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Minister of Labor and Social Protection talks small business support in Azerbaijan

15 February 2019 18:20 (UTC+04:00)
Minister of Labor and Social Protection talks small business support in Azerbaijan

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

Within framework of the self-employment program, 5,800 people received materials and goods necessary for the creation of economic entities in 2019, the Minister of Labor and Social Protection of the Population, Sahil Babayev, told Trend on February 14.

He noted that 7,000 people were involved in the program last year, and it is planned to attract 8,000 people by the end of this year.

Babayev went on to say that the self-employment program has a positive effect, it is shown by the analysis of the situation on the labor market, based on the results of the three-month operation of the mechanism.

The minister said that 99 percent of the recipients are satisfied with the materials they receive.

"Complaints of the program participants make up about one percent. Their wishes were taken into account and satisfied. We changed the materials with which they were dissatisfied so that their problems were solved,” he said.

In general, the minister continued, the effectiveness of the program can be assessed in about a year or two.

"The program is designed for a two-year period, during which we will have to monitor and identify the percentage of families who received the materials and were able not only to support but also expand the business," the minister said.

The ultimate goal of the program, Babayev noted, is to create 6,000 to 7,000 micro-enterprises.

"So far, we are not speaking about creating a medium-sized business, nevertheless, with a competent approach to implement this mechanism, it will definitely have an impact on the development of the overall business environment in Azerbaijan," the minister said.

Note that the self-employment program has been implemented in the country since 2016. As part of these measures, the Ministry of Labor Social Protection provides low-income families with various assets (goods, materials, livestock) so that they can start their small business.

Last year, 7,000 citizens of the country were attracted to participate in the program. Some 42 million manats is provided for financing the self-employment program this year (35 million manats last year).

Moreover, big contribution to development and support of small business in Azerbaijan is being made by the Small and Medium Business Development Agency under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan which was established by decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated December 28, 2017.

The task of the Agency is to ensure the succession of reforms, as well as the improvement of the business regulation system and the application of effective coordination, enhancing the role and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses in the country's economy, and the compliance of the management system in this area with modern requirements.

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