News/Press

Participants at the Forbiz round table included representatives from mobile market players, the Ukraine government and industry associations.
Mobile payments market in Ukraine has great potential for growth, round table hears
Ukraine
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18/07/2017
Ukraine’s plans to introduce a mobile payment system (MPS) as part of a transparent cashless economy could prove a great success, a round table on the subject heard in Kyiv on 13 July. Some 15% of all subscribers are expected to be making payments through mobile devices within two years, according to research presented at the IQ Business Centre event, attended by mobile market players and...
Ukrainian farmers will be able to export more duty-free wheat and other cereals to the EU under an agreement that comes into effect end of September 2017.
More Ukrainian goods can be sold to EU countries tariff-free
Ukraine
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17/07/2017
The EU Council has agreed to expand zero-tariff trade quotas for a range of Ukrainian agricultural and industrial products. The measure is expected to result in increased revenues for Ukrainian companies of around €170 million over the next three years. The quota increases will come into force at the end of September this year and add to the trade provisions that have existed since 1 January 2016...
EU-Ukraine Summit in Kiev on 13 July 2017. Pictured, left to right: Donald Tusk, President of the European Council; Volodymyr Groysman, Prime Minister of Ukraine, and; Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission.
EU ratifies Association Agreement with Ukraine
Ukraine
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14/07/2017
The EU and Ukraine have signed an Association Agreement, including a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, to come into force on 1 September 2017. The AA provides the blueprint for Ukraine's ambitious reform path and will foster trade and investment between the EU and Ukraine. The DCFTA has been operating provisionally for a year and has already seen significant growth in trade. EU is Ukraine’s...
Evening cityscape in Tbilisi
EIB and ProCredit Bank support hundreds of companies in Georgia
Georgia
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14/07/2017
Since 2011, the European Investment Bank Group (EIB) and ProCredit have jointly improved access to long term finance for SMEs in Georgia. So far, 872 projects of small and medium businesses received EIB financing, totalling EUR 25 million, through ProCredit Bank Georgia. “Unlocking the potential of the private sector in Georgia through availability of affordable, long term financing for...
Farid Malikov (centre), executive director of PESI in Azerbaijan, visits a facility in Slovakia as part of his training with the Slovak Chamber of Trade and Industry (Trenčín branch) in the frame of the BSO Exchange scheme as part of the East Invest 2 programme of the EU4Business initiative.
Business support organisations in Azerbaijan and Slovakia link up on VET under the EU4Business initiative
Azerbaijan
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12/07/2017
The Slovak Chamber of Trade and Industry (Trenčín branch) has been helping an Azerbaijani business association understand better how it can contribute to creating a successful vocational education and training (VET) system in Azerbaijan. Farid Malikov, executive director of the Partnership for Economic and Social Initiatives (PESI) in Azerbaijan, an independent think tank on the market economy...
Iryna Halimska (left), acting vice-president of Volyn Chamber of Commerce in Ukraine, underwent membership and services related training with the Seville Chamber of Commerce in Spain.
Chambers of Commerce in Spain and Ukraine link up for training under the EU4Business initiative
Ukraine
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12/07/2017
The BSO Exchange programme, developed by the East Invest 2 project, has continued to provide Eastern Partnership countries’ representatives with quality training at their EU counterparts. The latest use of the facility was made by Iryna Halimska, acting vice-president of Volyn Chamber of Commerce and Industry in northwest Ukraine. She underwent training at Seville Chamber of Commerce in Spain...
Vineyards in Georgia’s Kakheti region, whose wines are among those featured in the new online platform.
Georgian wine producers launch online information platform with the help of EU4Business
Georgia
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07/07/2017
Winemakers in Georgia have launched an online information platform sharing details of over 100 wines for sale in the country - thanks to support from the EU4Business East Invest 2 project. The Competence Centre for Wine, Wine Marketing and Grape Products (CCWMG) came out of a Business Support Organisation (BSO) twinning project between the Georgian Wine Association and the Bulgarian Chamberr of...
Event “Eastern Partnership: Ready to Trade” in Baku
EU4Business initiative to connect Azerbaijani SMEs to global value chains
Azerbaijan
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05/07/2017
By International Trade Center News EU-funded project to improve competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises in Azerbaijan and other Eastern Partnership countries. (Baku/Geneva) – A project to boost the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Azerbaijan and connect them to global value chains was today launched in Baku. The ‘Eastern Partnership: Ready to Trade –...
Representatives of the EU4Business SMEDA project sign a partnership agreement with the organisers of the 2017 Sevan Startup Summit, which will take place on the shores of Lake Sevan in Armenia from 24 to 31 July.
EU4Business offers backing to Armenia’s annual Summer Startup Summit on the shores of Lake Sevan
Armenia
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04/07/2017
EU4Business, through its SMEDA project, has signed a partnership agreement with local bodies to support Armenia’s Sevan Startup Summit , which will be held from 24 to 31 July 2017. The Summit is as an important annual event in Armenia where startups can present their business ideas and further improve them with the assistance of mentors, experts, trainers and peers. Where startups and investors...
EU bank launches new scheme to support private sector in Republic of Moldova
Moldova
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04/07/2017
Chisinau/Luxembourg, 4 July 2017 An EU-backed programme enabling the European Investment Bank (EIB) to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the Republic of Moldova and other countries that have signed an Association Agreement with the European Union was launched in Chisinau today. The goal of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) Initiative East is to strengthen...