EU pledges extra ?5 million to support EBRD small business programmes in the EaP
13.06.2011 | Publications
The European Union has pledged additional funds of ?5 million to support the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development’s (EBRD) TurnAround Management (TAM) and Business Advisory Service (BAS) Programmes in the Eastern Partnership, providing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises with direct assistance from experienced business advisors and consultants, helping them to adapt to the demands of a market economy.
The
technical assistance from the EU is earmarked for use in the Eastern
Partnership countries, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova
and Ukraine. The committed funds are sufficient to implement over 30 TAM
and over 250 BAS projects in the region, said a press release from the
EBRD.
The main
beneficiaries of the programmes will be smaller businesses located in
the Eastern Partnership countries. The Bank is also planning to engage
relevant ministries, SME development agencies, investment promotion and
regional enterprise agencies as well as regional chambers of commerce,
which will play an important role in the successful implementation of
the TAM and BAS programmes.
The
EBRD’s BAS Programme, launched in 1995, is designed to assist individual
enterprises to engage with local consultants on specific projects with a
rapid payback. The objective of the TAM Programme, started by the Bank
in 1993, is to help small and medium enterprises transform themselves
through structural changes and the development of new business skills at
senior management level.
The TAM
and BAS supported projects bring best business standards and improve SME
management skills like planning, production, quality control and
marketing, thereby making them more competitive and able to attract
external financing.
The EU’s
funding to the TAM/BAS programme is part of the Eastern Partnership’s
flagship initiative for the support of SMEs in the region.
The EU also a funds a three-year, ?7 million, regional programme, East-Invest, which supports
economic development and facilitates regional trade through
contributing to the improvement of the business environment, with an
emphasis on SMEs and networking.
-
03.01
-
07.10
-
22.09
-
17.08
-
12.08
-
30.09
