Village Stores Seek €550,000 for Service Center Projects
Enterprise Estonia has received 39 funding applications from rural general stores under a scheme to have them start providing services that are currently out of reach for local residents.
The pilot service center scheme, which this year was targeted only at the southeastern counties of Põlva, Valga and Võru, wrapped up its almost three-month application period on March 20, a statement from the Minister for Regional Affairs said.
Each applicant could request a maximum of 20,000 euros. The funding requests from the applicants totaled 550,000 euros, far surpassing the scheme's budget for this year, which stands at 300,000 euros. The money will be distributed once the office of the Minister for Regional Affairs has conducted an assessment of the requests in May.
Minister of Regional Affairs Siim Kiisler said that the applicants were left with a relatively free hand to decide what services they would offer in addition to selling the usual grocery items and basic necessities. "The objective is that the services most needed in the area would be established," he said.
Ingrid Teesalu