrease in
the number of persons employed in Moldova due todemographical processes, the growth of the absolute
number of women employed in ICT means an evenmore steep increase in the share of female workers
in ICT.
Figure 70. Share of ICT employees by gender, per cent

60%
50%
40%
0%

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Average monthly earnings, grossAverage monthly earnings, net

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023

ICT IT-adjacent
MITP, directly involved in eligible activities

Through the period from 2013 to 2022, the shareof women in the ICT sector grew from 2013 to peakin 2018, when 46.1 per cent of all employees werefemale. Since then, the share of female workers has
been in decline, and in 2022 the share was 41.1 per
cent.

Male

FemaleSource: NBSRM

Source: NBSRM

Source: NBSRM, MITP statistics

The observation with the dynamics of averagemonthly salaries per employee in ICT, IT-adjacentsectors (here we define IT-adjacent as the sector,
in which companies perform activities ‘computer
programming, consultancy and related activities’of Section J ‘Information and Communication’),and MITP residents’ employees, involved in eligible
activities, are shown in current prices.
The overall labour dynamics of ICT and IT-adjacentsectors in Moldova is on a clear uprising trend: thenumber of ICT employees, students and graduates
is constantly growing for considered periods. Sucha process shows a continuous structural shift in
the labour market of Moldova towards a higher roleof ICT and IT sectors in the economy. Moldova is
successfully digitalising.
Alongside the increase in the number of current
employees and future specialists, the gross salaries
as well as labour costs for employees show steady
growth as well. For ICT this growth exceeds that of
the total economy, and for the IT-adjacent sector, it
exceeds the one of ICT.
These facts highlight two developments: firstly,
higher rates of employment do not fully satisfy
the demand for a new labour force in sectors;

Figure 67 shows the dynamics of average gross andnet salaries in the ICT sector (in current prices) for
the time period from 2013 to 2022. In both cases,salaries more than tripled: almost 3.12 times for grosssalary and more than 3.7 times for net. In 2013, thenet salary constituted around 80.5 per cent of thegross salary, while in 2022 this share has grown to 95
per cent, depicting Moldova’s preferential tax regime
for the IT sector, which is in high demand among
Moldova’s employees.

Figure 69. Number of employees in IT-adjacent sector

12,211

1,600

7,596

1,400
1,200

4,078 4,525 4,669

1,000
800

In the IT-adjacent sector the gender dynamic isdifferent from ICT: through the time frame 2013-22,
an overall decline of the share of female workers
can be observed. In 2013, the share of women inthis sector was 41.9 per cent, while in 2022 female
workers constituted only 33.9 per cent of all workers.
Figure 71. Share of employees in IT-adjacent by gender,
per cent
70.0%
60.0%

Figure 67. Average salary in ICT sector, euros

5,529

13,304

9,544

50.0%
40.0%
30.0%
0.0%

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

6,558

4,974

Women

Men

Source: NBSRM

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

600
Source: NBSRM

400
200
0

2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022

Gross
Source: NBSRM< 58 >

Figure 69 shows the growth of the number of
employees in the IT-adjacent sector (defined aspreviously). For the time frame 2013-2022, thenumber of employees has grown from 4,078 to
13,304. This trend depicts the fact for both growing
demand for labour in IT-adjacent sector as well as ahigh appeal of this sector for workers, who benefit
from relatively high salaries.

Net

Compared to ICT and IT-adjacent sectors, the shareof women employees of MITP, who are involved ineligible activities, is relatively stable and even showsslight growth: from 28.4 per cent in 2018 to 31.4 percent in 2023.

< 59 >

Figure 72. Share of MITP employees involved in eligible
activities by gender, per centFigure 74. Number of ICT graduates by education level

700
80.0%

600

70.0%

500

60.0%
50.0%

400

40.0%

300

30.0%

200

20.0%

100

10.0%

0

0.0%

2018

2019

2020
Male

2021

2022

2023

FemaleSource: MITP

The share of ICT specialities graduates is similar tothat of students, however it is more oscillating: theshare of bachelor ICT graduates has grown from
3.9 per cent in 2017 to almost 7.4 per cent in 2022,
a growth of 3.5 percentage points. The share ofmasters ICT graduates has also grown from almost
3.5 to almost 4.7, total growth of approximately 2.2
percentage points.

2017

2018
2019
Bachelors

2020
2021
Masters

2022

98%
Citizens of Moldova

8%
7%
6%

Source: NBSRM

Note: 2023 Total number of MITP residents employees in 2023: 20995
Source: MITP statistics

4%

There has been steady growth in the number ofundergraduates in ICT, from 3,058 in the academic
year 2017-18 to 3,817 in 2022-23. For masters
students in fields related to ICT, the trend is not so
obvious: the number of masters students was 445
in 2017-18, peaking in 2020-21 at 585 students, andthen declining to 428 in 2022-23. That is a signal that
future employment in the ICT sector is getting more
and more desired among students.
Figure 73. Number of ICT students by education level

4,000
3,500
3,000
2,500
2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0

2%
Foreign citizens

Figure 76. Share of ICT graduates of all graduates by levelof education, per cent5%

The next set of indicators looks at students andgraduates of Moldova’s universities—the future talentpool for Moldova’s IT sector.

Figure 78. Structure of MITP residents employees by
citizenship

When it comes to the share of ICT students atuniversities as a percentage of the total number ofstudents at universities in Moldova, there is a clear
linear trend for undergraduates: from 6.2 per centin 2017-18 to almost 9.1 per cent in 2022-23, growthof 2.9 per centage points in total. Hence, it could beconcluded that the future supply of the labour force
for ICT sector appears to be available.
However, there is no such trend for masters
students: the share of ICT masters students reached
its maximum value of almost 5.1 per cent in 2020-21,
and then declined to a bit more than 4.2 per centin 2022-23. That might be due both to the declineof the demand for masters in ICT (as bachelors are
viewed as educated enough to get a position) and thedesire of students to start their professional career
as soon as possible.
Figure 75. Share of ICT students of all students by level of
education, per cent

3%
2%
1%
0%

2017

2018
2019
Bachelors

2020
2021
Masters2022

Source: NBSRM

The share of employees in ICT in Moldova comparedwith the employees in whole economy has grownconsiderably over the past decade, from 2.85 percent in 2013 to 4.6 per cent in 2022, which indicatesthe positive structural change in the employment
patterns towards ICT.
Figure 77. Share of employees in ICT in total economy, percent

The following graph shows the dynamics of thenumber of MITP resident employees from 2018 to2023. The total number of employees has grownfrom 6,744 in 2018 to 20,995 in 2023. The numberof employees involved in eligible activities, has
increased from 5,941 to 18,770. A clear, steep linear
pattern is observed; it can therefore be concluded
that MITP is an in demand place for employment andbusiness activity.
Figure 79. Number of MITP resident employees
25,00020,00015,00010,0002017/18

2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23

Bachelors

Masters

Source: NBSRM

The next graph shows the number of ICT graduatesfrom the country’s universities. There is no overall
trend for either under- or post-graduates. In
some years there is a decline, in others growth. In
2017, there were 525 bachelors and 198 masters
graduates, while in 2022 there were 614 bachelors
and 226 masters graduates, a change of 17 and 14.1
per cent respectively.

< 60 >

10%
9%
8%
7%
6%
5%
4%
3%
2%
1%
0%

5,000
0

2018

Total number
Source: NBSRM

2019

2020

2021

2022

2023

Number involved in eligible activities

Source: MITP statistics

2017/18 2018/19 2019/20 2020/21 2021/22 2022/23

Bachelors
Source: NBSRM

Masters

The next step is to look at the structure of MITP
resident employees in 2023: approximately two percent were foreign citizens, and approximately 98 percent were Moldova citizens.

< 61 >

Doing business in IT,
business services andthe creative sector

Figure 80. Cost per employee — standard tax regime vsspecial regime at MITP*• tech consultancy, including computer systems
planning and design• management and operation of computer systems• labour supply (exclusively for export)• call centre activities (exclusively for export)• audio recording and music editing activities, limited
to original sound recordings (for computer games)• manufacturing of hardware such as
microprocessors or integrated circuits• data processing, administration of web pages• operation of web portals• research and development in biotech• cinematic post-production, including special
effects and animated films

This chapter looks at how to do business in the IT,
business services and creative sectors in Moldova.

The process of registering and maintaining abusiness in Moldova is quite straightforward. In
recent years, the Moldovan government has put
significant emphasis on the digitalisation of public
services for business. (Read more about thesedevelopments on page 74).
The Law on State Registration of Legal Entities andIndividual Entrepreneurs regulates the registration
procedures along with specific provisions dedicatedto certain types of companies (e.g. limited liability
companies or joint stock companies), the Moldovan
Civil Code regulates relations, including thecontractual, among businesses and third parties,
and the Moldovan Tax Code regulates the procedureand terms of taxpaying in Moldova.
Over the last few years, Moldova has simplified thebusiness registration process. The state registrationof legal entities and their branches, and of individual
entrepreneurs, is done during working days, within
24 hours. In urgent cases, the registration canbe completed within four hours. As a result, in
2023, 6,442 new companies were registered, an
all-time high. Detailed information about setting
up a company can be found in the chapter on theRegulatory and legal environment on page 64.
From the perspective of innovations, Moldova held
60th place in the Global Innovation Index out of
132 countries in 2023—an improvement of four
places since 2021, overcoming Georgia and Albania,
but performing worse than Romania, Poland andUkraine.

• specialised design based on high-performance
hardwareAs far as the Network Readiness Index 2023,
benchmarking the future of the network economy, isconcerned, Moldova ranks 67th, higher than Albania(79), and Georgia (78) but lower than Armenia (63).

• computer training• cinematographic post-production, limited todigital colour correction (for computer games)

In 2018, the country set up the Moldova Innovation
Technology Park, Europe’s first virtual park operatinga special tax regime.

• cinematographic post-production, limited to
editing and sound design (for computer games)

MITP resident companies enjoy several benefits:• Virtual presence—they can carry out their activity
anywhere in Moldova, without being limited to a
specific location.
• Reduced tax burden—they pay a single seven percent tax which replaces seven different taxes.
• Simplified administration—they make a single
monthly payment thus reducing operationalcosts.
• IT visa—they can hire foreigners and are able toobtain work permits under the IT Visa Programme
for a longer term than in the usual tax regime (twoyears for IT specialists, four years for IT resident
management).
• State guarantee — the single tax rate of seven percent and its structure is guaranteed by the state
until December 31, 2035.
• The park functioning term has been extended
until 2037.
Considering the regulation under the Law on IT
parks, companies and individuals who are residentsof MITP benefit from a preferential taxation regime,as they pay the single tax of seven per cent of sales
revenue (but not less than 4,110 Moldovan lei per
employee per month in 2024—approximately, 213
euros per month).

Resident companies are required to comply with thefollowing MITP obligations:* the gross salary of 2,000 has been chosen for illustrative purposes

Payroll taxes are included in a single tax, therefore
the cost per employee equals the effective net salary.
Employees enjoy the same benefits as all employees
in other sectors of the economy (e.g. full medical
insurance, limited social security benefits — i.e. medical
leave — including caring for a sick child), maternity
leave, childcare leave up to the age of three, pension.
In order to become an MITP resident, a company has
to meet the following eligibility criteria:• registered on the territory of the Republic ofMoldova as a subject of entrepreneurial activity• not be in the process of insolvency or liquidation,
restructuring as result of bankruptcy, or havingsuspended business activity• 70 per cent or more of sales revenue must be
generated from eligible activities
The company’s activities that are eligible must
generate at least 70 per cent of the resident
company's turnover. The eligible activities within
MITP are the following:• custom software development, including
programming, modification, testing and support ofsoftware products• editing software products• computer games• operating systems• corporate applications< 62 >• Pay the resident fee (for the month when the resident
status is obtained, the contribution is 50 Moldovanlei (approximately 2.60 euros). Starting from thefollowing month, the resident fee is establisheddepending on the number of park residents and theirincome obtained from sales. For 2023, the resident
fee was 86 Moldovan lei per month (4.50 euros) incase of achieving an annual income of one million
Moldovan lei (approximately 51,800 euros).
• Submit a quarterly report by the 25th day of themonth following the reported quarter, e.g. by April
25 for the first quarter.
• Perform an annual check — the annual verification(limited audit procedures) is carried out by an audit
entity accredited in Moldova and each resident
independently selects and contracts their audit entity.
• Inform new employees in writing (prior to theiremployment) about the particularities of socialand medical insurance, along with requirements
on income tax from the salary.
• Observe the requirements of general legislationsuch as: keeping accounts, presenting reports,financial statements and declarations, respecting
the anti-money laundering requirements.
• Notify the MITP administration of any statutorychanges, e.g. the name, the administrator, the legal
address, the contact data (phone and email, etc.)
Companies can apply to become MITP residents
using an online platform mitp.md via director’s digital
signature (English version also available).

