Success stories

A worker manufactures kitchen equipment at the Nerji plant in Georgia
Strong financial management helps Georgian kitchen manufacturer stay ahead of the game
Georgia
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22/08/2018
With funding from the European Union under its EU4Business initiative, EBRD - Advice for Small Businesses has helped a Georgian kitchen equipment manufacturer to improve performance and efficiency. Nerji LTD is the sole manufacturer of commercial kitchenware in Georgia, with over 600 corporate clients. Stainless steel fridges, freezers, ovens, grills and cupboards under the Nerji brand can be...
Made in Georgia: EU support to help Georgian manufacturers meet key European standards
Georgia
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10/08/2018
MPT Georgia has been producing apparel products for Danish multi-brand fashion group DK Company, a leading fashion company in Europe, for the last three years. The labels of various brands that are part of the group – Coop Denmark, Denim Hunter, B-Young, Fransa – read “Made in Georgia” in nine languages. The Danish company sells MPT Georgia-made clothing in Germany, the UK, Norway and Canada. MPT...
Artak Petrosyan in his workshop
The tools of success: new souvenir production business established with EU support
Armenia
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07/08/2018
Artak Petrosyan is a skilled craftsman who carves wood, particularly furniture in the city of Vagharshapat, in Armenia’s Armavir region . In August 2017, he started his own business after start-up training from an EU-funded project. Petrosyan took part in the ‘Successful Start’ start-up business support programme organised by the ‘Boosting Competitiveness of regional SMEs’ project, co-funded by...
Natalya Lukyanchenko, director and founder of the school
Keeping warm and saving money – thanks to the EU and EBRD
Ukraine
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06/08/2018
The ‘Stupeni’ (‘steps’) school in Odessa has received a grant from the EU to conduct an energy inspection, after the private Waldorf school applied to the EBRD’s Advice for Small Businesses programme. After modernising the heating system, the classrooms will be much warmer in winter, and the maintenance of the building will cost half a million hryvnyas less a year. Teenagers perched in the...
EU project supports Armenian entrepreneur to launch salted apricot kernels
Armenia
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01/08/2018
It’s been almost three years that entrepreneur Aram Tovmasyan from Lernagog village in Armenia’s Armavir region has been testing at home the production of apricot kernels in salt. Both the business idea and the product are new in the Armenian market, but they have already generated great interest. The entrepreneur has developed a special technique, which allows him to produce a delicious and...
Investment loan just a phone call away: EU4Business supports Ukrainian orthopaedic manufacturer
Ukraine
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30/07/2018
Olga Radinovich is the General Director of Reabilitimed, a Ukrainian manufacturer of orthopaedic and medical products. Her company had been wanting to invest in new equipment from Germany for two years when she heard on the radio about EU4Business SME loans through the German Ukrainian Fund (GUF). Under the programme, 50% of the nominal interest rate set by the loan agreement is compensated for...
Rahman Abdurahmanov, the General Director of AZZA
The sweet taste of success
Azerbaijan
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26/07/2018
AZZA Cake House is the most popular manufacturer of cake and confectionary products in Azerbaijan. Originally established as a clothes store in 2004, the brand subsequently branched out into the café business. Four years later, AZZA moved into confectionary, and the company has not looked back since, today boasting the largest network of cake shops in the country. “ Initially we were working as a...
SuperMagnit: investing in the future thanks to subsidised EU4Business loan
Ukraine
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25/07/2018
SuperMagnit LLC is a Ukrainian company producing souvenirs for the tourist market since 2006. It started with just a few employees, but has considerably developed in recent years. The company recently took out a loan as part of the joint programme of the German-Ukrainian Fund and Kyiv City State Administration for the compensation of interest rates on Kyiv SMEs’ loans, implemented with the...
Poultry farmer Taron Yeritsyan
Quality first: EU support helps transform family farm
Armenia
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23/07/2018
Taron Yeritsyan has been engaged in poultry farming in Armavir city in Armenia for five years. Now, thanks to support provided by the EU in 2017, his small family farm has hatched into a fully-fledged egg and chick production, recording double growth. A major contribution to the expansion and growth came from the ‘Boosting Competitiveness of regional SMEs’ project, co-funded by the European Union...
Volodymyr Hnatyuk
When knowledge is more important than money
Ukraine
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18/07/2018
How Ukrainian company Yarych has become a leader in the domestic biscuits market, supported by expert advice Yarych Confectionery, located in the village of Staryiy Yarychiv near Lviv, can easily be detected by its strong, unusual odour. It smells of garlic and vanilla… at the same time. "This comes from the savoury crackers and the Maria biscuits" – the origin of the strange aroma is explained...