PARE 1+1 — Moldova's Diaspora Remittance-Matching Programme for Returnee Entrepreneurs

PARE 1+1 (Programme for Attracting Remittances into the Economy) is run by Moldova's Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development (ODIMM) and matches money that Moldovan migrant workers send home for business investment with an equal grant from the state — one leu from the diaspora is met with one leu of public funding, up to a set ceiling, for a new or expanding small business.

Government figures for 2010–2021 show 739 new businesses launched through the programme (41.6% of all beneficiaries), including 564 cases where a migrant worker returned to Moldova specifically to start the business. Nearly half of entrepreneurs (48.7%) were under 35, and 84% of ventures were located outside Chișinău, in towns and villages, with 60–70% concentrated in the agrifood sector. The government extended the programme for a further three years in recognition of its continued diaspora take-up.

An evaluation conducted for the International Organization for Migration by a Columbia University SIPA capstone team, based on two assessment missions, found the programme lacked robust post-investment monitoring and recommended stronger support for business survival and better measurement of long-term impact — a caution that the reported business counts likely overstate durable job creation.

Read the full analysis: https://gov.md/en/content/pare-11-programme-attraction-remittances-economy-extended-another-3-years-moldova