How did this project start?
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have had to navigate a difficult economic environment and make fundamental changes to their operations due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
In the economies where the EBRD invests, SMEs account for the vast majority of businesses and are responsible for the largest share of employment and value added to the economy. SMEs are highly represented in the sectors that are most affected by the crisis, such as tourism, transportation, retail and agriculture. Typically, SMEs do not have regular access to specialist professional legal and financial advisors to support their efforts in operational or financial restructuring.
The EBRD started this project to provide SMEs with practical legal and business guidance on identifying the best course of action in circumstances of financial distress and legal uncertainty, and to help build business resilience. This website serves as a hub of information for SMEs, while the country-specific pages are designed as a single entry point to enable SMEs to access information and resources relevant to their localities and jurisdictions.
The need for structured legal and business guidance for SMEs goes beyond the needs engendered by the coronavirus pandemic and the website has a broader focus on helping business to change and adapt.
The role of the UK’s Good Governance Fund (GGF)
This website has been developed by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development in collaboration with the United Kingdom’s Good Governance Fund.
Since 2016, the EBRD and the United Kingdom have been important partners in delivering policy dialogue in several of the countries where the EBRD invests. The EBRD-UK Investment Climate and Governance Fund was set up by the EBRD’s Governance and Political Affairs (GPA) team and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) under its Good Governance Fund (GGF) to support economic governance reforms and contribute to a better business and investment climate in countries across Eastern Europe and the Caucasus, and Western Balkans.
The GGF supports a series of governance and economic reform initiatives to help improve the business environment and ultimately build stability, reduce poverty, and increase prosperity. Under this project, the GFF has played a key role in supporting the development of tailored business and legal information and guidance for SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
About this website
The website contains comprehensive guides in the form of six modules with tips and tools to help your business improve its resilience in challenging times. Each module contains articles on a host of topics, allowing you to quickly find the information that is relevant to your business. The Useful Templates tab contains templates that you can download and use for your business.
The website also contains points of entry for specific countries, and currently provides additional local advice for SMEs in Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. This advice is tailored to local market needs and legislative requirements. During website development we consulted with many partners, including, without limitation Enterprise Georgia, the Organization for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprise Sector of Moldova, the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine and the Business Ombudsman Council of Ukraine, along with several local business organisations. For more information, see specific country advice by clicking on the relevant country option.
Do you have any queries?
If you have any queries about how the website works or have any suggestions about missing guidance, do not hesitate to contact us at: LTTBusinessGuide@ebrd.com
