Azernews.Az

By Mirsaid Ibrahimzade

The Small and Medium Business Development Agency of Azerbaijan has prepared proposals for the implementation of new business support mechanisms.

Deputy Chairman of the Agency Elchin Ibrahimov said this during his speech at the conference entitled “Support for start-up projects and expanding access to financial resources”, Trend reports.

He also stated that proposals are submitted to the government.

The proposals include four directions. The first concerns the approval of the status of clusters of SMEs, the second one relates to supporting small businesses in terms of providing access to trading networks, the third one about developing human resources and the fourth is the mechanism provides for researching the domestic market.

Deputy Chairman of the Agency announced plans for the department to expand the "SME Houses" and create a mechanism "Friends of SMEs". Note that "Friend of SME” is one of the most important mechanisms created in order to support small and medium-sized businesses, direct communication with business entities in the regions.

“Friend of SME” functions in Masalli, Khachmaz, Siyazan, Shabran, Ganja, Yevlakh, Guba and Gusar. Their work in Baku is also ensured.

“In the near future, “SME Houses” will also be opened, and the number of “Friends of SMEs” will be increased to 60. Approximately 30 percent of our staff will be involved in this direction, which will be engaged in solving the problems of local entrepreneurs,” Ibrahimov said.

The Small and Medium Business Development Agency under the Ministry of Economy of Azerbaijan was established by decree of the President of Azerbaijan dated December 28, 2017. The presidential decree of June 26, 2018 approved the statute and structure of the Agency.

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.

As a single structure with special powers, the Agency organizes, coordinates, evaluates and regulates the services provided by government agencies and organizations in this area through the “SME Houses”.

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