< 63 >

Regulatory and legal
environment
This chapter looks at the regulatory and legal
framework that governs Moldova's technology
sector. Key laws and regulations include theLaw on IT Parks, the Law on Registration of
Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, theIntellectual Property (IP) and Data Protection
provisions, cybersecurity regulations and labour
legislation, each impacting various aspects of thesector. Additionally, you will learn about various
national programmes supporting innovation andthe development of the IT sector.

•

information about effective beneficiary under theanti-money laundering (AML) legislation.

In addition to the above, for registration of a
new company with foreign capital (a subsidiaryof a foreign company) the following documents,
translated into Romanian and apostilled, are required:• an extract from the register (e.g. commercial,trade) of the founder;• incorporation documents of the foreign legal
entity/founder.
Documents needed to register an individual
entrepreneur are:• an application form for registration available fordownload here.
• an identification document (ID card/passport)

Regulations on starting a new
business
The Law on State Registration of Legal Entities andIndividual Entrepreneurs mentions the procedure,time frames, documents required and fees forregistration of business. Establishing a business
entity in Moldova involves registration with the State
Register of Legal Entities/Individual Entrepreneurs
held by the Agency for Public Services.
The most widespread forms are limited liability
companies (LLCs) and joint stock companies (JSCs),
along with individual entrepreneurs as individual
businesses. From a corporate’s perspective andeasiness of doing business, the choice usually tends
to be an LLC. All mentioned types of business are
permitted to become a resident of MITP.
Documents needed to register a new company are
the following:• an application form for registration (available fordownload here);• a decision on incorporation and documents ofincorporation of the legal entity, according to its
type of activity (e.g. LLC or JSC);• copy of an identification document (ID card/
passport) of the founder and administrator;< 64 >

The fee for registration of a legal entity within theregular timeframe of 24 hours is about 60 euros,
and in an expedited term of 4 hours — 230 euros.
Also, online submission procedure of documents isavailable via a dedicated email address (inregistrare.
ud@asp.gov.md) under the condition that all
documents are signed with electronic signature
obtained from Moldovan providers.
Moldova's Law on Limited Liability Companies sets
the legal framework for the establishment, operation,
reorganisation, and liquidation of such entities,
providing a legal foundation for their activities.
This law ensures the protection of the rights
and interests of associates, shareholders, andstakeholders, promoting transparency andaccountability in corporate practices. By limiting
shareholders' personal liability to their invested
capital, the law incentivizes investment, legal
compliance, and fosters trust in these businesses.
In October 2023, in order to enhance the businessenvironment, facilitate investments, and strengthenshareholder relationships, as well as to align the
Moldovan law to international best practices andthe standards of the European Model Companies
Act, essential amendments were introduced to
the Limited Liability Companies. The available
instruments for the investors to consider upon
structuring a LLC business refer to:• shareholders’ agreement conclusion — allows
shareholders to regulate the exercise of rights
within the company, including voting and thetransfer of ownership interests, the coordinatedmanagement of the company, or abstaining fromcertain actions.
• proportionality rule — it gives shareholders
the right to set a different ratio between thevalue of the ownership interest (i.e. share)
and the associated rights, thus allowing forthe diversification of contributions from eachshareholder and encourages investors with limited
financial resources to participate in commercial
companies.
• incentive capital — allows employees to participate
in the financial benefits of the company or become
fully-fledged shareholders.
•liberalisation and simplification of the company
administration — it allows stakeholders toestablish different timelines for distribution of net
profit, intermediate payment of dividends, andother aspects.

• flexibility on mandatory statutory rules — allows
stakeholders to decide which changes to thecompany's data will be included in the Articles of
Association and which will only become binding
through a general meeting of shareholders.
• flexible share capital — it allows for contribution to
the share capital with intellectual property rights,
the conversion of a pecuniary obligation, and clear
procedure for increasing the share capital throughadditional contributions.

Online services for business
The Moldovan State Tax Service and Government
allows residents to pay the majority of taxes,
contributions, services and fees online, and forsome services by using the Government E-Payment
Gateway. Those include taxes on vehicles, issuanceof residence certificate, registration as a value-addedtax (VAT) payer, personal income tax (PIT), social
security contribution, health insurance contribution,issuance or extension of the entrepreneur's patent,
wealth tax and real estate tax.

EU candidate status
In 2014, Moldova signed the Association Agreement(AA) with the European Union, which started cameinto force in 2016. The Agreement establishedthe Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area
(DCFTA) with the EU, which introduced a range ofobligations on the Moldova Government, such as
the introduction of quality certification proceduresfor certain products, quality requirements, antidiscrimination regulations, combating corruption
and money-laundering, enhancement of legislations
and justice systems, minorities rights protection etc.
Since 2014, Moldova has implemented two National
AA Action Plans, the first (2014-2016) was achievedin a proportion of 73.73 per cent, and the second(2017-2020) was achieved in a proportion of 71.56 percent. The third Action Plan was signed in 2021.
From the taxation perspective, Moldova had to
implement good governance practices, such astransparency principles, exchange of tax information
with the EU, fair tax competition, and a fight against
tax fraud and tax avoidance. Moldova was also
obligated to approximate VAT and excise duties
regulation with EU standards.
In June 2022, the European Council recognised thesignificant success of the reforms Moldova has made,and therefore Moldova was granted candidacy statusfrom the EU, which brought with it new requirements
for further reforms. in order to enhance reforms
progress.
In 2022, the new association recommendations of
the EU-Republic of Moldova Association Council
were introduced. According to them, parties
agreed to further investment in Moldova’s digitaltransformation, including the development of
support programmes for the digitalisation of SMEs,
e-governance and public digital services as well as
digital skills and e-literacy among the population. The
recommendation highlights some important steps for
Moldova to make in the sphere of cybersecurity, dataprotection and tax administration:• Strengthen cyber security by means of enacting
into national law the Directive (EU) 2016/1148
on measures for a high common level of network
security and information systems in the Union(NIS Directive). Moldova adopted this legislation in
2023.
• Continue harmonisation of the national legal
framework in the field of personal data protection
to EU law with a particular focus on Regulation(EU) 2016/679 and Directive (EU) 2016/680 - thatframework was almost fully adopted by Moldova,
the fundamental steps are already active.

< 65 >

• Support the implementation of e-Government
agenda, with an emphasis on cross-border
e-Services for citizens and businesses, as animportant output of the EU4Digital project• Continue legal approximation in the Customs areaby implementing the 2021 Customs Code in linewith the Union Customs Code and other acts listed
in Annex XXVI of the Association Agreement. In
this regard Moldova has approved a new Customs
Code that officially came into effect on January 1st
2024.

Additional changes include allowing the employeesof IT park residents to work within or outside
Moldova without territorial constraints. The scope of
eligible activities within the IT park has expanded toinclude post-production services for media content,
exclusively for the computer games sector.
These changes offer several benefits to MITP
residents, including work flexibility, the ability to
attract international talent without requiring physicalrelocation, and the opportunity to form international
teams.
For specific eligibility criteria and eligible activities,
check the chapter Doing business in IT on page 62.

Framework for IT Park Creation andOperation
Moldova's law on IT Parks (No. 77 of April 21, 2016)
establishes the general framework and governs
the establishment and operation of information
technology parks in the country. The law outlines
permitted activities to be developed within thepark, including computer programming, softwaredevelopment, and consulting services. It also
allows for education, research and development,
and specialised services tailored for the computer
games industry. Additionally, the law contains therequirements that the companies have to meet inorder to become residents of the park and benefit
from single tax.
In December 2017, the Government issued adecision detailing the functioning and establishing
the Moldova IT Park, as a virtual park with the
Administration as the administrative body to operate
the park. The decision was made effective fromJanuary 2018, for a duration of 10 years.
March 2023 saw amendments to the Law on IT Parks,
and recent amendments effective from February 12,2024, aim to enhance the legal framework for MITP
residents such as:• Extension of the IT park's operational term to 20
years, subject to the Government's adjustment of
the subsidiary framework.
• Extension of the state guarantee until 2035,
ensuring tax stability for residents despite
potential future tax regime alterations.
• Inclusion of new export-oriented activities as
eligible within the park: call centre activities andother labour supply services and post-production
services for media content, exclusively for thecomputer games sector.

< 66 >

Legal framework aimed atregulating and safeguarding
intellectual property rights
Moldova has in place provisions and requirements
related to copyright and protection of intellectual
property (IP) rights governed by key laws andregulations.
The State Agency on Intellectual Property (AGEPI)
plays a pivotal role in promoting and overseeing
activities for the legal protection of intellectual
property, encompassing industrial property rights,
copyrights, and related rights.
In particular, the Law on Copyrights and Related
Rights (enacted in July 2022) regulates andsafeguards intellectual property rights. It isparticularly tailored to address the challenges posedby modern technology.
The law aligns Moldovan copyright legislation withvarious European directives. These directives covera wide spectrum, including copyright and related
rights, satellite broadcasting, cable retransmission,
databases, harmonisation of copyright in theinformation society, resale rights for original works ofart, intellectual property rights enforcement, rental
rights, the term of protection of copyright, legal
protection of computer programmes, and permitted
uses for individuals with disabilities.
The law encompasses various aspects, including
copyright protection, the management of rights, therole of collective management organisations, andprocedures for addressing copyright infringements.
Foreign individuals and entities enjoy equal
treatment under copyright and related rights.

Various specialised laws protect different aspects
of intellectual creations, including the Law on theProtection of Industrial Designs (applicable since
December 2007), the Law on the Protection ofTrademarks (applicable since September 2008), andthe Law on the Protection of Inventions (applicablesince October 2008).

approved by the Moldovan regulator. In addition,
the problem of transferring personal data outside of
the EEA has been solved by approving the Moldovan
version of the standard contractual clauses (SCC)
covering three data-transfer scenarios: controller-tocontroller; controller-to-processor; and processorto-controller.

Patents are granted to inventions adhering to criteria
of novelty, inventive step, and industrial applicability,
retaining validity for 20 years from the date of filing.
Trademarks find safeguarding through registration
with AGEPI, holding initial validity for a decade fromapplication and permitting indefinite renewal for
successive ten-year periods.

The Law on the Protection of Personal Data focuseson protecting fundamental rights and freedoms ofdata subjects, particularly the right to privacy, andapplies to a broad spectrum of data processing
activities within Moldova, including those by foreign
data controllers.

Industrial designs meeting the standards of novelty
and individual character are eligible for protection,with registration lasting an initial five years andrenewable for further five-year terms, reaching amaximum of 25 years.
Copyrights extend protection to original works suchas literary, artistic, and musical creations, enduring
for the life of the author plus 50 years posthumously.
Trade secrets, including confidential businessinformation like formulas and processes, enjoy legal
protection under Moldovan law, with no prescribed
duration but requiring continuous confidentiality tomaintain their protected status.

Framework for Protection of
Personal Data
Moldova has in place provisions and requirements
related to personal data protection.
The National Centre for Personal Data Protection is thestate authority in charge of supervising compliancewith legal requirements on personal data protection.

The law sets fundamental conditions for processing,storing, and using personal data, with an emphasison obtaining explicit consent from data subjects fordata processing. Data subjects’ sights are clearly
outlined.
The law also introduces a Data Protection Impact
Assessment process to evaluate potential dataprotection risks.
Taking into consideration the recommendationsof the European Union in the context of accessionof Moldova to the EU, data protection remains
one of the key points for improvement of the legal
framework. A draft law implementing GDPR rules, a
direct transposal of EU rules in Moldova, is currently
under consideration and public consultation.

Framework on Cybersecurity
Cyber security in Moldova is a national priority, andstrengthening the capacities of this sector are crucial
in the regional context and the increasingly frequent
challenges of the digital age.

Moldova has the Law on the Protection of Personal
Data (that came into effect in October 2011, with anamendment effective in April 2023) that establishes
a legal framework for safeguarding personal data inaccordance with European General Data Protection
Regulation (GDPR).

Therefore, in line with recommendations of theEuropean Union, Moldova's new cybersecurity law,effective January 1, 2025, was developed with
EU support to enhance cybersecurity standards.
It empowers Moldova's authority to designate
institutions meeting these standards, which must
report cyber incidents.

In line with GDPR, recent amendments to the Lawon the Protection of Personal Data detailed the legal
regime for the cross-border transmission of personaldata, allowing the free movement of data between
Moldova, the EEA states, and the countries ensuring
an adequate level of personal data protection, as

The law incorporates EU best practices, aiming
to improve cybersecurity communication andenhance Moldova's cyber space security. Enacted
on March 16, 2023, the law governs cybersecurity
norms, organization, and cooperation, establishing aframework for crisis management, ensuring network< 67 >

and information system security, and managing
cyber incidents.
At the end of 2023 was appointed the National
Agency for Cyber Security and the National Instituteof Innovations in Cyber Security "Cybercor", these
institutions will play a key role in preventing andcombating cyber threats.

