More than 150 people took part in the two-day AgroVin 2017 agricultural forum, organised by the Vinnytsya Business Support Centre in the framework of the EU4Business initiative. Participants went away with a wealth of new ideas, contacts and good impressions.
On the first day of the forum, participants had an opportunity to learn about state and international agribusiness support programmes including EU4Business and the support provided through the EBRD, as well as innovative solutions for processing and agricultural engineering, IT technologies and innovations in agriculture. Successful business cases were also presented, including in the areas of professional beekeeping, organic agriculture, greenhouse and fruit and vegetable production. The message that was repeatedly emphasised by foreign colleagues from Germany and the Netherlands is that Ukraine has an incredible potential in agriculture.
On the second day of the forum, participants visited leading agricultural and food processing enterprises of the Vinnytsia region, including the Nemirovsky Distillery (TM "Nemiroff"), Bratslav LLC (technologies and equipment for agriculture) and PJSC Druzhba V.M. (gardening, refrigeration for vegetables and fruits), getting a chance to see how businesses are now working and to learn from their experience.
Participants were also particularly thankful to the EBRD’s Advice for Small Business programme in Ukraine and the overall EU4Business initiative for their readiness to develop small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as to all the speakers and organisers at the forum.
The Vinnytsya Business Support Centre is part of the EU-funded Network of Business Support Centres, implemented by the EBRD, which aims to improve the competitiveness and bankability of Ukrainian SMEs through the provision of business advice and capacity building. It also supports BSOs in 15 regions of Ukraine in setting up a network of EU4Business Business Support Centres (BSCs). At least 30,000 SMEs and entrepreneurs will benefit from the project.