Small business from Moldova face a large number of challenges, both on a global and local level. The lack of financial resources, insufficient staff qualification, low level of training and culture of entrepreneurship in SMEs, continue to be an obstacle to business development from Moldova. To overcome these challenges, a significant number of public-private projects and international financing have been launched in our country, meant to contribute to the increase of the innovation and competitiveness capacities of SMEs. In order to stand by the entrepreneurs in these difficult times a Fund for Entrepreneurship and Economic Growth (FACEM) was created. This Fund is expected to provide entrepreneurs with access to low-cost financing. In addition, Moldova's European Union candidate status obtained in 2022 and the prospect of starting accession negotiations by the end of 2023 create significant growth opportunities for small business as well. Starting from this reality, this paper analyzes the challenges SMEs from Moldova are facing and the role of national and international projects in fostering small business development. The research also analyzes the best practices of European SMEs that may become an effective tool in creating a competitive advantage for SMEs from Moldova. The current paper has been drawn up, using the official data offered by the National Bureau of Statistics from Moldova, the Ministry of Economy from the Republic of Moldova, the Organization for Entrepreneurship Development, EU4business reports in Moldova and the most recent references in this field of research.