Baku, Azerbaijan, March 31
By Azad Hasanli - Trend:
Baku has hosted the "Business Incubators - A Successful Platform in Development of Small Businesses" event, organized by the Azerbaijani Economy Ministry.
Representatives of government bodies, education institutions, technology parks, business incubators, start-ups and experts attended the event.
Executive Director of the Agency for Development of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) Orkhan Mammadov, addressing the event, noted that the development of SMEs, being an integral part of the country's successful economic policy, has always been in the focus of the government.
"The main goal of reforms in this direction is to turn the SMEs into the main driving force of the development of the Azerbaijani economy," Mammadov said.
He reminded that in December 2017, President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev decreed to create the Agency for Development of SMEs to ensure consistency of the ongoing reforms as well as introduction of effective coordination and modernization of the system regulating entrepreneurial activity, increasing the role of SMEs in the country's economy, and increasing their competitiveness.
The Agency will be engaged in organizing, coordinating, evaluating and regulating the SME houses, which will provide entrepreneurs with a range of services of state agencies and entrepreneurs in accordance with the "single window" principle, Mammadov said.
The Agency will operate in three directions, he said, adding that the first direction will cover measures to support existing enterprises, ensure their access to foreign markets, provide business services to state bodies and organizations in accordance with the "single window" principle.
Within the second direction, the Agency will support new ideas and development of new enterprises and start-ups as well as help them prepare business and marketing plans, and access to concessional financing.
The third direction is linked with the provision of all necessary procedural and legal documents for launching and doing business, including registration of business entities, issuance of licenses and permits, provision of notary and banking services through the SME houses.
"Our main task in the development of SMEs is to create a favorable business environment, increase the role of SMEs in the economy, their competitiveness and share in the country's total exports, ensure all possible elements of production and services through SMEs, especially the intellectual component. Our task is to increase the share of SMEs in GDP and employment through these measures," Mammadov said.
Mammadov then invited all representatives of SMEs to actively cooperate with the Agency.
The event ended with signing of a memorandum on expansion of cooperation and joint activities with 18 business incubators.