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By Trend

The “Friend of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises” (Friend of SMEs) of the Agency for the Development of SMEs under Azerbaijan’s Economy Ministry has started operating in Azerbaijan’s Gabala district, Trend reports with reference to the ministry.

It was noted that this is the first “Friend of the SMEs” in the Sheki-Zagatala economic region, which, along with the Gabala district, will provide services to entrepreneurs operating in adjacent areas.

In this regard, at the event organized at the Congress Center in Gabala, Chairman of the Board of the Agency for the Development of SMEs Orkhan Mammadov spoke about the activities of the Agency and the services provided to SMEs, as well as about the “Friend of SMEs”, which is mechanism of supporting SMEs. It was stressed that, taking into account the “Friend of SMEs” in Gabala, there are a total of 12 such structures in nine cities and regions of Azerbaijan.

In the regions where the “Friend of SMEs” operates, the structure directly contacts with the subjects of micro, small and medium businesses, identifies and implements their development initiatives, potential opportunities, participates in the creation and development of new subjects of SMEs at all stages, as well as in the field of protection of the rights of entrepreneurs. “Friends of SMEs” regularly meet with entrepreneurs.

So far, more than 120 such meetings have been held. By inviting small and medium-sized businesses operating in Gabala and adjacent areas to actively cooperate with the “Friend of SMEs”, Mammadov brought to their attention that “Friends of SMEs” will also start operating in 2019 in other parts of the country. He said that along with this, the Agency continues to work on creating new support mechanisms.

Speaking at the event, head of the Gabala district executive power Sabuhi Abdullayev informed about the development work in the private sector area. He informed that the “Friend of SMEs”, like other state support mechanisms, would contribute to the development of entrepreneurship in the district.

Etibar Yusifov, deputy head of the Oghuz district executive power, noted the significance of this state mechanism for supporting entrepreneurs, aspiring businessmen from Oghuz and the surrounding areas. He urged entrepreneurs of Oghuz to use the services of the “Friend of SMEs.”

As part of the event, a presentation was held regarding the “Friend of SMEs”, which reflected detailed information on the activities of the structure and the services that will be provided to them, as well as answered questions from entrepreneurs.

Then the participants of the event visited the office of the “Friend of the SMEs”, located in the Heydar Aliyev Center in Gabala.

The entrepreneurs who spoke at the event expressed their gratitude to the Azerbaijani president for the consistent support provided to the private sector, in particular the development of SMEs.

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