Government initiatives andprogrammes incentivising the IT
industry
Digital Innovation and Technological Start-ups
Support Programme
The Digital Innovation and Technological Start-ups
Support Programme aims to provide non-repayablefinancial aid to small and medium-sized innovative
enterprises (SMEs) and start-ups in Moldova,
focusing on information and communication
technologies and emerging sectors. Its core mission
is to promote research and development activities,
fostering innovation, prototyping, and sustainableindustrial production and environmentally friendly
technologies.
The programme is managed by the Organisation for
the Development of Entrepreneurship (ODA), andcomprises three thematic financing components:• Digital Innovation: Supporting innovative concepts
and methodologies leading to cutting-edge digitalor electronic products, services, and operationalmodels.
• Green Technology: Advocating breakthroughs
in research and development for innovativetechnological products and services aiming to
replace materials, machinery, processes, andsystems with adverse environmental impacts.
• Sustainable Production: Nurturing inventive
processes, practices, and applications to revitalize
conventional industrial production models,promoting resource circularity.
In February 2023, fourteen innovative Moldovan techprojects secured state funding as a result of a call for
projects under this programme. The winning projects
proposed various ideas, including establishinga virtual marketplace for tourism, incorporating
innovative elements into waste recycling, creating an< 68 >

application to monitor vital information for newborns,
and setting up a digital school for programming andlogic, among other innovations.
Backed by USAID and the Government of Sweden,
this programme offers grants of up to 500,000
Moldovan leu (around 25,000 euros) per project,
totalling 5.65 million lei (around 282,500 euros) for
all winners. Participating companies are required tocontribute 20 per cent of the investment value.
National Programme for Promoting
Entrepreneurship and Increasing Competitiveness(PACC 2027 Programme)
The PACC 2027 Programme aims to strengthen
Moldova's entrepreneurship, fostering a morecompetitive and sustainable economy. It seeks tomodernise the business environment, particularly for
EU market alignment, by enhancing local companies'
productivity, reducing the informal economy, andpromoting inclusive sustainable development.
Through digitalisation and deregulation
initiatives, including reforms to laws such as
the Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Law, theprogramme aims to cultivate innovation, supporting
start-ups, e-commerce, and green practices.

Framework on Crowdfunding
Moldova has recently adopted a crowdfunding law,
operational from March 2024. This financing modelhas the potential to revolutionise the entrepreneurial
landscape by easing access to funding and fostering
innovation.
The law establishes clear guidelines for crowdfunding
services, defining providers as legal entities
registered in Moldova and authorised to offer suchservices, ensuring a reliable framework for donors.
It also distinguishes between key players in thecrowdfunding process, such as developers seeking
funding and investors contributing to projects.
Additionally, the law covers reward-based
crowdfunding, where donors receive benefits, andequity-based crowdfunding, where investors gain astake in the supported business. These regulations
aim to create a secure environment for start-ups,
donors, and investors, encouraging the growthof a vibrant and innovative start-up ecosystem in
Moldova.

Framework on Foreigners’
Employment
Passport holders of over 100 countries globally are
not required to obtain a visa to enter Moldova. A fulllist of these countries can be found here.
Passport holders of other countries, specificallyof Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cameroon, Chad,
Congo, Democratic People’s Republic of the Congo,
Egypt, Eritrea, Faso, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Ivory Coast, Jordan, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Mali,
Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea,
Pakistan, Palestine, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan,South Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Yemen,
are required to obtain an invitation from an individual
who exercises full legal rights, or an entity registeredin Moldova, to complete the entry visa application
process.
Since September 2023, citizens of the 27 European
Union countries, and since January 2024, citizensof 20 other countries, have not been required toobtain a temporary work permit and are allowed towork for up to 90 days on Moldovan territory. The
list of non-EU countries includes Albania, Armenia,
Azerbaijan, Australia, Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Canada, Georgia, Iceland, Japan, Liechtenstein,Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, Serbia,
South Korea, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United
Kingdom and the United States.
If they intend to work in Moldova after the initial 90days, the passport holders of all these 47 countries
can choose to obtain a permanent work permit upon
arrival or at any time within the first 90 days.
The General Inspectorate for Migration provides
detailed requirements in specific cases here.

Remote work regulations
Moldovan labour legislation allows remote work under
the condition that such type of work is expressly
mentioned in the labour agreement concluded
between the parties. The Labour Code provides
the specifics of remote work, sets the rights andobligations of parties (remote workers benefit fromthe same rights as non-remote workers) and gives
some details on contract regulations.
Foreigners, regardless of their citizenship, may be
employed by a MITP resident on the basis of an
employment contract. Their employment can beconcluded in two ways: if the foreign citizen will
physically relocate or will remain outside the territoryof the Republic of Moldova.
Foreigners have the right to work without obtaining avisa, the right of residence or the right of temporary
residence, without obtaining the work permit/
temporary residence, if a series of conditions are met
cumulatively:a) obtain a state identification number (IDNP) andelectronic identity under Moldovan legislation;b) will not exceed 90 days within 180 days and does
not have the status of a Moldovan tax resident;c) the employment contract is concluded as anelectronic document, electronically signed by bothparties.
The salary in the remote work employment contract
can be established and paid in the currency agreed
by the parties.
If the employee is hired from abroad and will not
physically relocate to Moldova, they are subject totaxation in their country of residence.

Additionally, the residents of the MITP exclusively,
can hire highly qualified IT managers and specialists
from abroad based on the so called IT Visa
Programme. Individuals who administrate an MITP
resident company can be granted a four-year work
permit and IT-specialists — a two-year work permit.
For more information about the IT Visa Programme,go to Doing IT in Moldova on page 62.

< 69 >

Tech ecosystem andstart-ups
This chapter looks at the start-up ecosystem
in Moldova as well as its key stakeholders.
Nurturing a thriving tech ecosystem is essential
to the country’s efforts to strengthen innovationand investment.

Fagura, a credit marketplace that
intends to become a digital bank,crowdfunded 786,845 euros from
287 investors, in their second
crowdfunding campaign.

Moldova is an emerging start-up ecosystem. According
to StartupBlink’s Global Start-up Ecosystem Index 2023,
Moldova ranks 85th globally (three places higher thanin 2022) and last but one in the emerging Europe region(Kosovo and Montenegro are not included in the index).

Most recently, in January 2024,
NodeShift, a decentralised cloudprovider that allows businesses tobuild and host secure applications
affordably, raised 3.2 million US
dollars from Inovo, Notion Capital,
10X Founders, Kestrel0x1, Arca,
Oxford Seed Fund and Epic Gamesto launch their product publicly todevelopers at large.

However, Moldova’s capital Chișinău achieved aremarkable rise of 157 spots to 497th globally in
2023. The other two cities with vibrant start-up
communities are Bălți, in the northern part of thecountry, and Cahul, in the south.
Dealroom says that between 2018 and the third quarterof 2023, Moldovan start-ups raised 46 million US dollars.
Startup Moldova, which supports the development of
the start-up ecosystem, runs a database of over 80
start-ups.
Here are some of the most notable Moldovan startups with significant funding raised:
XOR, which produces modern
communication software for
efficient recruitment, hiring, andtalent retention, has raised 12.7
million US dollars.
Brizy, a multiplatform website
builder that anyone can use,raised 2.4 million US dollars.
GreenO, a ClimateTech and AgTech
company which built the first andthe largest global geospatial data
marketplace in agriculture, hasraised two million euros.
enabld, offering smart andcost-effective business
communications services, hasraised 1.4 million US dollars.

< 70 >And here, some other start-ups that have alreadybecome or are on their way to become Moldova’s
start-up success stories:
Bloomcoding, an online coding
education platform for children
teaching them how to code
through Virtual and Augmented
Reality experiences.
EasyPlan, the medical business
management assistant.

Dely.io, white label delivery
solutions required to set up andrun a delivery business.
DoctorChat, an online clinic
platform.

EdooSitter, a platform connecting
parents to verified and trainedbabysitters.
Personalizely, a tool that allows
businesses to dynamically tailor theirwebsites to each visitor, creating an
engaging user experience.

Planable, a marketing collaboration
platform used for content review,
approval and publishing.
Rocman, a platform automating
recruitment tasks, managing thecandidate base and hiring theright person.
Renter, a long-term electricbicycle rental service for couriers.
SelfTalk, a platform to enhancewell-being and performancethrough self-talk science.
Sonr, a small underwatercommunicator allowing swimmers
and triathletes to progress fasterthan ever.
UNDE.io, a platform for event
pages management with tools forevents promotion, tickets sale andcommunity building.
Viar.live, a tool that allows 360
̊ enthusiasts and businessowners to create and share VR
experiences with ease.
Wattle, a ﬁngerprint protected walletthat provides a secure and intuitive
platform for storing, exchanging,and trading digital currencies.

Anton Waschuk
Scout at u.ventures andDirector of Innovation,
Education and,
Entrepreneurship at
Western NIS Enterprise
Fund

Over the past five years,
I’ve witnessed a remarkable transformation in
Moldova’s IT sector, solidifying its position asa dynamic and promising hub for technology
and innovation in Eastern Europe. The period
has been characterised by a significant
surge in investment deals, a testament to
the growing confidence among both local
and international investors in Moldova’s
digital future. Particularly noteworthy, in
2023, Moldovan start-ups raised over 10
million euros, marking a substantial positive
development in our sector. As an investor in
the Moldovan market, I find myself evaluating
more potential deals than ever before, a clear
indication of the sector’s robust growth andthe burgeoning interest it has sparked. This
influx of investments has played a crucialrole in fostering a vibrant ecosystem, marked
by a skilled talent pool, forward-thinking
entrepreneurship, and supportive government
policies geared towards innovation. Looking
ahead, I see Moldova’s IT sector on the cusp
of further exponential growth, brimmingwith untapped potential in areas like fintech,edtech, and cybersecurity. There lies anabundance of opportunities for investors andentrepreneurs alike to drive the next wave ofdigital transformation.

EugeneTsyrklevich
Founder & CEO,
Parkopedia

As an angel investor born in
Moldova, I am particularlydrawn to Moldovan start-ups for their resilience,
innovative spirit, and deep understanding of both
local and global market needs. Moldova’s uniquegeographical and cultural position, straddlingthe East and the West, imbues its entrepreneurs
with a versatile approach to problem-solving,
enabling them to create solutions that are both
locally relevant and globally scalable. Additionally,
the growing tech talent pool and the increasing
support from both the government and private
sector for start-ups in Moldova make investing inthese ventures not just a matter of national pride,
but a strategic decision with promising returns.

Vasile Tofan

Senior Partner, Horizon
CapitalMoldova, like Ukraine, hasa strong math and science
legacy, which resulted in asolid software engineeringbase. It gave birth to IT services successstories like Endava, Pentalog or Amdaris, but isincreasingly churning promising product startups. As Horizon Capital, we just completed theraise of a 350 million US dollar growth equity
fund so will be keenly looking to backing techchampions in the region.

< 71 >

There are no local venture capital funds, which is an
opportunity for players from the region and beyond.
The start-up ecosystem is bound to evolve and growand those who come at this stage are able to help
shape the ecosystem and make an impact but also
negotiate favourable terms. In fact, there are several
funds that have either already invested in Moldovan
start-ups or actively exploring the local ecosystem.

Local funding is provided by

Investiții.md

Business Angels Moldova and Mozaic.

MentorMe

There is also a growing number of co-working spaces
and offices in the country’s capital, including

10X Founders
Moldova’s start-up ecosystem enjoys support fromvarious investor groups and organisations.

Mediacor
Centre of Creative Industries
Artcor,Angular Ventures

Credo Ventures

Gapminder

Yep Moldova

Alliance of Small and Mediumsized Enterprises from
Moldova
Centre of Excellence in
Computing and Information
Technologies

Moldova Innovation
Technology Park

Community Business Centre

Digital Park
Moldovan Association of ICT
Companies

Generator Hub

Chemonics
Orange Moldova

Gurtin Ventures
Horizon Capital

Digital Innovation Hub of
Moldova

Startup City Cahul

iHub

Dreamups

Simpals Factory

Skytower

Inovo
Notion Capital Managers
Drupal Moldova
s16vc

SignalFire
Signet Global

Entrepreneurship
Development Organisation

Technology Transfer Networkof Moldova

Tekwill

Totem

Tech Women
European Bank for
Reconstruction andDevelopment

The Garage
finantari
Twin Ventures

Technovator

Tekwill

Impact Academies and Camps

Traktor Community

Innovate Moldova (Future
Technologies Activity projectin Moldova)

XY Partners

For more details related to the legal requirements
and support for start-up founders, see the chapter
Regulatory and legal environment on page 64.

u.ventures
Western NIS Enterprise Fund< 72 >< 73 >

Digital transformation of
public services
In this chapter, we look at Moldova’s digitaltransformation, focusing on its main national
strategy and key objectives for 2030. It also
provides insights into the current status ofdigitalisation in public services, which is abarometer of the country’s digital and techreadiness.

