SME Development Tools: International Experience
On 23 May, participants of the SME Development Tools: International Experience session (part of the SME Forum) discussed international experience of supporting small and medium-size enterprises, as well as efficiency of the existing tools.
The session was moderated by Alexander Kalinin, President of OPORA ROSSII All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses. He noted that there is high demand for international cooperation among small and medium businesses in Russia. However, they are mostly unaware of the mechanism that will help them to enter foreign markets and find partners. The session participants mentioned bureaucracy and lack of training programs for entrepreneurs among the major SME problems in Russia.
Sergey Borisov, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of OPORA ROSSII All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, stated that “inborn philosophy of parasitism prevents us from turning our face to small and medium-sized business.” He urged to absorb the most interesting information from international colleagues and cooperate in entrepreneurial training.
Alina Lavrentieva, PwC Partner, used Germany as an example of a country that opened multiple digital skill centres, as digitalization is essential for the success of any business. Alexey Nazarov, Partner and Head of Global Strategy Group, as well as Head of Public Sector at KPMG in Russia and the CIS, mentioned the case of France that managed to save 10 billion euro by cancelling 2400 compliance orders for businesses.
Markus Jerger, Chief Executive Officer of the German Association for Small and Medium-sized Businesses (BVMW), emphasized that it is important to create a bridge that will allow German SME enter the Russian market. In general, 99% of German companies represent small and medium-sized business. In the Check Republic and Finland, this number is 99.8%, according to Inna Melnikova, Representative in the Czech Republic of OPORA ROSSII All-Russian Non-Governmental Organization of Small and Medium-Sized Businesses, and Maria Hartikainen, Senior Business Advisor of Helsinki Business Hub. They talked about the SME support measures in those countries and the tools that can be used in Russia.
Yulia Alferova, Advisor to the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, noted that currently the Ministry examines all available support measures and intends to inquire with the SME about their real needs. According to Yulia Alferova, based on the Malaysian experience they created an experimental interaction format – a laboratory, where SME representatives can forward their ideas about support mechanisms. In a week, the records will be presented to all entrepreneurs of the country, while the Ministry will be able to draw conclusions and start introducing new tools or cancel the non-performing ones.
Sergey Morozov, Governor of Ulyanovsk Region, shared how the region managed to create a favourable environment for the SME and disclosed the amount of direct investments attracted by the SME. Notably, in 2016, Ulyanovsk Region introduced universal entrepreneurial training and currently the region is already introducing successful international practices.
Mikhail Khomich, Deputy Prime Minister of Udmurt Republic, said that their region is also successful in supporting the SME, and both the region and the country have a lot to be proud of. At the same time, he pointed out that it is important to share the stories of success, and while training, should be done by exporters rather than public officials.
