Azernews.Az

Qabil Ashirov

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From January 5, 2026, new services have become available at the Khachmaz Small and Medium Enterprises House (SME House), Azernews reports, citing the Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (KOBIA).

The services are provided by the State Employment Agency (SEA) under the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of Population and include registration of jobseekers and unemployed citizens, temporary removal from or cancellation of registration, participation in vocational training programs, applications for self-employment programs, organisation of job fairs, and the assignment of unemployment insurance payments. Individuals seeking these employment-related services can now apply directly at the SEA service window within the Khachmaz SME Houses.

SME Houses serve as a single point of access for both government-to-business (G2B) and business-to-business (B2B) services. Nearly 50 state and private institutions provide over 400 essential G2B and B2B services for entrepreneurs at SME Houses. Currently, SME Houses operate in Baku, Khachmaz, Shusha, and Yevlakh, with a service centre in Khudat under the Khachmaz branch. Entrepreneurs can access services including business registration, preparation of necessary documents and business plans, access to concessional financing, tax, customs, utilities, banking, and insurance services.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) occupy a central place in Azerbaijan’s economic transformation, serving as both an engine of diversification and a stabilising force beyond the oil and gas sector. Over the past decade, Baku has increasingly recognised that sustainable growth cannot be built solely on hydrocarbons, and SMEs have become the cornerstone of this recalibration.

At their core, SMEs are the primary drivers of employment and entrepreneurship across Azerbaijan’s regions. They provide jobs where large corporations and state-led projects often cannot, particularly in rural and non-oil-producing areas. In doing so, they help reduce regional economic disparities and limit excessive dependence on the capital. For a country seeking balanced development, this decentralising function is as politically important as it is economically necessary.

The Azerbaijani government has backed this shift with targeted institutional reforms. The establishment of the Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBIA) marked a turning point, offering SMEs advisory services, legal support, access to training, and assistance in navigating bureaucracy. Complementary tax incentives, preferential credit lines, and simplified licensing procedures have further lowered entry barriers, making entrepreneurship a more realistic option for a wider segment of society.