Moldova’s digital transformation reached a milestone
in September 2023 with the official endorsementof the country’s Digital Transformation Strategy
for 2023-2030. This approval represents a step
toward Moldova’s future, emphasizing the nation’scommitment to adopting global standards andleading digital practices.
This mission is rooted in core guiding principles,
including prioritising human development,
distributing implementation responsibilities among
various stakeholders, and pledging dedication tointernational best practices and full alignment with
EU standards and regulations.
Moldova’s vision is clear: to become an innovative,
all-encompassing digital society with modern
infrastructure, digitally literate citizens, a prodigital administration, a thriving digital business
community, and a collaborative environment
fostering innovation and sustainable humandevelopment.

Key objectives of the strategy include:• Digital Society: Promoting education, digital skills,
bridging disparities, digital entrepreneurship, andwidespread digital service availability.
• Competitive ICT Environment: Establishing
universal broadband access, cutting-edge
infrastructure, data reuse, investment attraction,and private sector partnerships.
• Secure Cyberspace: Ensuring safety,
protecting online rights and freedoms, securing
infrastructure, fostering collaborative cyberprotection, and enhancing cybersecurity
awareness.
• Invisible Digital State: Transitioning to apaperless, automated, data-driven public
administration with sector-wide digitalisation andinteroperability.
• Digital Economy: Connecting data and services
with the EU, supporting startups, nurturing the
ICT industry, and enabling cross-border digital
services.
• Digital Moldova - Trusted International Partner:
Aiming for a shared digital space with Romania,
legal alignment with the EU, digital ID recognition,
global digital leadership, and contributing to bestpractices.
Expected outcomes of this journey include:• Inclusive Societal Transformation: Ensuring
participation and benefits for all segments ofsociety.
• Citizen-Centric Services: Tailoring public services
to genuine needs with inclusivity, transparency,
and innovation.
• Revamped Governance: Creating an efficient,secure, and innovative public administration
integrated with digital technologies.
• Knowledge-Driven Economy: Transitioning toa knowledge-based, innovative economy withdigital business solutions and increased digitalfinancial transactions.

< 74 >• Secured Cyber Environment: Protecting state andpersonal data, digital rights, and personal data
control.

• Increasing the number of students studying
digital technologies in various fields from six per
cent to 10 per cent.

• Internationally Recognised Digital State: Reducing
the digital divide in Moldovan life.

• Ensuring that electronic signatures are mutually
recognised between Moldova and the European
Union.

• Digitally Empowered Nation: Integrating digital
literacy into educational programmes andpromoting digital education as a fundamental life
skill.

As the strategy is implemented, milestones expected
to be achieved by 2030 include:• Achieving a 100 per cent digitisation rate for all
public services and electronic data exchange inthe public sector.
• Ensuring that at least 50 per cent of the
population has access to electronic medical
records.
• Ensuring that more than 70 per cent of citizens
have an active digital identity.
• Ensuring that more than 80 per cent of the
population has basic digital skills.
• Increasing the share of STEM graduates among all
university graduates to at least 16 per cent.
• Ensuring that the share of specialists in thefield of ICT is at least two per cent of the adult
population, with gender convergence.
• Increasing the share of ICT in gross domestic
product to at least 10 per cent.
• Ensuring that the share of ICT products andservices in total exports is at least 15 per cent.
• Ensuring that more than 60 per cent of SMEs
achieve a basic level of using digital technologies
in business management and product and service
development.
• Ensuring that more than 40 per cent of Moldovan
companies have access to digital platforms fortheir products and services.

• Ensuring that at least 30 per cent of government
e-services are available in cross-border scenarios.
• First Moldovan start-ups reaching ‘unicorn’status, and no fewer than 10 Moldovan products
reaching a valuation of 100 million US dollars.

In 2023, 70 per cent of data requests were madeonline, indicating a shift towards digital services.
Two out of three entrepreneurs prefer using online
services, with only 30 per cent of requests being
made in person at counters. Out of 3.7 million
requests for various services, 2.48 million were
processed online, while 1.1 million were handled atcounters.
Regarding digitalisation, 50.9 per cent of all public
services are now fully digitalised. Institutions
such as the National Archives Agency, Chamberof Commerce and Industry, National Medical
Insurance Company, the National Social Insurance
House, Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Agency,
Ministry of Economic Development and Digitization,
Environment Agency, and National Agency for the
Regulation of Nuclear and Radiological Activities
have achieved 100 per cent digitalisation.
In February 2024, Moldova joined the EU Digital
Europe Programme, adding up to anotheradvancement with vast digitalisation prospects
across various sectors. The programme boasts a
budget of 7.5 billion euros for 2021-2027 period.
This development enables Moldovan businesses,
local governments, NGOs, and central institutions
to access European funds dedicated to digitaltransformation, marking a key moment for its public
administration and business environment.

• Ensuring that at least 50 per cent of Moldovan
companies use Cloud/IA/Big Data technologies.
• Making important digital business services
for companies fully available, with technicalcapabilities for opening, managing, and closing abusiness remotely.
• Increasing the export of IT and BPO services
by 15 per cent annually and ensuring at least
10 per cent local adaptation of digital solutions
developed in Moldova.

< 75 >

Air transport connectivity

Infrastructure andconnectivity
This chapter looks at Moldova’s
telecommunications landscape, digital
infrastructure and air transport connectivity.

Figure 81. Mean download speed (Mbps) Emerging Europe
Region.

In 2022, Moldova made advancements in its
telecommunications landscape. According todata from the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), Moldova allocated two per cent of its
Gross National Income (GNI) per capita to the fixed
broadband sector, resulting in 24.4 fixed broadband
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants.

In 2023, Chișinău Airport saw new developments:
nineteen airlines, including seven new additions suchas Air Montenegro, AZAL, and Israir Airlines, operated
both charter and scheduled flights to 40 destinations
worldwide. Three airlines—Eurowings, Georgian
Wings, and Air Baltic—announced plans to commencescheduled flights for the summer of 2024.

What makes Moldova’s achievement even moresignificant is that its internet download speed
surpasses that of several EU member countries
and Western European nations, including Germany,
Ireland, Finland, Italy, Austria, Denmark, andSwitzerland (see figure 82).

Figure 82. Mean download speed (Mbps) in Moldova andselected Western countries.

In 2024, the airport expanded its reach with flights toeight new destinations, including Munich, Podgorica,
Dubai, Baku, Tirana, Athens, Valencia, and Sri Lanka.
Wizz Air reinstated services to Rome, Milan, andLondon, while several major airlines such as Turkish
Airlines and Austrian Airlines increased frequencies
on their existing routes.
In December 2023, Chișinău Airport was admitted
into the International Council of Airports in Europe(ACI Europe), highlighting its commitment toEuropean standards.

Moldova also reported 29.1 fixed-telephone
subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, underscoring
the continued relevance of fixed telephony. On
the household front, 59.9 per cent of Moldovanhouseholds owned a computer, and 67.5 per cent had
internet access.

Figure 83. Approximate flight duration between Chișinău
and selected cities.

Chișinău

The commitment to mobile broadband and cellular
services was evident with investments of 0.6 percent and 0.7 per cent of GNI per capita, respectively.
Moldova achieved full broad mobile network
coverage, reaching 100 per cent of the population
with mobile-cellular networks, 99.9 per cent with 3G
networks, and 99.2 per cent with 4G networks.

Source: cable.co.uk

Additional data, drawn from a comprehensive study
by Cable.co.uk, examining mobile data plans across
237 countries and 5,603 offerings, show that Moldova
emerged as the 19th most budget-friendly country
worldwide for mobile data, with an average cost ofjust 0.28 US dollars per 1GB.

Furthermore, the country boasted 127.4 mobile
cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants, and mobile
broadband users consumed an average of 7,318.5 MBof data per month per subscription.
In addition to these achievements, in 2023, Moldova
secured 36th spot worldwide with a mean download
speed of 92.10 megabits per second (cable.co.uk).

In the context of emerging Europe, Moldova clinchedsecond spot, outperforming 21 other countries (datafor Bulgaria was unavailable for comparison). What
truly stands out is that Moldova surpasses several
Western European nations in terms of mobile data
affordability. Although its pricing proves to be lesscompetitive than countries like Italy and France,
Moldova outshines all other EU member states andthe United Kingdom.

Within the emerging Europe region, Moldova attained
6th position in mean download speed, trailing behind
Slovakia, Romania, Slovenia, North Macedonia, andPoland. (see figure 81).

Source: cable.co.uk< 76 >

The airport served a total of 2,838,073 passengers,
surpassing its target by 104.5 per cent and marking
a 22.9 per cent increase from 2022, equivalent to529,358 additional passengers. Aircraft movements
totalled 24,947, while cargo and mail volumes
reached 2,652.6 tons and 628.7 tons, respectively.

Warsaw

1 hourFrankfurt

LondonDubai

2 hours

3 hours

4 hours< 77 >

Germany
Berlin,Fly OneCologne-Bonn,
Eurowings ( May - October).
Düsseldorf,
Fly One or HiSky
Frankfurt,
HiSky or Lufthansa (Star Alliance)Frankfurt Hahn,
Fly OneHamburg,
HiSky ( May - October)
Munich,Fly OneStuttgart,
Eurowings ( May - October)

United Kingdom
London Luton,
Fly One or Wizz Air
London Stansted,
Fly One or HiSky

IrelandDublin,Fly One or HiSky

Spain
Barcelona, Madrid andValencia,
Fly OnePortugal
Lisbon,Fly One(

Air Baltic

May - October)

Warsaw,

LOT (Star Alliance)

Fly OneBelgium

Czechia

Brussels Charleroi,
Fly OnePrague,FranceNice and Paris Charles de Gaulle,
Paris Beauvais,
HiSky

Riga,

PolandNetherlands
Amsterdam,

LatviaFly One(Fly OneJune - October)

Hungary
Budapest,

Wizz Air

Austria
Vienna,Austrian(Star Alliance)

Italy
Bologna,
Fly One or HiSky.
Milan Bergamo,
HiSky
Milan Malpensa,
Fly One or Wizz Air Malta
Parma,Fly OneRome Fiumicino,
Fly One, HiSky and Wizz Air Malta
Venice Marco Polo,
HiSky or Wizz Air Malta
Verona,Fly OneRomania
Bucharest,

HiSky or Tarom (SkyTeam)

Georgia
Tbilisi,Fly OneTukey
Antalya,Pegasus
Istanbul,
Fly One, HiSky andTurkish Airlines (Star Alliance)

GreeceAthens,Fly One (Baku,

Azerbaijan

Armenia
Yerevan, Pacific Airways

Aegean (Star Alliance)

Thessaloniki,Azerbaijan

June - October)

CyprusLarnaca,(

Fly OneApril - October)IsraelTel Aviv,

EL AL, Fly One, HiSky and Israir

Figure 84. Direct air connections

direct flights are offered byUnited Arab Emirates
Dubai,Fly Onea seasonal route, duration< 78 >< 79 >

Other innovative industries
In this chapter, we look at Moldova’s innovative sectors, other than IT, and see how they support the country’s
pursuit of becoming a knowledge-based economy which contributes to its advancement in technical andscientific innovation.

Automotive

Creative

The automotive components
industry has been one of
the fastest growing sectors
in Moldova in recent years.
This has been the result of anincreased focus on the unused industrial potentialof Moldova and an industrial production focus in
Moldova’s education system (Technical University,
technical colleges and vocational schools).

The creative industry has great
development potential, with apositive impact on the country’s
economic growth. Film, video
and photography production,
digital and interactive media,
video games, virtual and augmented reality, 3Dmodelling and virtual prototyping, surround sounddesign, digital motion capture and 3D animation are only
a few of the areas that are on the rise.

Investors include Lear Corporation, Dräxlmaier
Automotive, Gebauer & Griller, Sammy Cablaggi /Kablem, Elektromanufacturing, Confezioni Andrea
Covercar, LEONI, SEBN Sumitomo Electric Bordnetze,
Fujikura Automotive, Coroplast Fritz Mueller, and APM
Automotive.
Some of the key areas are the production of cables,
wiring harnesses for cars, car seat covers, plastic
moulding injections, metal processing, electronics
and electronic components, and assembling.
But Moldova also has a track record of local successful
automotive producers. In 2023, Informbusiness, a
Moldovan company set up over 30 years ago, produced
its first electric buses with a battery capacity of about
70 kilometres that can be recharged within 30 minutes.
The company made its international mark much earlier,
exporting technology for trolleybuses, electric buses,
and trams to over 170 cities globally.
Automotive research and development (R&D), design,
AI development and semiconductor manufacturing
are eligible to benefit from the MITP tax regime. For
more details, see the chapter Doing buisness in IT,
business serviced and the creative sector on page 62.

