Project Summary:

Support to Confidence Building Measures Programme aims to increase trust between people on both sides of the Nistru River by supporting joint activities in two core areas: business development and improving community infrastructure.

Objectives:

• Increased cross-river cooperation of business actors leading to improved employment opportunities and livelihoods across the Nistru River;
• Empowered local communities and actors from both sides to participate in joint projects addressing pressing development needs and improving critical community infrastructure.

Expected results:

Business development and employment opportunities

• At least 50 cross-river business exchanges and partnerships promoted between businesses and business associations leading to common understanding of opportunities, barriers and technical standards in the field of business development;
• At least 200 SMEs (including women led SMEs) involved in joint activities and received business support services contributing to increased professionalization and higher business standards on the left bank;
• New opportunities for business cooperation across the river and at least 150 new jobs and 5,000 new livelihoods for women and men;
• Consolidated local consultancy market providing improved services fostering local capacities to use the benefits provided by the DCFTA in terms of access to the EU market with at least 20 business consultants trained and/or certified;
• Improved culture of entrepreneurship and greater access to information and funding leads to the creation of 30 new businesses, integrated into existing cross-river platforms.

Empowered communities and infrastructure support

• At least 60 local actors have increased capacities for sustainable development and ensuring access of most vulnerable to public services by empowering communities;
• At least 30 social infrastructure projects supported in the security zone (on both banks of the river);
• About 100,000 women and men directly benefited from the implementation of the programme;
• Increased interaction between statisticians from Chisinau and Tiraspol leading to better compliancy to international standards (in at least 5 statistical areas) as a result of at least 5 learning activities targeting 30 professionals;
• Increased level of cooperation and trust across the river.

Accomplishments:

• 163 business exchanges and partnerships supported, out of which 92 across the Nistru river;
• 165 local consultants from both banks (30% women) improved their capacities;
• 87 consultants certified according to international standards to provide competitive business support services to beneficiaries from both banks;
• 1,545 business support services provided to enterprises from both banks;
• 66 newly created enterprises on both banks, 31 of them via the Grants for Youth Programme, generating 166 new permanent jobs (90 for women, 70 on the left bank of the Nistru river);
• 10 new associations created and supported, including 6 on the left bank;
• 2 tourist and 1 agricultural information centres created and supported, 2 of them on the left bank;
• Improved capacities of 72 local leaders and CSOs to identify relevant confidence building project ideas and elaborate social infrastructure project proposals;
• 31 social infrastructure projects implemented;
• 4 thematic platforms created in the area of health care, environment, culture, education and sports. CSOs representing the thematic platforms have cooperated with public institutions to develop CBM projects focused on solving emerging social problems as: providing healthcare services in underfinanced sectors or areas with limited access, piloting concepts of inclusive and non-formal education especially in the left bank schools, assessing needs of cultural institutions from both banks and organizing awareness campaigns on environmental issues linked to the pollution of Nistru river resources;
• 30 small grant projects implemented to support collaboration between renovated social institutions from both banks. In coordination with the platform leaders the benefiting NGOs have organized 360 capacity building activities, along with mentorship and coaching services provided in 70 cases. More than 200 exchanges and cross-river visits organized to get acquainted with the best practices of peers from the opposite bank;
• Results achieved by beneficiaries of the Small Grants Programme in the established thematic areas: Healthcare - 5 perinatal centres opened on both banks, medical staff from the left bank trained to offer palliative care, critical supplies procured and provided to the healthcare institutions from the left bank, population from the rural area got access to free consulting services on hepatitis and stomatology, staff of different public institutions from both banks trained on providing first aid in case of emergency, information campaigns and courses organized for children with autism syndrome and for their families; Environment: the awareness of local communities on ecological issues related to the Nistru river increased, information campaigns to support the preservation of natural resources organized. Culture: Communities from both banks engaged in cooperative activities, local and regional festivals organized, major cultural events (IaMania, La la Play concerts and Nistru Jazz Festival) organized, being attended by more than 20,000 people from both banks, bands and artists from both banks participated at local events organized on the premises of community centres refurbished in the frame of SCBM Programme (Rascov, Corjova, Carmanova, etc.), a unique book of tales and legends published and spread to all the SCBM Programme beneficiaries;
• 42 statisticians and relevant specialists from both banks of the Nistru River improved their capacities and skills during capacity building events and study visits;
• Piloted the Household Budget Survey on the left bank based on lessons learned and best practices from the right bank;
• More than 23,000 people (51% women) directly benefitted of the SCBM 4 Programme initiatives and over 200,000 citizens from both banks strengthened the livelihoods grace to the initiatives implemented in the frame of the Programme.