The Ministry of Economy of Belarus presented its draft SME strategy at an international seminar in Minsk on 27 June.
The strategy to 2030 includes proposals to improve the business environment. The Ministry of Economy also identified reform priorities in the areas of innovation, investment and export promotion.
Advice from EU and EaP countries
The two-day seminar, “SME strategy for Belarus: putting policies into action”, was organised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which made some recommendations on how the strategy and accompanying action plan could be improved.
EU countries and, from the EaP, Georgia presented international best practice advice and their experience of setting achievable and measurable targets in the action plan.
Assisting Belarus set up a credit guarantee fund
On the seminar second day, 28 June, experts from the OECD, France and Kazakhstan provided technical insights into designing, establishing and managing a credit guarantee fund to support access to finance for SMEs. They aimed to assist the Belarus Government in selecting an appropriate credit guarantee fund model.
The seminar was attended by Belarussian Government representatives responsible for SME policymaking, the Belarussian Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs, commercial and state-owned banks, business development service providers, the private sector, business associations, as well as representatives of international organisations.