< 80 >In December 2023, Moldova hosted the first edition of
the Cinema Hora International Forum with around 70 film
industry representatives from 20 countries, fostering
cooperation between Moldova and European nations,
including Romania, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Greece, Germany,
Denmark, Montenegro, Croatia, Armenia, Norway, North
Macedonia, Georgia, Israel and the Baltic countries.
With the ratification of the European Convention on
Cinematographic Co-productions and the adoptionof the ‘cash-rebate’ law, Moldova offers a refund of
up to 30 per cent of the costs of film and audiovisual
production in the country. The scheme covers anarray of creative content possibilities, from fiction,
documentary and animation features and shorts to
TV show episodes, music videos, commercials, reality
shows and web shows.
Post-production studios specialising in visual effects
and sound editing are now eligible to benefit from the
MITP tax regime. For more details, see the chapter
Doing buisness in IT, business serviced and thecreative sector on page 62.

Electronics
Moldova has been known
for its electronic equipment
manufacturing tradition for
decades. It used to be the thirdlargest supplier of electronicequipment in the Soviet Union. Today, with some 160
companies and 12,800 employees, the electronics
industry is one of the most promising industrial
sectors in the country in terms of contribution
to GDP, job creation and attracting foreign direct
investment.
The Nanotechnology and Nanosensors Centre in
Moldova is the only one across eastern Europethat can design and manufacture nanosensors on
individual nanowires (or nanotubes, nanoflakes,
nanorods) with diameters from 10 nm to
micrometres. Also, Moldovan researchers havedeveloped the first highly porous, mechanically
flexible and extensible inorganic nanomaterial, whichis hydrophilic and hydrophobic at the same time. The
material is called aerogallit (aero-GaN) and could be
used in many practical applications due to its uniqueproperties.
The first nanostructured micro-submarine withboth light-driven and load-bearing capabilities wasinvented by Moldovan researchers. The submarine
consists of a matrix of TiO2 nanotubes that functions
as nano-engines under UV illumination.
Electronic research and development (R&D), designand semiconductor manufacturing are eligible tobenefit from the MITP tax regime. For more details,
see the chapter RDoing buisness in IT, businessserviced and the creative sector on page 62.

Global Business
Services(BPO & SSC)
This sector is on the rise in
Moldova. According to theBusiness Services Sector in Moldova 2023 report,
released by the Association of Business Service
Leaders Moldova (ABSL), in 2021 there were 4,795
outsourcing companies, employing some 32,000
people. Most of them provided IT services (2,305
enterprises), legal and accounting activities (1,067
companies), management and business consultancy(606 enterprises) and marketing services (277companies).
33 companies, surveyed by ABSL, operate in the
category of Information Technology, five of them are
Business Process Outsourcing centres, and three
are Research and Development centres. Half of allcompanies participating in the research express
their intent to broaden their range of activities. The
primary markets served by these entities are inEurope and the United States. Notably mentioned
countries include the UK, Romania, US, Germany,
Belgium, Poland, and Canada. English takes thelead as the most used language within thesecompanies, followed by six other languages driven bycustomer requirements: Romanian, French, Russian,German, Italian, and Spanish. Around 70 per centof the companies incorporate Intelligent Process
Automation (IPA) into their operations, with Machine
Learning and Chat GPT and/or similar tools.
The sector is now partially eligible to benefit from the
MITP tax regime. For more details, see the chapter
Doing buisness in IT, business serviced and thecreative sector on page 62.

< 81 >

How to IT
in Moldova?
A guide for investors, buyers
and partners, and individuals< 82 >< 83 >

A guide forinvestors• how to register as an MITP resident — page 63• how to set up a company in Moldova — page 64• how the incentives offered by Moldova
compare with those offered by someneighbouring countries — page 50• how the Moldovan tech sector is perceived
globally — page 32

This chapter helps you find the right informationin order to benefit from investing in the
Moldovan IT and tech sector and what steps totake to start an operation in the country.

• Moldova’s Digital Strategy — page 74• Moldova’s EU candidate status — page 65• Moldova’s online services for business — page 65

Check the following information if you’d like tolearn about...
• available direct air connections — page 78• average gross salaries in the IT sector — page 59• co-working spaces available in Moldova —page 73• English proficiency compared to othercountries in the region — page 45• how competitive the Moldovan IT sector is in
the emerging Europe region — page 44• how confident the Moldovan IT sector isabout its future growth — page 27• how long it takes to set up a company in
Moldova — page 64• how Moldova grows its pool of talent — page 59• how the IT sector has grown over the last few
years — page 22• how to develop a remote business in Moldova —page 69• how to do business in the IT sector in Moldova —page 62• how to hire foreign citizens in Moldova —page 69< 84 >• Moldova’s performance in the sustainability
index (ESG) in the emerging Europe region —page 49• the cost per employee for companies benefitingfrom the special tax regime — page 62• the cost of operating in the IT sector — page 26• the digital infrastructure in Moldova — page 76• the eligibility criteria and activities forcompanies that want to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• the exports and turnover of the IT sector —page 25• the foreign direct investment in the IT sector —page 25• the government’s initiatives and programmes —page 52• the internet speed and cost in Moldova —page 76• the key strengths of the Moldovan IT sector
as seen by international C-level executives —page 33• the legal framework on IT Park creation andoperation — page 66• the legal framework on protection of personal
data — page 67• the legal framework on registration andregulation of limited liability companies —page 64• the legal framework on remote workers —page 69• the main challenges for the Moldovan IT
sector — page 34• the main reasons behind partnering with
Moldovan IT companies — page 33• the methodology used in this research —page 94• the number of IT students and graduates —page 60• the obligations companies that want tobenefit from the social tax regime need tocomply with — page 63

Organisations and websites tocheck:• American Chamber ofCommerce in Moldova• Association for theDevelopment of Electronic Communications
and Innovative Technologies• Association of Business Service Leaders
Moldova• Association of Electronic Industry Companies
for Moldova• Business Angels Moldova• Chamber of Commerce and Industry• European Business Association• Foreign Investors’ Association• General Inspectorate for Migration, Ministry ofInternal Affairs• Invest Moldova Agency• the output and value added in the IT sector
per employee — page 25• Ministry of Foreign Affairs• the political context in Moldova — page 13• Ministry of Economic Development andDigitalisation• the progress of digitalisation of the public
sector — page 74• Moldova Innovation Technology Park• what companies that have been in Moldova
for some time say about doing IT in Moldova —page 16• what international analysts, FDI advisers,
location experts and C-level executives say
about IT in Moldova — page 37• which countries’ citizens are allowed to travel
to Moldova visa-free — page 69• the legal framework aimed at regulating andsafeguarding intellectual property rights —page 66• which sectors are eligible to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• the legal framework on cybersecurity — page 67• which technologies and services aredelivered from Moldova — page 42• Moldovan Association of ICT Companies• Public Services Agency• Technology Transfer Network of Moldova• Trade Information Portal• Why MITP

< 85 >

A guide for buyers
and partners• the methodology used in this research —page 94• the number of IT students and graduates —page 60• the value added in the IT sector per employee —page 25• the political context in Moldova — page 13

This chapter offers information about how to
buy IT services in Moldova or how to partnerwith a Moldovan IT company.

• the cost per employee for companies
benefiting from the special tax regime —page 62• the cost of operation in the IT sector — page 26• the digital infrastructure in Moldova — page 76

Check the following information if you’d like tolearn about...
• available direct air connections — page 78• the exports and turnover of the IT sector —page 25• average gross salaries in the IT sector — page 59• the foreign direct investment in the IT sector —page 25• English proficiency compared to the othercountries in the region — page 45• the internet speed and cost in Moldova —page 76• how competitive the Moldovan IT sector is in
the emerging Europe region — page 44• the key strengths of the Moldovan IT sector
as seen by international C-level executives —page 33• how confident the Moldovan IT sector isabout its future growth — page 27• how Moldova grows its pool of talent — page 59• how the IT sector has grown over the last few
years — page 22• how the Moldovan tech sector is perceived
globally — page 32• Moldova’s Digital Strategy — page 74• Moldova’s EU candidate status — page 65• Moldova’s online services for business —page 65• the legal framework aimed at regulating andsafeguarding intellectual property rights —page 66• the legal framework on cybersecurity — page 67• the legal framework for IT Park creation andoperation — page 66• the progress of digitalisation of the public
sector — page 74• what companies that have been in Moldova
for some time say about doing IT in Moldova —page 16

Organisations and websites
to check:• American Chamber ofCommerce in Moldova• Association of Business
Service Leaders (ABSL) Moldova• Association of Electronic Industry Companies
for Moldova• Association for the Development ofElectronic Communications and Innovative
Technologies• Chamber of Commerce and Industry• what international analysts, FDI advisers,
location experts and C-level executives say
about doing IT in Moldova — page 37• European Business Association• which countries are eager to partner with
Moldovan IT companies — page 33• Invest Moldova Agency• which countries’ citizens are allowed to travel
to Moldova visa-free — page 69• which sectors are eligible to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• which technologies and services aredelivered from Moldova — page 42• Foreign Investors’ Association• MITP residents’ profiles• Ministry of Foreign Affairs• Ministry of Economic Development andDigitalisation• Moldova Innovation Technology Park
• Moldovan Association of ICT Companies• Technology Transfer Network of Moldova• Trade Information Portal• the legal framework for protection of personal
data — page 67• the main challenges for the Moldovan IT
sector — page 34• the main reasons behind partnering with
Moldovan IT companies — page 33• Moldova’s performance in the sustainability
index (ESG) in the emerging Europe region —page 49< 86 >< 87 >

A guide for analysts andsite selection consultants
This chapter helps you find the right information
to understand the country’s tech potential andthe opportunities it offers for your potential
clients and readers.

• how the incentives offered by Moldova
compare with those offered by someneighbouring countries — page 50• how the Moldovan tech sector is perceived
globally — page 32

Check the following information if you’d like tolearn about...
• available direct air connections — page 78• average gross salaries in the IT sector — page 59• Moldova’s Digital Strategy — page 74• Moldova’s EU candidate status — page 65• Moldova’s online services for business — page 65• English proficiency compared to othercountries in the region — page 45• Moldova’s performance in the sustainability
index (ESG) in the emerging Europe region —page 49• how competitive the Moldovan IT sector is in
the emerging Europe region — page 44• the cost per employee for companies benefitingfrom the special tax regime — page 62• how confident the Moldovan IT sector isabout its future growth — page 27• how long it takes to set up a company in
Moldova — page 64• how Moldova grows its pool of talent — page 59• the key strengths of the Moldovan IT sector
as seen by international C-level executives —page 33• what international analysts, FDI advisers,
location experts and C-level executives say
about IT in Moldova — page 37• the legal framework aimed at regulating andsafeguarding intellectual property rights —page 66• which countries’ citizens are allowed to travel
to Moldova visa-free — page 69• the legal framework on cybersecurity — page 67• which sectors are eligible to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• the legal framework on IT Park creation andoperation — page 66• which technologies and services aredelivered from Moldova — page 42• the legal framework on protection of personal
data — page 67• the legal framework on registration andregulation of limited liability companies —page 64• the legal framework on remote workers —page 69• the main challenges for the Moldovan IT
sector — page 34• the main reasons behind partnering with
Moldovan IT companies — page 33• the cost of operating in the IT sector — page 26• the methodology used in this research —page 94• the co-working spaces available in Moldova —page 73• the number of IT students and graduates —page 60• the digital infrastructure in Moldova — page 76• the obligations companies that want tobenefit from the social tax regime need tocomply with — page 63

Organisations and websites
to check:• Association of Business
Service Leaders Moldova• Association of Electronic
Industry Companies for Moldova• Association for the Development ofElectronic Communications and Innovative
Technologies• Centre of Excellence in Informatics andInformational Technologies• Chamber of Commerce and Industry• General Inspectorate for Migration, Ministry ofInternal Affairs• Invest Moldova Agency• how the IT sector has grown over the last few
years — page 22• the eligibility criteria and activities forcompanies that want to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• how to develop a remote business in Moldova —page 69• the exports and turnover of the IT sector —page 25• the political context in Moldova — page 13• how to do business in the IT sector in Moldova —page 62• the foreign direct investment in the IT sector —page 26• the progress of digitalisation of the public
sector — page 74• how to hire foreign citizens in Moldova —page 69• the government’s initiatives and programmes —page 52• the start-up ecosystem — page 70• Moldovan Association of ICT Companies• how to register as an MITP resident — page 63• the internet speed and cost in Moldova —page 76• the tech ecosystem stakeholders andsupporters — page 72• Public Services Agency• how to set up a company in Moldova — page 64< 88 >• the output and value added in the IT sector
per employee — page 25• what companies that have been in Moldova
for some time say about doing IT in Moldova —page 16• Ministry of Foreign Affairs• Ministry of Economic Development andDigitalisation• Moldova Innovation Technology Park
• Why.mitp.md• Technology Transfer Network of Moldova• Trade Information Portal< 89 >

A guide forindividuals• how to register as an MITP resident — page 63• how to set up a company in Moldova — page 64• how the incentives offered by Moldova
compare with those offered by some of theneighbouring countries — page 50• how the Moldovan tech sector is perceived
globally — page 32

This chapter offers a guide to the rightinformation for those planning to move to
Moldova, seek employment in the country, work
as a digital nomad or set up a start-up.

