Research, development and innovation are recognized as key elements of economic growth, efficient use of resources, regional development and societal progress. Smart specialization has become one of the important concepts of economic transformation based on innovation. It is widely supported by EU policies due to its impact. Compared to the European countries with experience in implementing smart specialization strategies (S3), the Republic of Moldova is just at the initial stage in this area. Aiming at integration into the European community, our country is open for a new approach to RDI in order to stimulate economic and social development. The paper analyses the importance of implementing S3 in the Republic Moldova, the positioning of Moldovan research and innovation in international rankings, the main pillars of the S3 concept, the results obtained in developing the smart specialization strategy in Moldova at the first stages of this process, including mapping of the economic, innovative and scientific potential; identification of the preliminary priority areas for smart specialization with potential for economic development (energy, ICT, agriculture and food processing, biomedicine and biopharmaceuticals), as well as the identification of the main niches of smart specialization for these areas through the first entrepreneurial discovery process (EDP) organized in Moldova. The EDP results (SWOT analysis, vision, development goals) are presented in detail for agriculture and food processing, which are a priority due to the agricultural profile of our country. Also, the actions to be followed for the successful development and implementation of S3 in our country are emphasized.