On May 19, EU4Business-FORBIZ, the EU flagship business support initiative, which guided the work of the Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO) and SME Development Office (SMEDO) in Ukraine, presented the results of its five-year activity in Ukraine. The regulatory and SME policy framework strengthened by FORBIZ will become a building block for further state and international donor efforts to improve the business environment in Ukraine.
“Through the EU4Business initiative, the European Union helps SMEs to get better access to finance, markets and skills, and aims to improve the overall business environment in the country,” said Chloé Allio, Head of Operations Section - Economic Cooperation, Energy, Infrastructure and Environment, at the EU Delegation to Ukraine. “The work of FORBIZ was instrumental in the recent business environment and SME policy changes, and bringing the SME interests to the forefront of government policy-making.”
The FORBIZ project closure coincides with the government announcement of the creation of the Office for Entrepreneurship and Export Development (EEPO), which will integrate SMEDO. This will strengthen SMEDO’s piloting efforts to improve state services, including improved access for entrepreneurs to information through the SME Info-Portal, access to affordable financial resources via the government’s 5-7-9% lending programme or factoring services to participate in public procurement, and more convenient general services, offered through 12 SME support points and 10 Business Innovation Centres.
The Better Regulation Delivery Office (BRDO), created in 2015, has supported the regulatory reforms which resulted in increased transparency, cost savings, removal of barriers for doing business, and improved regulatory policy decisions for business, consumers, and the public. Due to these improvements, estimated business cost savings for the last five years stand at around €1 billion.
Also, FORBIZ contributed to the development of the first ever National SME Development Strategy until 2020, and its respective action plan, thus forming the foundation for further SME policy updates, aligned with international best practices. Thanks to FORBIZ with BRDO and SMEDO, SME priorities were integrated into the government’s Anti-Covid-19 Programme 2020-22, and the ambitious longer-term National Economic Strategy 2030.