• how to become a digital nomad in Moldova —page 55• Moldova’s Digital Strategy — page 74• Moldova’s EU candidate status — page 65

Check the following information if you’d like tolearn about...

• Moldova’s online services for business —page 65• available direct air connections — page 78• Moldova’s performance in the sustainability
index (ESG) in the emerging Europe region —page 49• average gross salaries in the IT sector —page 59• the legal framework on IT Park creation andoperation — page 66• the legal framework on protection of personal
data — page 67• the legal framework on registration andregulation of limited liability companies —page 64• Ministry of Economic Development andDigitalisation• the methodology used in this research —page 94• Moldova Innovation Technology Park

• the obligations companies that want tobenefit from the social tax regime need tocomply with — page 63• the political context in Moldova — page 13• English proficiency compared to the othercountries in the region — page 45• the cost of operation in the IT sector — page 26• the start-up ecosystem — page 70• the digital infrastructure in Moldova — page 76• the tech ecosystem stakeholders andsupporters — page 72• how long it takes to set up a company in
Moldova — page 64• how Moldova grows its pool of talent — page 59• how the IT sector has grown over the last few
years — page 22• how to develop a remote business in Moldova —page 69• how to do business in the IT sector in Moldova —page 62• how to hire foreign citizens in Moldova —page 69< 90 >• the government’s initiatives and programmes —page 52• the internet speed and cost in Moldova —page 76• the key strengths of the Moldovan IT sector
as seen by international C-level executives —page 33• the legal framework aimed at regulating andsafeguarding intellectual property rights —page 66• General Inspectorate for Migration, Ministry ofInternal Affairs• the main challenges for the Moldovan IT
sector — page 34• the progress of digitalisation of the public
sector — page 74• how confident the Moldovan IT sector isabout its future growth — page 27• Ecosystem players• Ministry of Foreign Affairs• the cost per employee for companies benefitingfrom the special tax regime — page 62• the eligibility criteria and activities forcompanies that want to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• Business Angels Moldova• the legal framework on remote workers —page 69• co-working spaces — page 73• how competitive the Moldovan IT sector is in
the emerging Europe region — page 44

Organisations and websites
to check:• what companies that have been in Moldova
for some time say about doing IT in Moldova —page 16• Moldova IT Career Centre• Mozaic Ventures• Numbeo Cost of Living• Organisation for the Development of
Entrepreneurship• Public Services Agency• Relocate to Moldova• Startup Moldova• Trade Information Portal• what international analysts, FDI advisers,
location experts and C-level executives say
about doing IT in Moldova — page 37• which countries’ citizens are allowed to travel
to Moldova visa-free — page 69• which countries’ citizens are not required toapply for a temporary for permit — page 63• which sectors are eligible to benefit from thespecial tax regime — page 63• the legal framework on cybersecurity — page 67< 91 >

Appendices< 92 >< 93 >

For other indicators, data from the National Bureau of
Statistics of the Republic of Moldova (NBSRM), National
Bank of Moldova, and internal Moldova Innovation
Technology Park (MITP) statistics were used.

Methodology

In some cases, an IT-adjacent indicator as a proxy for
the IT sector is used—the reason for this indicator is alack of data for the IT sector in Moldova as a whole.

In the desktop research process, the Emerging
Europe team used the following data sources:• Data collected by the Moldova Innovation
Technology Park—the intelligence on the current
state of the ecosystem provided by MITP resident
companies.
• Emerging Europe’s own data. We constantly collectdata in order to analyse the state and developmentof the IT sector of the emerging Europe region.
• Other data from national and internationalsources (a full list of resources is available in the
References and Acknowledgements section).
Desktop research (for Market Potential and LabourMarket): data from the latest Future of Emerging
Europe Sustainability Index was used, as well as
its categories. Each category in turn consists of
two subcategories, and they have a number ofindicators, with equal weights for the calculation ofeach subindex, while two subindexes are used in thecalculation of each category with equal weight.
For the calculation of the Sustainability Index, eachcategory has an equal weight. Overall, 78 indicators
contributed to the Sustainability Index: nine for thesubindexes Future-proof education and 11 for Healthand social life—they are part of the People category,subindex Sustainable lifestyle has nine indicators,
and Green energy has seven indicators—together
they constitute the Planet category.
People-first economies and Inclusive
entrepreneurship with six indicators in eachcontribute to the category Prosperity. World order,
democracy and the rule of law has 11 indicators,
Media freedom and the future of information with six
indicators together are par of the Peace category.
Finally, regional collaboration with six indicators andModern leadership with seven indicators contributeto the Partnership category.
In addition, some parts of the latest Emerging Europe
Future of IT: 2023 report were used for the section
Regional positioning. In this report, indicators havedifferent weights, as well as subindexes of the report,
contributing different shares with a considerationof their relevance to the total index. The IT
Competitiveness Index consists of four categories
and twelve subcategories:< 94 >

Figure 85. The IT Competitiveness Index

Weights

Number of Categories andindicators subcategories

40 per cent

18

Talent20 per cent10

Education

8 per cent5

Labour force

12 per cent3

Talent competitiveness20 per cent6

IT infrastructure

10 per cent2Connectivity

7 per cent3

Digital transformation

3 per cent1

Non-personnel resources

20 per cent11

Economic impact

9 per cent6

Economic performance

7 per cent4

Cost competitiveness4 per cent1

Covid resistance

20 per cent

10

Business environment

6 per cent2Intellectual property andcybersecurity

3

Support for industry
development

9 per cent
5 per cent5

Economic competitiveness

Therefore, in some cases, the IT-adjacent indicator
includes the data on companies engaged incomputer programming, consultancy and related
activities of section J of NACE rev. 2 Information andTelecommunications, which is the largest IT-related
division.
In others, it is a sum of NACE rev. 2 divisions J58.20
Software publishing, J62 Computer programming,
consultancy and related activities and J631 Data
processing, hosting and related activities; web portalsof section J Information and Communication, and inothers—as a sum of computer and information services.

Confidence Survey
Emerging Europe conducted a Confidence Survey of
MITP residents, with the total number of respondents
being 218 firms of all sizes.
Emerging Europe assessed different indicators, suchas the size of the entity by size category, revenueof the entity by category, type of activity, main
problems, different indicators of growth anticipation,
relocation anticipations and financial leverage growth
anticipations.
Questions which were asked in the confidence survey:
1. What is the size of your operation in Moldova?
2. When was your operation in Moldova launched?
3. What is the annual revenue of your company in

Moldova?
4. What business sectors does your operations in

Moldova serve?
5. Do you expect your team to grow or reduce in size

over the next 12 months?
6. Do you expect your revenues to increase or

An overview of IT incentives in
Moldova and selected countries in
the region
Emerging Europe conducted research on existing tax
exemptions and incentives related to the IT sector
in Moldova and selected countries in the region,
including Belarus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Georgia, Latvia,
Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Ukraine.
The methodology involved engaging with IT sector
associations and relevant public institutions
overseeing the sector to request detailed information
on various types of incentives. (For the full listof institutions that participated and provided
information, see References and Acknowledgements
on page 108).
These incentives encompassed tax exemptions,tax credits, tax deductions, financial grants andsubsidies, special economic and technology
development zones, intellectual property
incentives, employment incentives, regulatory andadministrative incentives, investment facilitation,and collaboration and clustering initiatives.
The data collected included descriptions of each
incentive type, along with specific attributes such as
duration, percentage of tax reductions/credits, andother relevant details. Data for Moldova was sourced
from the Moldovan Information Technology Park
(MITP) and relevant legal framework in Moldova.

decrease over the next 12 months?
7. Do you expect your cost of goods sold (COGS) /cost of sales (COS) to increase or decrease overthe next 12 months?
8. Do you plan to raise or lower the price of yourservices or products over the next 12 months?
9. Do you plan to increase or decrease the leveragerate over the next 12 months?
10. What could be the biggest challenges for yourcompany in the next 12-24 months?
11. How likely is your company to relocate its

headquarters to a different country in order toaccess opportunities and expand in the next 12-24
months?
Here, some details of respondents who were polled in
Emerging Europe’s Confidence Survey are described.
In general, 13.3 per cent of respondents were individual
entrepreneurs, 36.7 per cent were representativesof enterprises with 1-10 employees, 33.9 per centrepresented companies with 11-50 employees, 8.7 percent represented companies with 51-100 employees,
3.7 per cent represented companies with 100-250
employees, 2.3 per cent represented firms with
250-1,000 employees, and 1.4 per cent represented
companies with more than 1,000 employees.
The most widespread type of activity of MITP
entities, according to the poll, is e-commercewith approximately 13 per cent of respondents
active in this field, fintech with about 10 per cent ofrespondents, and Mobile Software—approximatelynine per cent.

< 95 >

Figure 86. Types of activity of entities

In the following figure the division of revenue
categories by size is shown. To conclude, there is an
obvious positive correlation between the size andrevenue category.
Figure 87. Share of entities revenues by size category

The following figure shows the share of entities
by years on the market with division by size. Morethan 51 per cent of individual entrepreneurs are on
the market for less than one year, which indicatesthe high growth of the number of individual
entrepreneurs during last year. Considering firms, thebiggest share of firms, namely almost 50 per cent,are active for more than 10 years.

Individual entrepreneurs are the most active in thefield of Fintech, E-commerce and Mobile software.
Figure 89. Type of activity, individual entrepreneurs

Figure 88. Share of entities by years on a market, by size

Considering companies, the most popular directions
are E-commerce, Fintech and Mobile software.

< 96 >< 97 >

Figure 90. Type of activity, companies

Figure 93. Main problems, share of answers, big companies

Considering small and medium-sized enterprises(from 1 to 250 employees), the most frequently
mentioned problems are talent acquisition andretention, the regional geopolitical situation and thedecline of the global IT market.

Decline of global IT
marketDomestic economic
instability

0.0%

Figure 92. Main problems, share of answers, SMEs

Domestic politicalinstability

0.0%

20.0%
16.7%

0.0%

16.7%
10.0%

Increase of overhead
costs
Legal framework andregulations

16.7%
20.0%
0.0%

Figure 96. Expectation for team growth over the next 12months, average by revenue category

10.0%

Regional geopoliticalsituation
Retention of existingclients

Figure 95. Share of entities which anticipate growing theirteams over the next 12 months

33.3%
0.0%
0.0%
20.0%

Talent acquisition andretention

16.7%
20.0%
0.0%

Growing interest rates

0.0%

opportunities

0.0%
250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

Further, figures from the Confidence Survey, whichwere depicted in the section Market potential are
represented.

Figure 91. Main problems, share of answers, individual
entrepreneurs

Domestic economic instability

Legal framework and regulations

1.7%

11-50 employees

26.6%

51-100 employees

27.2%

100-250 employees

20.0%
38.0%

250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

Individual entrepreneurs

17.2%

Regional geopolitical situation

5.2%
8.6%
10.3%

< 98 >

34.6%

20.0%

Figure 98. Share of entities which expect revenue growthover the next 12 months

22.4%
1.7%

Growing interest rates and

17.3%

10.3%

Increase of overhead costs

Talent acquisition and retention

Figure 94. Expectation for team growth over the next
12 months, average by company size; average for allcompanies: 28.9 per cent22.4%

Domestic political instability

Retention of existing clients

Individual entrepreneurs
1-10 employees

The main problems that concern individual
entrepreneurs are a decline in the global IT market,
domestic political instability and the regional
geopolitical situation.

Decline of global IT market

Figure 97. Revenue growth expectations for the next
12 months, average by company size; average for allcompanies: 29.9 per cent0.0%

1-10 employees

84.7%

11-50 employees

83.8%

51-100 employees

Considering big companies (with more than 250
employees), the most frequently mentioned problems area decline of the global IT market, the regional geopoliticalsituation and talent acquisition and retention.

