Following the Ministerial Decree signed on 16 October 2018 by Stepan Kubiv, the First Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine, the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Office has been established. The Office has been launched with support of the European Union.
Presently operating as an advisory body within the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine (MEDT), the SME Development Office is to become in the future the main institution in charge of entrepreneurship promotion, acting as key engine for development of SME competitiveness in the country.
“The creation of SMEDO is a logical step in Government’s strategic focus on greater recognition of SMEs as vital driving force of economic growth in our country. We are also certain that the office will play a key role in boosting the domestic and international competitiveness of Ukrainian SMEs and entrepreneurs. We expect to see the concrete benefits for SMEs already in 2019”, points out Stepan Kubiv, the First Vice Prime Minister – Minister of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.
“SMEs are the backbone of the economy and SME development is one of the EU main support areas in Ukraine. We welcome the strategic SME focus of Ukrainian Government influenced by the EU “Think Small First” principle”, notes Ambassador Hugues Mingarelli, Head of the Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine.
The key mandate of the SME Development Office is to develop targeted SME support programmes and to enhance the entrepreneurial capacities and skills, facilitate access to finance and to support development of the SME institutional infrastructure network. Additionally, the SMEDO will help coordinating the SME Policy implementation in the country, strengthen the cooperation with the donors, as well as provide access to information through a dedicated SME information portal.
SMEDO currently includes 9 experts having a diverse set of skills and experience to effectively implement the tasks, based in two main units – “SME Policy Coordination and Infrastructure Support” and “SME Promotion and Programming”.
Background information:
SME development office is set up as an an advisory body within the MEDT with funding support from the European Union through its FORBIZ project within EU4Business Initiative.
For additional information, please contact Roksolana Pidlasa, Head of Communication and Press secretary of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine via press@me.gov.ua.