The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine tentatively in early July this year may approve the Strategy for Recovery of Small and Medium Entrepreneurship (SME) until 2027, Deputy Economy Minister Oleksiy Sobolev said.
“About three weeks are left before it (the Strategy – IF-U) will be approved. Consultations are going on now. We have implemented a lot of wishes (of international partners – IF-U) into the Strategy, and SME recovery is not just a government effort – it is a joint effort. We can create one document for everyone with a list of priorities, ideas for coordination, and the next phase is to create an alliance of SMEs from different countries to implement the strategy. And one of the tools is the EDF (Entrepreneurship Development Fund),” he said on the sidelines of the Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) in Berlin on Wednesday.
The Deputy Minister of Economy noted that about 100 measures are planned within the framework of the Strategy implementation, which include tools such as business grants, tools of training programs, search for partners for enterprises, risk insurance.
“EUR8 billion of financing is planned for the next years, and this is realistic – if you look at the programs of partners in the SME Alliance, it is almost the same level,” Sobolev said.
He reminded that as a result of the Strategy’s implementation, the share of SMEs in total value added will increase to 75% by 2027 (from 70% in 2020), and “many new microbusinesses (with more than two employees) will be created.”
When asked what international assistance Ukraine needs first of all to implement the Strategy, Sobolev said that first of all access to financing is needed, as well as technical assistance.
“Some of the measures are innovative for us, some require additional resources and, of course, we need coordination with partners,” the Deputy Minister emphasized.
As reported, the SME Recovery Strategy until 2027 provides for the improvement of state policy in the field of SME development and support by creating conditions for sustainable development and digital transformation, facilitating access to finance, supporting the growth of SMEs in domestic and foreign markets.
The draft Strategy includes three strategic directions – recovery, ease of doing business and access to markets; digital transformation and entrepreneurial ecosystem; and access to resources, integration and competitiveness.