59.1%

100-250 employees

94.4%
87.5%

250-1,000 employees

100.0%

More than 1,000 employees

100.0%< 99 >

Figure 99. Revenue growth expectation for the next 12months, average by revenue category

Figure 103. Own prices growth expectations for the next
12 months, average by size; average for all companies: 20.4
per cent

Individual entrepreneurs

16.5%

11-50 employees

15.5%
22.1%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees

12.5%

250-1,000 employees

Figure 100. Cost of goods sold/cost of sales growth
expectation for the next 12 months, average by size;
average for all companies: 19.4 per centIndividual entrepreneurs

10.3%
18.3%

1-10 employees

15.3%

11-50 employees

22.1%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

12.0%
6.7%

-6.7%

Figure 104. Share of entities which expect their own prices
to increase over the next 12 months, by size

48.3%
81.3%

1-10 employees

75.7%

11-50 employees

94.7%

51-100 employees
100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

48.3%

Individual entrepreneurs

76.3%

1-10 employees

68.9%

11-50 employees

89.5%

100-250 employees

62.5%

250-1,000 employees

60.0%More than 1,000 employees
Figure 101. Share of entities which expect the cost of goods
sold/cost of sales to increase, by size

Individual entrepreneurs

4.0%

51-100 employees

10.0%

62.5%
40.0%
66.7%

Figure 102. Cost of goods sold/cost of sales growth
expectations for the next 12 months, average by revenue
category

Figure 107. Share of entities which expect to see a growthin leverage rate over next 12 months, by revenue category

11.7%

1-10 employees

More than
1,000 employees

Figure 106. Share of entities which expect to see a growthin leverage rate over next 12 months, by size

33.3%

Graph 105. Own price growth expectations for the next 12months, average by revenue category

Individual entrepreneurs

19.0%

1-10 employees

12.7%

11-50 employees

18.3%

51-100 employees

19.2%

100-250 employees

14.1%

250-1,000 employees
More than 1,000 employees

5.0%

Figure 108. Main problems, share of answers, all entities

16.7%

Decline of global IT market
Domestic economic instability
Domestic political instability
Increase of overhead costs
Legal framework andregulations

7.1%
9.4%
6.7%
4.8%

Regional geopolitical situation
Retention of existing clients

18.6%
7.8%

Talent acquisition andretention

20.0%
7.3%

Growing interest rates andopportunities< 100 >

1.6%

< 101 >

Figure 109. Expectation of relocating to a different country
over the next 12-24 months, average by size; average for allcompanies: 21.9 per cent

16.6%

Individual entrepreneurs

27.6%

1-10 employees

19.5%

11-50 employees
51-100 employees

12.1%
17.5%

100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees

4.0%
30.0%

More than 1,000 employees

Perception Survey
The IT Perception Survey is conducted in sevenmarkets (the United States, the United Kingdom,
Germany, France, Sweden, Poland, and Romania) andincludes 975 respondents. We asked several typesof questions, including the size of organisations,the sectors in which organisations operate, whether
companies currently outsource IT services, whether
they would consider outsourcing IT services from
Moldovan companies, the three main perceived
challenges in partnering with these companies, aswell as the three main reasons to do so.
Figure 112. Number of targeted respondents per country

Figure 110. Share of companies who rate the likelihood of
relocating at more than 50 per cent, by size

Individual entrepreneurs

0.0%
15.0%

1-10 employees
11-50 employees
51-100 employees

8.1%
5.3%

100-250 employees
250-1,000 employees

Percentage

Number of targeted
respondents

US

25

250

UK

20

200

Germany

15

150

France10100

Sweden1075

Poland10100

Romania

10100Country

12.5%
0.0%

More than 1,000 employees 0.0%

2.9. Business services

6.8. Local business culture

2.10. Entertainment

6.9. Unfavourable tax regime

2.11. Government/public sector

6.10. Poor infrastructure

2.12. Other

6.11. Unstable local value chains

3. The Covid-19 pandemic has boosted demand for

IT outsourcing to drive digitalisation, increase
productivity and competitiveness, or reach othergoals. Does your company already outsource IT
services?
• Yes• No, but we plan to do so in the near future.
• No, and we don’t plan to do so.
4. Would you consider hiring or outsourcing IT

services provided by IT companies in Moldova?
• Yes
• No
5. Based on your current understanding of thepotential, capabilities and value proposition of
Moldovan IT companies, what are / could be thereasons behind partnering with a Moldovan IT
company? (select three items)
5.1. Moldova’s status as an EU candidate country
5.2. Operational cost effectiveness5.3. Quality of IT services

competition
5.6. The quality education and collaboration with

universities
5.7. Labour costs
5.8. Level of IT sector development

Here are the questions of the survey:
1. What type of organisation do you represent?
1.1. a multinational company
1.2. an international company (present in not morethan three markets)
1.3. a large national company
1.4. a small/medium company
1.5. a start-up
2. Which sector does your organisation operate in?
2.1. Financial services and insurance< 102 >

5.9. Geographic proximity
5.10. Cultural proximity
5.11. English proficiency
5.12. Intellectual Property Protection
5.13. Data privacy and security compliance5.14. Access to emerging markets
6. Based on your current understanding of thepotential, capabilities, and value proposition of
Moldovan IT companies, what could be the biggest
challenges? (select three items)
6.1. Lack of knowledge about the market’s

potential

2.2. ICT and telecommunications

6.2. Retaining skilled talent and brain drain

2.3. E-commerce and retail6.3. Skills gap in talent pool

2.4. Food and agriculture

6.4. Limited funding and high interest rates

2.5. Energy

6.5. Lack of incentives

2.6. Healthcare and pharma

6.6. Regulatory environment

2.7. Construction and real estate

6.7. The IT sector’s inadequate international brand2.8. Manufacturing

7. Did you know that...? (yes or no)• Moldova runs Europe’s first e-Park with some 1,600
residents, offering a simplified and favourable
taxation model (7 per cent single tax), an IT
Visa Programme, a virtual operating regime andsimplified interaction with public authorities?
• 4.4% of Moldovans are employed in the ICT sector,
the second highest percentage of the entire
workforce after Estonia (according to the Future of
IT in Emerging Europe 2023 report)?
• The average internet speed in Moldova is higher
than in some developed countries such as
Germany, Switzerland or Estonia (according to the2023 Worldwide Broadband Speed League)?
• Moldova is included in the ‘high’ E-Government
Development category for its implementationof digital government, according to the UN
E-Government Development Index?
• Moldova is an EU candidate country and has hada Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement(DCFTA) with the EU since 2014?

5.4. Accessible skilled talent
5.5. Transparent business practices and fair

Figure 111. Expectation of relocating to a different country
over the next 12-24 months, average by revenue

6.12. Insufficient global value chain embeddedness

recognition

The following figures present the profile ofrespondents (based in the size of organisation andthe sector in which they operate) who took part in thePerception Survey.
Figure 112 shows the distribution based on theirsize and scope of operations. It reveals that mostparticipants were small to medium-sized companies(394). Multinational companies (213) also featured,
while large national companies accounted for 150
responses, indicating a lower presence than thesmall to medium-sized category. Start-ups wererepresented by 121 responses, and international
companies with a limited market presence (up to
three markets) were the least represented, with 97
responses.

Figure 113. Type of Organisation in all seven markets
an international company(present in not morethan three markets)

97

a start-up

121
394

a small/medium company

213

a multinational company
a large national company

150< 103 >

7.00%

14.67%
mediumcompany

a multinational 20.00%

17.00%

43.20%

a start-up

a start-up

10.00%

8.00%

a multinational
company

12.00%

35.33%
a large national 14.67%
company

a large national 15.00%
company

48.00% a multinational

13.00%

company

a large national
company
14.50%

a small/

49.00% medium
company

19.00%

30.00%
a small/medium
company

The Romanian respondents are small/medium
companies (48 per cent), multinational companies(19 per cent), start-ups (15 per cent), large national
companies (10 per cent) and international companies(8 per cent).

19.00%a multinational
company

The majority of organisations surveyed in the UK aresmall to medium-sized companies, accounting for 49
per cent. This is followed by multinational companies
at 19 per cent, large national companies at 14.50
per cent, start-ups at 13 per cent, and international
companies at 4.50 per cent.

Figure 121. Sector in which your organisation operates in Seven markets

200
150
100
50
0

EnergyIn Germany, multinational companies constitute35.33 per cent of respondents, followed by small
and medium-sized companies with 30 per cent,large companies with 14.67 per cent, international
companies with 12 per cent and start-ups with eightper cent.

a small/medium
company< 104 >

Other

4.50% than three markets)

ICT andtelecommunications

an international company(present in not more

8.00%

E-commerce and retaila start-up

When considering the sectors in which the
respondents operate the data suggest a broad
spectrum of industries. figure X.B indicates that themost common sectors represented are Businessservices with 107 responses, E-commerce and retailwith 111 responses, ICT and telecommunications with
126 responses, and other sectors with 194 responses.
On the other hand, Energy, Food and agriculture,
Government/public sector, Entertainment, Financial
services and insurance, Healthcare and pharma,
Manufacturing, and Construction and real estate
sectors are also represented but with fewer
responses, ranging from 25 to 97.

Business services

a start-up

Figure 119. Type of organisation - the UK

While in the US, most of organisations surveyed aresmall to medium-sized companies (43.20 per cent),
followed up by start-ups at 18.40 per cent, large
national companies at 18 per cent, multinational
companies at 14.80 per cent, and international
companies at 5.60 per cent.

Construction andreal estate

an international
company(present in not morethan three markets)

Figure 118 provides the distribution of Swedish
respondents which represent small/medium
company (37.33 per cent), international companies(24 per cent), multinational company (20 per cent),
large national company (14.67 per cent), start-ups (4per cent).

Manufacturing

Among respondents from Poland, small and mediumsized companies represent 42 per cent, multinational
companies make up 20 per cent, large national
companies account for 17 per cent; international
companies constitute 14 per cent and start-ups
represent 7 per cent.
Figure 117. Type of organisation – Romania

Figure 115. Type of organisation – Germany

a small/mediumcompany

18.40%

Healthcare and pharma

The most common type of French organisation
surveyed is a multinational company (31 per cent)followed by small to medium-sized companies at
25 per cent, international companies at 16 per cent,large national companies also at 16 per cent, andstart-ups at 12 per cent.

18.00%

an international company(present in not morethan three markets)a multinational
companya small/medium
company

a large national
company

24.00%

20.00%
25.00%

14.80%

company

16.00%

an international
company(present in not morethan three markets)

37.33% a small/a small/medium

a large national
company

an international
company(present in not morethan three markets)a multinational
company

42.00% company

31.00%

a large national
company
16.00%

an international
company(present in not more
5.60% than three markets)a large national
company

Financial services andinsurance

12.00%

4.00% a start-up

a start-up

14.00%a multinational
company

Figure 120. Type of organisation — the US

Entertainmenta start-up

an international
company(present in not morethan three markets)

Figure 118. Type of organisation - Sweden

Government/public sector

Figure 114. Type of organisation – France

Figure 116. Type of organisation – Poland

Food and agriculture

Figures 114-120 present the distribution of
respondents in each of seven markets.

< 105 >

Figure 122. Sector in which your organisation operates in –three main sectors in each market

In-depth interviews
Alongside the perception survey, we conducted
twenty in-depth interviews with C-level executives atinternational organisations, foreign direct investment
advisers, site selection advisers and global
influencers.
These interviews yielded insights into Moldova’s
potential, its value proposition, and the opportunities
it presents. The selection criteria were based onparticipants’ knowledge, experience, and influence in
the industry.
For the C-level executives, we ensured a diversemix of individuals with and without prior experience
working with Moldova. This approach aimed tocapture a broad range of perspectives to better
understand their perception of Moldova and expose
them to the country’s value proposition (Forthe full list of interviewees, see References andAcknowledgements on page 108).
The selection process involved reaching out topotential participants and inviting them to take partin in-depth interviews (IDIs). The IDIs were conductedusing a semi-structured format, which allowed forflexibility in exploring relevant topics in depth.

Figure 122 illustrates the three main sectors in which
respondents operate in. The data reflects a diverse
sectoral composition of surveyed organisations acrossthe seven markets.
For example, in France, respondents from E-commerceand retail and Other sectors tie for the top spot at 19
per cent, followed by Business services at 18 per cent.
In Germany, respondents operate in Healthcare andpharma at 16 per cent, followed by Other at 15.33 percent and E-commerce and retail at 12.67 per cent.
Poland’s dominant sector among respondents is Otherat 21 per cent, followed by ICT and telecommunications
and Construction and real estate, both at 12 per cent.
Romania’s respondents operate in Other at 26 per cent,followed by Business services at 12 per cent and ICT andtelecommunications at 11 per cent.
In Sweden, the main sectors in which surveyed
companies operate are Financial services and insurance,
ICT and telecommunications, E-commerce and retail,and Business services, all at 13.33 per cent to 14.67 percent. The UK’s primary sectors among respondents are
Other at 21 per cent, followed by E-commerce and retailat 14 per cent, and Manufacturing at 11.50 per cent.
Finally, in the US, most of the surveyed organisations
operate in Other (22 per cent), followed by ICT andtelecommunications (19.20 per cent), and Construction
and real estate (15.20 per cent).

