The first Ukrainian forum "Instruments of technical and financial support for the small and medium-sized enterprises"
18 February 2016

The first Ukrainian forum "Instruments of technical and financial support for the small and medium-sized enterprises" was held at the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry on February 18, 2016. Target audience of the forum: representatives of Ukrainian and international small and medium enterprises. EEN-Ukraine Consortium has taken the role of co-organizer of the event.

The demand for this event emerged from the low level of awareness of Ukrainian and international SME regarding practical instruments of support, provided by international organizations of technical and financial assistance and also Ukrainian institutions.

For the first time in Ukraine the representatives of the major international and national organizations which provide assistance to Ukrainian and foreign small and medium businesses in Ukraine has been gathered in one place. The Forum created a unique opportunity for Ukrainian and foreign SMEs to learn about the current business support programs and to communicate with representatives of international donors, financial and other organizations.

In turn, organizations presented their instruments of support and received a quality feedback from Ukrainian SMEs.

Thus apart from providing general information regarding existing and upcoming programs the major focus of this event was on practical instruments available to SMEs and the opportunity to conduct personal meetings and consultations with a big number of SMEs (similar to a fair).

At the Forum a range of programs supporting development of Ukrainian SMEs were presented. Among them, programs of European Union, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the Embassy of Canada in Ukraine, senior expert services from Germany (SES), Switzerland (SEC) and Netherlands (PUM), as well as a range of Ukrainian banks.

In particular, Mr. Boris Filipov, Private Sector Development Manager at EU Delegation to Ukraine presented a detailed information about programs and projects supporting SMEs in Ukraine initiated by EU.

Mr. Dmytro Nosov from the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade acquainted the audience with COSME and HORIZON 2020 programs.

During the event the workshop was conducted by «Green for Growth Fund, Southeast Europe», which was devoted to the competitiveness rising and economic benefits resulting from the usage of modern energy-saving technologies.

It is planned to organize such forum in future as annual event in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine.