The role of SMEs and their Business Support Organisations (BSOs) in Belarus was the focus of a week of seminars and round tables in Minsk from 10 to 14 July.
The events were organised by the Republican Union of Employers (BelUE) as part of the EU4Business East Invest 2 project. They aimed to support BSOs in participating in public-private dialogue (PPD) and to raise awareness of the need for stakeholders to present their viewpoints clearly and professionally to public institutions.
Developing a social partnership in Belarus
The week-long gathering, consisting mainly of representatives of business associations and organisations supporting entrepreneurship was held at the Republican Scientific and Technical Library.
It began on 10 July with two roundtables involving international experts.
The first focused on project development, implementation and financing. The second was dedicated to business education for SMEs; the role, status and value of BSOs in creating an effective business environment, and the development of social partnership in Belarus.
Preparation for 4th EaP Business Forum
Participants also discussed the East Invest 2 annual conference held in Kyiv on 21 June, and the regional Eastern Partnership position paper to be presented to the 4th EaP Business Forum in Tallinn on 26-27 October 2017.
Seminars were held from 11 to 13 July teaching the business associations how to develop positions on issues and write focused papers advancing their arguments.