The impact of COVID-19 on the trade and business development prospects of female owned enterprises in the Republic of Moldova

This report assesses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development prospects of female-owned MSMEs in the Republic of Moldova. It traces the way that NTMs governing trade in goods combined with lockdown measures in the Republic of Moldova and partner countries to influence the female owned MSMEs’ end-to-end supply chains and their long-term development prospects.
The report is based on a survey of 101 female-owned MSMEs involved in agriculture and manufacturing from across the country. The owners were highly educated (with formal training up to the university level) and the majority (79 per cent) were opportunity-driven, who ventured into business to capitalize on emerging opportunities.
The female-owned MSMEs surveyed were hard hit by the pandemic, despite the Government’s limited use of trade restrictions, upscaled trade-facilitation measures and relief measures. The majority were operating at a loss and were unsure as to their ability to maintain operations.