Networking event “EU for Ukrainian SMEs: Together We Are Resilient!” was held on February 29. The event closed the ‘Together We Are Resilient. Together we are Europe’ communication campaign, which was running from October 2023 to the present day and informed Ukrainians about the support provided by the European Union to small and medium-sized enterprises during the war. Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, the EU has helped entrepreneurs overcome fundamentally new challenges: from maintaining or reorienting production to military needs, to business relocation, adaptation to work in conditions of limited technological capabilities, labor shortages, loss of sales markets and partnerships.
68% of Ukrainian SMEs continued to work during the war, adapted to work in the conditions of relocation and in the de-occupied territories, restore partnerships, enter the EU markets. Many small and medium enterprises were headed by women and veterans.
❓Why is this important?
The participants of the event were presented with the results of the second foresight session “Small and Medium-sized Businesses in the Process of European Integration: Scenarios and Strategies“. More than 80 foresight participants representing business, government, EU-funded projects, international organisations and experts joined the foresight in October 2023. They discussed the key factors influencing the development of SMEs, identified and described scenarios and strategies for its further development in the context of European integration.
The retention and development of mass entrepreneurship, i.e. small and medium-sized businesses was established as a key factor for positive scenarios.
“Ukraine is fighting off a ruthless aggressor. At the same time, it is working on its recovery, demonstrating amazing resilience and vitality, implementing reforms and preparing for EU accession. This is the choice of the people of Ukraine. The European Union has supported and will continue to support Ukrainians on this path. In the middle of the full-scale war, we are working for our common future. We are at the beginning of a challenging path – negotiations on Ukraine’s accession to the EU and reconstruction. To make this path easier, we have established a new instrument for reliable financial support – the Ukraine Facility worth EUR 50 billion – which enters into force from 1 March”,- said Stefan Schleuning, Head of Cooperation at the EU Delegation to Ukraine.
Hanna Bashniak, head of BRDO’s “Regulatory Policy” sector, spoke at the event about BRDO’s deregulation initiatives, which since the beginning of the full-scale invasion had a significant impact on the adaptation of SMEs to war conditions and helped both entrepreneurs and the budget of Ukraine to save money. Particular attention was paid to the success of the work of the IWG on deregulation, which BRDO joined within the framework of the EU4Business: SME Policies and Institutions Support (SMEPIS) project, implemented by Ecorys in a consortium with GIZ, BRDO and Civitta with the financial support of the European Union. During one year of activity, the IWG on deregulation reviewed 1,323 instruments of state regulation and recommended to get rid of 456 of them altogether. According to BRDO experts, the economic effect of the implementation of the IWG decisions will amount to more than UAH 12 billion.
In recognition of the resilience and achievements of Ukrainian SMEs involved in the EU4Business programmes, Iryna Hubarets, Sector Manager – Competition and Economic Cooperation, Delegation of the European Union to Ukraine, presented Business Recognition Awards 2023 in the following categories:
-
- «International market access» – Organic Milk
- «From export learning-to-doing» – Rekava
- «From competitors to partners clustering» – Lviv cluster of medical business
- «Business diversification into new area» – Prime Snack
- «Business boosting» – Edelvika
- «National finalists of 2023 European Enterprise Promotion Awards»: LadyFest та UNIC (Ukrainian Network of Integrity and Compliance)
- «Horizon Europe EIC Accelerator winner»: Releaf Paper
- «Driver of deregulation reform»: BRDO
- «Systemic development of entrepreneur support centers»: Diia.Business Entrepreneur Support Center in Bucha
- «Pioneer solution for easy and transparent distribution of EU4Business grants»: Business Development Fund (BDF).
Under the EU4Business: SME Recovery, Competitiveness and Internationalization programme, more than 1,100 grants totalling EUR 5.5 million were awarded from February 2022 to December 2023 to provide comprehensive support to small and medium-sized businesses, with a total of EUR 7 million in direct grant assistance.