< 106 >The interviews revolved around a set of generalquestions, with follow-up questions added basedon the responses. These questions focused on key
themes such as trends in the IT sector, perceptions ofpartnering with IT providers to enhance digitizationand competitiveness, and the key factors companies
consider when selecting partner companies.
Also, we enquired about their knowledge of the
Moldovan IT sector, including the challenges
and opportunities they perceive. We sought theirrecommendations on how the government could
boost the sector’s profile and how companies cancreate their value proposition.
For the full list of interviewees, see References andAcknowledgements on page 108.

References andAcknowledgements
In this chapter we thank all individuals andorganisations that have contributed to thisresearch either in its quantitative or qualitativepart.

• Irina Strajescu, People and Communication
Director and HR Director. Moldcell• George Teodorescu, Global Head of Risk andCompliance and Regional Director for Moldova,
Mixbook• Elias Van Herwaarden, Head of Location Strategy,
Occupier Services EMEA, Colliers International

First, we would like to thank the in-depth
interviewees who shared their insights about the
Moldovan IT market and the opportunities if offers.

• Joel Walker, Co-Founder and Chief Operating
Officer, The Knowledge Group• Mark Angus, CEO, Genesis Global Business
Services

We would like to thank all the organisations that
supported the research related to the tax incentives
and other benefits offered by selected countries in
the region• Lynda Arsenault, International FDI and
Outsourcing Adviser• Anne Bibb, Co-Founder & COO, Ethos Support• Willian Carson, Director of Market Engagement,
Ascensos• Cristina Ceban, Talent Acquisition Lead, Endava• Bulgarian Association of Software CompaniesBASSCOM Bulgaria• Cluj IT Cluster, Romania• Employers’ Association of the Software andServices Industry, ANIS, Romania• David Deadman, Procurement Director, RELXGroup

• Estonian Investment Agency, Enterprise Estonia• Wiktor Doktór, CEO, ProProgressio• Invest in Georgia• Alexandru Gozun, Head of PwC Moldova Office,Director Business and Public Sector Advisory
Services, President, Amcham Moldova• HI Tech Park, Belarus• Investment and Development Agency of Latvia• Invest Lithuania• Ukraine DIIA City

• Elena Ivanova, Managing Director, Crunchyroll
Moldova• Ukraine IT Association• What are the trends in the IT sector?

• Romek Lubaczewski, Retired Partner, PwC• Software Development Association (SoDA), Poland• How is partnering with IT providers perceived
when enhancing digitisation, competitiveness andproductivity?

• Stephen Loynd, Founder and Principal, TrendzOwl• And what are the key elements companies arelooking for when selecting providers?

• Olivier Prado, Founder and CEO, GPG Call Centre& BPO Solutions; President of the Board of theBusiness Leaders in Moldova

Below are the general questions asked:• What is their knowledge about the Moldovan IT
sector? What challenges and opportunities do theysee?
• What should / could the government do to boost
the profile of the sector and how can companies
create their competitive advantage?

• Loren Moss, Business Intelligence Adviser• Peter Ryan, Global BPO Adviser, President andPrincipal Analyst, Ryan Strategic Advisory• Slovak Investment and Trade Development Agency

We would like to thank all the organisations thatshared their data and statistics.
All statistics with money indicators are depicted ineuros. In case the original data was in Moldovan lei,
the average exchange rate provided by the National
Bank of Moldova was used. If the original data was in
the US dollar, the average exchange rate provided by
the European Central Bank was used.

• Shelli Ryan, Chief Executive Officer, Founder, Ad
Hoc Communication Resources• Olga Surugiu, CEO, Orange Moldova, Vice
President, Moldovan Association of ICT Companies< 107 >

Market potential
Figures “Number of ICT and IT-adjacent enterprises”,“Structure of ICT enterprises by size, 2022”,“Structure of IT-adjacent enterprises by size, 2022”,“Share of turnover of ICT enterprises by size, 2022”,“Share of turnover of IT-adjacent enterprises by size,2022”, “Turnover of ICT and IT-adjacent enterprises,
million euros”, “ICT value added, current prices”,“Share of ICT sector in GDP”, “Physical volume
production index of ICT, change to the previous year”,“Average monthly cost per employee in ICT sector
and in overall economy, euros” rely on the data fromthe National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic ofMoldova (NBSRM).
Figures “ICT exports, of which IT - adjacent exports,
million euros” and “FDI stock in ICT, end of the year”
based on the data of the National Bank of Moldova.
Figures “Number of MITP residents at end of year”,“Share of MITP residents with local and foreign
capital, 2023”, “Share of MITP residents by size,2023”, “Sales revenue, cost of sales and gross profit
from eligible activities of MITP residents, million
euros”, “Sales by eligible activity, local and exports,
million euros”, “Sales revenue and gross profit per
employee, thousand euros”, “Total investments of
MITP residents”, “Cost of sales from eligible activities”
are taken from the internal Moldova IT Park statistics.
Figures “Expectation for team growth over the
next 12 months, average by company size”, “Shareof entities which anticipate growing their teams
over the next 12 months”, “Expectation for team
growth over the next 12 months, average by revenue
category”, “Revenue growth expectation for the
next 12 months, average by company size”, “Shareof entities which expect revenue growth over the
next 12 months”, “Revenue growth expectation for
the next 12 months, average by revenue category”,“Cost of goods sold/cost of sales growth expectation
for the next 12 months, average by size”, “Share ofentities which expect the cost of goods sold/cost of
sales to increase, by size”, “Cost of goods sold/costof sales growth expectations for the next 12 months,
average by revenue category”, “Own prices growth
expectations for the next 12 months, average bysize”, “Share of entities which expect their own prices
to increase over the next 12 months, by size”, “Own
price growth expectations for the next 12 months,
average by revenue category”, “Share of entities
which expect to see a growth in leverage rate overnext 12 months, by size”, “Share of entities which
expect to see a growth in leverage rate over next 12months, by revenue category”, “Main problems, shareof answers, all entities”, “Expectation of relocating< 108 >

to a different country over the next 12-24 months,
average by size”, “Share of companies who rate thelikelihood of relocating at more than 50 per cent, bysize”, “Expectation of relocating to a different country
over the next 12-24 months, average by revenue”
rely on the results of the Confidence Survey of MITP
residents, conducted by Emerging Europe.

Sectors, services andtechnologies
In this chapter, source of data for figures“Technologies used by companies in the MITP, 2023”,“Fields of activity of companies in the MITP, 2023”,“Types of project of companies in the MITP, 2023” isthe internal Moldova IT Park statistics.
Figures “Types of activity of companies in the MITP,
2023”, “Share of number of sectors of individual
entrepreneurs”, “Share of number of sectors of SMEs”
and “Share of number of sectors of big companies”
rely on the results of the Confidence Survey of MITP
residents, conducted by Emerging Europe.

Labour market
For this section, figures “Average salary in ICT sector,
euros”, “Average monthly earnings in IT-adjacent,euros”, “Number of employees in IT-adjacent sector”,“Share of ICT employees by gender, per cent”,“Share of employees in IT-adjacent by gender, percent”, “Number of ICT students by education level”,“Number of ICT graduates by education level”, “Shareof ICT students of all students by level of education,
per cent”, “Share of ICT graduates of all graduatesby level of education, per cent”, “Share of employedin ICT in total economy, per cent”, “Yearly average
number of employees in ICT and IT-adjacent sectors”,
are taken from the NBSRM.
Source of data for figures “Share of MITP employees
involved in eligible activities by gender, percent”, “Structure of MITP residents employees by
citizenship”, “Number of MITP resident employees” is
MITP internal statistics.
For the figure “Average gross salary, euros”, data aretaken from two sources: for ICT and IT-adjacent, data
are taken from NBSRM, for “MITP, directly involved ineligible activities” the source of data is MITP internal
statistics.

Additional sources andreferences• Association of Business Service Leaders (ABSL) in
Moldova• Association of Electronics Companies in Moldova(ACEM)• Cable.co.uk• Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Moldova• Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Moldova• Council and Parliament of the European Union• Crunchbase• EU4Digital• flightconnections.com• Invest Moldova Agency• Ministry of Economic Development andDigitalisation of the Republic of Moldova• Moldovan Association of ICT Companies (ATIC)• Moldovan National Film Centre• National Centre for Data Protection• National Regulatory Agency for Electronic
Communications and Information Technology ofRepublic of Moldova• Organisation for Entrepreneurship Development of
the Republic of Moldova

Regional positioning

Doing business in IT• Parliament of the Republic of Moldova

In this chapter, figures “IT Competitiveness Index”,“Output per employee in ICT per month, euros, 2021”,“Value added per employee in ICT per month, euros,2021” are taken from the Emerging Europe “The
Future of IT” 2023 report.

In this section, the only figure is “Structure ofrevenue before and after taxation”, the source is
Moldova IT Park regulations.

• State Agency on Intellectual Property of the
Republic of Moldova

The source of the figure “English proficiency Index,
2023” is “Education First”.
Figure “PISA score, 2022” is based on OECD’s
Programme for International Student Assessment(PISA).
Figures “Services export, share of GDP” and “ICT
services export, share of GDP” rely on the data of theWorld Bank.

Methodology
In the Methodology section, all figures from theConfidence survey subsection rely on data, collectedby the Emerging Europe Confidence Survey of MITP
residents.

• Startup Moldova

Photos and images
BigStock, Canva, Freepik, Mariusz Szachowski,
Unsplash

Figure “Sustainability Index” was taken from theEmerging Europe “Future of Emerging Europe”
2023/2024 report.

< 109 >

AboutEmerging Europe
Emerging Europe was founded in 2013 to play arole in bringing the region together, to promote
its unity to the world, and to drive it forward,
empowering and connecting people andorganisations to prosper.
Now, while some parts of Western Europe havebecome lethargic or overtly hostile towards the wider
European project, emerging Europe is providing thecontinent with new impetus and leadership.
Our ongoing work amplifies the fresh energy
and leadership being provided by the emerging
Europe region. It reflects the eastwards shift inEurope's centre of gravity, and emerging Europe's
development as a key global player economically,
politically, socially, and culturally.
We envision a region where every individual has
the opportunity, means, and freedom to fulfil theirpotential, enabled by reinvention, sustainability,
collaboration, technology, and entrepreneurship.
We deliver real impact for our partners, using ouroutside-in knowledge of the region, our network ofbusinesses, governments, and experts, our globallyread analytical website, and market intelligence.
The addition of dedicated research, reinvention, andcapacity-building teams now allows us to offer the
fully integrated approach needed to empower
people and organisations across the region to thrive.
As Europe's centre of gravity continues to move
eastward, Emerging Europe is uniquely positioned
to place its partners at the heart of the significant
changes and developments taking place in thecontinent's most dynamic region.
Who we work withSTRATEGIC INSIGHT: We blend an outside-in view of
emerging Europe with local insight. This combination,
together with data accuracy and strict researchmethods, means you can make big decisions withconfidence.
NETWORK ACCESS: Our global network opens doors
to the connections you need for success. We help
you reach future partners, clients, and amplifiers in ameaningful way.
Our market intelligence includes three typesof reports — produced independently, for, or incollaboration with clients:• Bespoke market intelligence reports for clients: We
provide customised reports focused on tech, IT,
start-ups, and global business services.
• Research reports produced with partners andclients: We collaborate with organisations like Visa,
UiPath, the European Institute of Innovation andTechnology, and the Ukrainian Start-up Fund to
produce publicly available reports on topics likefemale entrepreneurship, digital transformation,
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• Our own research reports: These publicly available
reports help our global audience navigate theregion and cover topics such as IT, investment
promotion, business-friendly cities, sustainability,
travel, and food.
We have multiple programmes and communities
that focus on innovation, sustainability, andentrepreneurship. These include:• The Future of Emerging Europe: This programmebrings together like-minded individuals andorganisations to drive sustainable development in
the region. It includes the Emerging Europe Awards,
which recognise the best of emerging Europe.
• Tech Emerging Europe Advocates: We run thiscommunity of tech entrepreneurs, leaders,experts, and investors who are passionate about
making emerging Europe a global tech hub. It ispart of the Global Tech Advocates network.

Private and public organisations from or with ties tothe emerging Europe region that are dedicated tosustainability and progress.

• The Digital Future of Emerging Europe: Incollaboration with Microsoft and PwC, we facilitate
discussions and exchanges around digital
innovation and sustainability.

Why choose us• She’s Next in partnership with Visa: This hub andcommunity support and inspire female talent on
their entrepreneurial journey.

Our integrated approach saves you time and delivers
a bigger impact.
How we drive your progress
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: We craft compelling content
and research to position you as a thought leader infront of a global audience invested and present inemerging Europe.

< 110 >• The Global Visibility Programme: Our membershipprogramme offers compelling editorial content
to help organisations enhance their social proof,
digital presence, and thought leadership.
• Support Digital Ukraine: This initiative aims to raise
global awareness of Ukraine's tech ecosystem andreassure international partners.

< 111 >