A first public-private Working Group meeting, launching the third cycle of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) assessment, will take place in Minsk, Belarus on 29 May 2018, under the umbrella of the Council for Entrepreneurship Development.
The meeting is organised by the OECD in the framework of the EU-funded project ‘EU4Business: From Policies to Action’. The Small Business Act for Europe is an overarching framework for the EU policy on SMEs. It aims to improve the approach to entrepreneurship in Europe, simplify the regulatory and policy environment for SMEs, and remove the remaining barriers to their development.
The SBA Public-Private Working Group meeting in Minsk will provide an opportunity for the government to present an overview of the progress achieved on implementing the recommendations provided in the last SBA assessment cycle (2015-16). It will also allow private sector representatives and key stakeholders to comment on recent developments and reform effectiveness. The OECD will present the updated methodology for discussion, as well as inform about the process and timeline of the project, in preparation for the start of the assessment.
The third cycle of the SBA assessment for the Eastern Partner Countries will officially start in September 2018. The assessment will build on the established methodology and process of previous assessment rounds, but has been revised to incorporate new elements aiming at broadening the scope of the publication to allow for an evaluation of the overall business climate conditions and to more accurately reflect private sector perspectives.
This meeting will be held under the umbrella of the Belarusian Council for Entrepreneurship Development, and will be attended by the Ministry of Economy of Belarus, other line ministries, the Belarusian Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs, and other SME stakeholders, as well as by representatives from the private sector and international organisations.
The Working Group will be preceded in the morning by an OECD organised capacity building seminar on SME financing indicators, supporting the government, and especially the National Bank of Belarus and the National Statistical Committee Belstat, in collecting, analysing and disseminating official statistics in the area of SME financing, thus contributing to the broader efforts undertaken by the Government of Belarus to promote SME development.