Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 7
By Anvar Mammadov - Trend:
The European Union (EU) is ready to support the establishment of the Agency for Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship in Azerbaijan.
The head of Operations Section at the EU mission in Baku, Jeroen Willems made the remarks at the first meeting of the working group on the project to support the implementation and monitoring of the "Strategic Roadmap for the Production of Consumer Goods in Azerbaijan at the Level of Small and Medium Enterprises" on Dec.7.
He said that the creation of the Agency will greatly assist the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
"We have already seen the positive impact of the establishment of the agency in other countries and are ready to support its establishment in Azerbaijan."
Work on the creation of the Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises began this spring.
The issue of creating a centralized Agency for Small and Medium Enterprises in the country is reflected in the "Strategic Roadmap for the Production of Consumer Goods in Azerbaijan at the Level of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises".
The management of the agency will include both representatives of the state and private sectors. Subsequently, in 2017-2018, it is planned to create a SME House under the agency, where a special center will operate to provide entrepreneurs with services on the principle of a "single window", employment services, a training center, a representative office of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), departments of international organizations and other instances.
The creation of the agency can increase Azerbaijan's GDP by 200 million manat by 2020 and create 240 new jobs. It is planned to attract investments worth 10 million manat in this regard.