Source: TV channel Z
Small and Medium-Sized Business Development Program for 2017-2021 and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Support Fund were presented today in Zaporizhia. Representatives of the local authorities, small and medium size businesses, educational institutions and PLEDDG Project attended the event, informed the Zaporizhia City Council press service.
The Program was developed in cooperation with PLEDDG Project experts and representatives from Zaporizhia business community. Work on a draft program started in the first half of 2016. A working group was created, which included representatives from the business community, deputies of the city council, specialists from executive departments, public activists and PLEDDG Project experts.
Deputy Mayor of Zaporizhia, Valeriy Edeleyev said that the local authorities’ involvement in the draft program preparation was minimal. 90% of the program were proposals from small and medium-sized businesses.
– We present the Small and Medium-Sized Business Development Program, which is not a typical program prepared by public servants. It is a program developed by PLEDDG experts in cooperation with local small and medium-sized businesses, deputies of the city council and general public. We managed to develop a working document that allowed us address many important issues. We will use the Program as a basis, and there will be an opportunity to improve it through the Coordination Council for Entrepreneurship Development. We are going to be receiving proposals regarding improvements in this program on an ongoing basis, Valeriy Edeleyev said.
Among promising directions of SME development in Zaporizhia, Valeriy Edeleyev singled out tourism, environment, construction and agricultural products processing.
– The program outlines not only the directions of our work but also defines milestones in order to check what has been already done. The monitoring will be carried out not only by the public and deputies of the city council, but also by PLEDDG experts, stressed Valeryi Edeleyev.
Director of Administrative Services Provision and Entrepreneurship Development Department of Zaporizhia City Council, Volodymyr Zhukov, talked about the Program’s action plan.
– The action plan has been prepared in such a way that implementers and partners are defined for each project and each event. Tentative expenditures are estimated for the projects requiring funding. Thus, for 2018, the funding required for the events planned in the Program is about UAH 5.5 million. Cooperation with PLEDDG Project through the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Support Fund is very important for the implementation of the program, – mentioned Volodymyr Zhukov.
The program was approved by deputies of Zaporizhia City Council. It consists of five sections and has a number of strategic objectives. Among the main ones are improvement of the city’s business climate, improvement of the regulatory environment for business activities, strengthening competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses.
Participants of the meeting asked questions and received detailed information regarding the Program and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Development Support Fund, namely its terms and funding requirements, deadlines for application submission and projects selection criteria.