Forum participants discussed the current problems facing micro, small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and shared their experiences in sustainable business and achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

Kyiv, 26 October 2021 – One of the largest events for developing entrepreneurship in Ukraine – the IV National SME Development Forum 2021 "From Resilience to Sustainability" – was held in the country’s capital, Kyiv on 26 October.

This year the forum, which was held in a hybrid, online-offline format, brought together more than 300 entrepreneurs from all regions of Ukraine, as well as representatives of more than 20 international organizations.

Opening the forum, President of the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Gennady Chizhikov noted that the biggest problems of micro, small and medium enterprises are related to a lack of information, difficulties in accessing education, and obstacles in obtaining loans and implementing technological projects.

Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine Mykhailo Fedorov in his video address stressed that the development of SMEs was the future of the country. "We’re building a country of entrepreneurs so that the number of Ukrainian businesses grows," he said.

Welcoming the forum participants and partners, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative to Ukraine Manal Fouani said that the forum was an important platform for exchanging knowledge and approaches, which would help identify issues that still hinder MSMEs’ access to finance, helping them to improve and gain resilience.

“Small and medium-sized businesses must not only be sustainable and inclusive but also know how to deal with current and future challenges,” Fouani said. “We believe that we need to build an environment that is more conducive to the success of MSMEs, by allowing them to export their products and participate in international forums, presenting Ukrainian business, innovation, and solutions on the world stage.”

Deputy Director for Cooperation of the Swiss Embassy Viktor Shutkevych noted that with the support of the Swiss government in Ukraine, more than 15 projects are being implemented to support business development. He also spoke in detail about the UNDP project "Strengthening MSME Business Membership Organizations in Ukraine."

Opening the discussion in the first panel, "Public-Private Dialogue," Deputy Minister of Digital Transformation of Ukraine for European Integration Valeria Ionan spoke about the ecosystem of support for SMEs in Ukraine that the ministry has developed over the past two years – in particular the educational programmes for entrepreneurs, the support centres for entrepreneurs planned for opening in every major city, as well as the work of the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office.

In the second part of the forum – entitled "SME Support Infrastructure in Ukraine" – entrepreneurs learned about more than 20 international projects to support business development and financing, national initiatives to support business development, and access to finance programmes from international and Ukrainian financial institutions.

The forum included panel discussions on the following topics:

• "SDG-Entrepreneurship and the Impact of Investment: Approaching Ukraine." Funda Suzer, Impact Investing Portfolio Lead, UNDP Istanbul International Centre for Private Sector in Development (IICPSD), highlighted the importance of impact investment in Ukraine and presented the UNDP IICPSD study “Impact Investment Ecosystem in Ukraine.” In addition, a roadmap for the development of the investment climate in Ukraine was presented.

• "Sustainable Business Models for MSMEs". Entrepreneurs shared their experience and understanding of social business, its efficiency, and contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular, in overcoming poverty.

• "Women in Sustainable Business: Standards for Change." The importance of values ​​in team building, as opposed to authoritarian leadership was discussed; business process planning, fashion design, and rules that will shape the new environment, as well as the demand for partnership rather than competition; and mechanisms of self-regulation, using the example of the introduction and monitoring of ethical rules in the field of real estate services, were considered.

• "Socially Responsible Business for Community Development." The panellists shared their experiences in changing modern businesses through trust and openness; talked about conducting social campaigns and involving their employees, partners, and communities in sustainable development initiatives; and discussed helping communities self-organize to solve their economic, social, and environmental problems. Nicolaj Sonderbye, UNDP Senior Democracy and Human Rights Advisor, spoke about global trends in corporate social responsibility, barriers, and opportunities for entrepreneurs. He also talked about the tendency in the EU to pay more and more attention to the contribution of enterprises to the protection of human rights and greening. Accordingly, Ukrainian companies focusing on exports to the EU should pay attention to these trends.

• "EU Green Deal: Guidelines for MSME." In this panel, entrepreneurs discussed the impact of the European Green Course on the agricultural sector, including carbon practices and sustainable development strategies in agribusiness, as well as the rationale for the need for sustainable development projects, taking into account economic and investment factors, and climate change.

• "The Role of Associations and Organizations of Business Representatives in Business Development." The panellists discussed effective models for business associations, as well as sharing  their own experiences and approaches to promoting industries.

Leaders and representatives of business associations stressed the importance of the topics raised at the forum, and said they plan to disseminate the information and presentation materials among the members of their business associations.

Information

The SME Development Forum is the largest regular national event aimed at informing the national business community about the opportunities provided by international and national projects, and by public and private business financing programmes operating in Ukraine.

The National SME Development Forum 2021 was organized by the Ukrainian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the project "Strengthening MSME Business Membership Organizations in Ukraine", implemented by UNDP in Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and with the support of the Swiss Confederation, as well as the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, the national business development project Diia.Business, the Entrepreneurship and Export Promotion Office, and the German Society for International Cooperation (GIZ Ukraine).

More information and recordings of all of the forum’s panels can be found on the website of the National Forum.

Media enquires

Yuliia Samus, UNDP Communications Team Leader, yuliia.samus@undp.org