On 10 November 2020, the new EU4Business web portal marks the opening of the 2020 European SME Week in Ukraine. The renewed portal is a convenient tool that covers the numerous opportunities offered by the European Union for business development in Ukraine, in particular to help Ukrainian small and medium-sized enterprises withstand the economic challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The EU is standing by Ukrainian small entrepreneurs. A substantial part of our EUR 190 million COVID-19 response package for Ukraine is targeted at small and medium-sized enterprises. Today we are launching an updated portal, where you will be able to find information about our support, gain new knowledge and skills to enter European and global markets, and access more affordable financial resources,” said Ambassador Matti Maasikas, Head of the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
The new portal is structured around three pillars of EU business support: Access to Finance, Business Development Services and Business Enabling Environment. Under Access to Finance, entrepreneurs can easily explore which local banks cooperate with the EU and its partner international financial institutions to make financial products more affordable and better suited for SME needs. The Business Development section describes which services are offered for Ukrainian companies to improve their knowledge and skills, and for business support organisations to better serve their clients. Under Business Enabling Environment, the entrepreneurs can learn how the EU helps improve economic policy-making in Ukraine and how government institutions are supported in their reform plans and regulatory decisions affecting business activity.
The launch of the updated EU4Business portal takes place in the framework of opening the European SME week 2020 in Ukraine, which is part of the pan-European campaign. The European SME Week aims to promote entrepreneurship in Europe by helping existing entrepreneurs find information on available support and trying to encourage more people to set up their own business. This year’s campaign is happening exclusively online, but entrepreneurs will nevertheless be able to benefit from a series of lectures, trainings, roundtables and other business-related events organised by EU projects and partners. These online events and publications will highlight the business support opportunities and success stories of entrepreneurs who have benefited from EU4Business initiatives. In 2019 alone, more than 4,000 Ukrainian entrepreneurs were supported through the EU4Business programmes. According to estimations, this helped them create more than 50,000 new jobs and generate over EUR 400 million in extra income.
Background information:
EU4Business is an EU initiative that helps SMEs in the six countries of the Eastern Partnership region, including Ukraine, realise their potential more effectively and stimulate economic growth.
For more information about EU4Business please contact delegation-ukraine@eeas.europa.eu(link sends e-mail)