Raising awareness of business culture, improvement of the business climate, promotion of local business, development of business competencies are among goals of the Small and Medium Business Development Program of the Vinnytsia Amalgamated Territorial Community for 2021-2023 that was approved on October 30.
The SME Development Program was created in cooperation with the city’s business community, international experts, and local self-government specialists with the support of PLEDDG. In total, the workgroup for the development of the Program included 30 participants.
The development of the program was preceded by a preparatory stage to determine the current state and needs of small and medium enterprises in the city. The direct development of the Program lasted during September and October and included meetings of the workgroup members and Zoom conferences to develop the chief parts of the content and structure of the program; at the same time, PLEDDG experts conducted focus group studies of business associations to identify the necessary tools and measures to stimulate entrepreneurship; finalization of the program’s contents and creation of a draft of the Program for its adoption by deputies of the City Council.
The aim of the program is to achieve a new level of cooperation with the business, building an ecosystem of business development in Vinnytsia ATC to ensure the competitiveness of local SMEs in Ukraine and in international markets, as well as to carry out educational activities and involve the population in entrepreneurial activity.
The objectives of the Program are formed in accordance with 4 strategic goals:
- Informing SMEs and improving communication – information support for entrepreneurs, identifying their needs and initiatives, and intensifying business communication with the city authorities.
- Raising awareness of business culture and promotion of local business – coverage of Vinnytsia manufacturers and promotion of local products.
- Development of business competencies – gaining knowledge and skills in basic entrepreneurial activity for a wide range of stakeholders who want to engage in business, as well as relevant training activities for currently active entrepreneurs.
- Improving the business climate – improving access to funding, improving the quality of business cooperation with universities, encouraging the creation of business clusters, optimizing regulatory policies, and creating a Center for Entrepreneurship Development.
As a result of the implementation of the Program, the number of small and medium businesses is expected to increase, new business support infrastructure will be created, Vinnytsia entrepreneurs will enter new markets, and exports of goods and services will increase.
PLEDDG congratulates its colleagues and is confident in the success of the planned actions, because the implementation of the previous Vinnytsia SME Development Program for 2017-2020, created jointly with PLEDDG experts, allowed the city to occupy high positions in such rankings as Regional Doing Business 2018 (BRDO) – 1 place, the Best Cities of Ukraine for Doing Business 2020 (Forbes Ukraine) – 2nd place, the Competitiveness Index of Ukrainian cities (USAID) – 4th place.