The FINANCIAL — Over 200 domestic small and medium-sized enterprises from Belarus will benefit from the expert advice and know-how available through the Advice for Small Business (ASB) programme, the budget of which has been recently boosted with additional funds from the European Union.
The news was announced by the EU Delegation to Belarus in the country’s capital Minsk on 13 September as it confirmed a pledge of €6 million in additional funds over a period of four years.
The EU’s support comes under the EU4Business initiative and the ASB programme is being implemented by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). It will concentrate its efforts on reaching out to companies in rural areas of Belarus.
According to an EU press release, the fresh funds are expected to allow the EBRD to work with selected state-owned enterprises, facilitating their restructuring and possible privatisation.
The EU4Business initiative fosters the development of the private sector by helping SMEs acquire new skills, become more competitive, access more finance and increase their exports to new markets, including the EU. The initiative covers all of the EU Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. It also supports the government with policy reform in order to improve the business climate.
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