EU, GIZ support small and medium sizes enterprises in local communities

On December 16, 2020, within the framework of the EU4Business: Competitiveness and Internationalization of small and medium-sized enterprises project, a grant competition was announced to select ten cities and territorial communities, which will receive UAH 1,000,000 of grant funds. The Journalist reported with reference to the press center of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine.

With this competition, the European Union and GIZ are encouraging local communities to implement projects to support the resilience and recovery of Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises project during the pandemic. Particular emphasis will be placed on improving local conditions and services for businesses that have the potential to grow, innovate and export.

“The European Union traditionally supports small business, because this is a guarantee of the country’s economic stability. Therefore, in times of crisis, our support is of particular importance, and we try to quickly and flexibly respond to modern challenges,” says Chloe Allio, Head of the Department for Economic Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine.

The selected territorial communities should implement projects related to their general small and medium-sized enterprises support policy. The tools for such support can be aimed, for example, at the digital transformation of services for small and medium-sized enterprises, advice on doing business in quarantine conditions, targeting a specific sector or community to inform small and medium-sized enterprises about available assistance mechanisms, laws and regulations related to coronavirus.

“With this competition, we want to help Ukrainian cities and territorial communities improve their small and medium-sized enterprises support system during the coronavirus pandemic. Ukrainian enterprises will have a chance not only to survive the crisis, but also to benefit from the introduction of innovations, digital transformation, and emerge stronger from the crisis,” said Benjamin Klinger, project manager at GIZ.