REUTERS
The Office's major task is to develop programs to support small- and medium-sized businesses.
Ukraine's Economic Development and Trade Ministry has established the Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Development Office, which will work as a consultative and advisory body under the ministry, and subsequently should become a government body supporting entrepreneurs.
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"The creation of the SME Development Office is one of the elements of the government program to support small business owners. The Office will play a key role in enhancing the domestic and international competitiveness of Ukrainian small- and medium-sized businesses and individual entrepreneurs," the ministry's press service quoted First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economic Development and Trade Stepan Kubiv, who signed a relevant order.
First Deputy Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine Maksym Nefyodov will coordinate the Office's work, while its financial support will be provided by the European Union under the FORBIZ project and the EU4Business Initiative.
The Office's major task is to develop programs to support small- and medium-sized businesses, in particular, to facilitate their access to financing and develop support infrastructure in the regions.
The office also plans to implement pilot projects in 2018-2019: the launch of business support centers at the regional and local levels based on the existing local government institutions; the introduction of a partial credit guarantee mechanism; and the creation of a state information portal for SMEs, as well as the training and financial support program for startups within the National Entrepreneurship Development Program.
As UNIAN reported earlier, Ukraine ranked 71st, having climbed by five positions in the World Bank's Doing Business 2019.