Locations
Focus areas
Inclusive growth
Summary
Valuing human capital
Moldova faces some of the most daunting development challenges across the Europe and Central Asia region, with the lowest level of fertility, an ageing population and the highest net emigration rates, which depletes social capital and constitutes a brain drain. Moldova has the lowest employment rate in Europe. Poor labour productivity negatively affects the quality of employment and the competitiveness of the economy. Economic growth is mainly driven by consumption and the trade balance is negative. From this perspective, inclusive growth is one of the main priorities for Moldova. Regional disparities need to be bridged, by creating economic opportunities, improving access to quality education and healthcare services, providing more accessible and efficient public services, providing employment, creating a conducive business environment and supporting the enhancement of the competitiveness of Moldova’s economy.
Public services. Economic opportunities. Improved livelihoods
Our focus is on sustainable, inclusive and green jobs creation, integrity-based business development, private sector involvement in Sustainable Development Goals achievement, transparent and accountable, efficient and inclusive service provision, and equal and equitable access to economic opportunities.
UNDP aims to strengthen policies and institutions that address barriers for the inclusion of vulnerable groups in the labour market, for a conducive business environment and for improved living standards.
UNDP aims to support the Government in the digital transformation and digitalization of key public services, including through the support in the development of a new Digital Strategy, further engagement with local vibrant ICT community for digital solutions and building of trust in digital services.
UNDP helps build deliver services closer to citizens, for both women and men equally, including migrants, vulnerable groups, such as older people and people with disabilities.
In depth
UNDP supports the creation of an enabling environment for formal and innovative employment and decent jobs, catalyzing investment for sustainable and resilient livelihoods for men and women throughout the country, including across the conflict divide. UNDP supports groups with limited access to the labour market, including but not limited to youth, women, people with disabilities, ethnic minorities, and refugees, by helping them to benefit from training, better access to finance, and improved links between social protection schemes, employment measures and public services. UNDP aims to strengthen policies that address barriers for the inclusion of women in the labour market by tackling social stereotypes, ensuring access to affordable services, including care services and promoting women's access to entrepreneurship support schemes. Moreover, by supporting human capital development, UNDP promotes improvements in the education system and lifelong opportunities, including through digital transformation, to meet the demands of the labour market.
To enhance the accessibility of local public services across the country, particularly in rural areas, UNDP seeks to further strengthen local governments’ capacity to engage community members, private sector and diaspora in the planning, coordination, delivery and monitoring of improved services. Community empowerment, focusing on women and marginalized groups, is prioritized.
Private sector support and engagement
UNDP sustains the private sector to grow and embrace the environmental, social and governance standards, through innovations, mainstreaming of digital technologies, and through targeted support and facilitation of partnerships. We help improving competitiveness and export capacity of businesses from both banks of the Nistru River using the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) opportunities, including through new partnership formats, such as clustering based on value chains. Fostering inclusive business development for the generation of sustainable jobs at local level and strengthening of the local public authorities’ capacities to manage autonomously such processes are high on the UNDP agenda. UNDP explores new emerging opportunities in further engaging with the private sector for new products and services, including new digital solutions and improved and more resilient business models, that incorporate elements of sustainability, digital and financial innovation, and inclusion.
Local governance
In close cooperation with civil society and community members, UNDP helps enhance the capacity of local public authorities to efficiently plan and implement local development priorities, improve local public services and contribute to the local economic development. Advancing reform agenda towards country modernization, reengineering and digitalizing local service provision is a priority.
UNDP helps design sustainable models for joint decision-making and delivering services closer to citizens, for both women and men equally, including migrants, vulnerable and marginalized groups, such as the elderly, women, and people with disabilities.
UNDP shifts local governance development paradigm, capacitating them to tap into the existing opportunities for economic advancement. It sustains local governments to foster partnerships with the local private actors and diaspora, that are empowered to contribute to shaping and implementing local economic policies. UNDP supports the creation of employment opportunities through favorable conditions for attraction of investment, job creation and entrepreneurship.
Area-based development and confidence-building
UNDP addresses development and conflict situations through targeted geographical actions. In this regard, UNDP supports people on the two banks of the Nistru River, by implementing comprehensive, conflict-sensitive area-based interventions, funded by the EU, Sweden and United Kingdom that address critical pressing needs across divides and reduce development gaps
UNDP fosters partnerships and creates synergies among different stakeholders at local and regional levels. It sustains sectorial dialogue and civil society actors' cooperation, facilitating the exchange of knowledge and experience and generation of solutions to conflict-generated issues.
UNDP spurs smart, inclusive and sustainable economic development in the focal regions by fostering their role as growth poles.
