MINSK, 13 November (BelTA) – Project “Support to Economic Development at the Local Level in the Republic of Belarus” financed by the European Union will be implemented in the coming three years by the United Nations Development Program in partnership with the Belarusian Economy Ministry. The document was signed on the sidelines of the Global Entrepreneurship Week in Belarus (GEW Belarus) on 13 November, BelTA has learned.
The new project is one of the two components of a large-scale program “Strengthening Private Initiative Growth in Belarus” (SPRING) funded by the European Union as part of the European Neighborhood Instrument. The project aims to encourage economic initiative, boost competitiveness and innovation for inclusive development at the local level. The total budget is $9.5 million.
At the national level the project provides for measures aimed at promoting a dialogue to encourage and support regional growth and addressing important social issues. There are plans to introduce consultancy services and expand best consultancy practices. Consultancy councils will be responsible for elaborating local strategies and action plans structured around promotion of local entrepreneurship based on the principles of shared participative planning.
Participating districts will be selected on a competitive basis – two from each oblast. According to Economy Minister Dmitry Krutoi, these will be the most economically depressed districts which key economic indicators are lower than the country's average by 40% and more. Among them will be Orsha District, the minister informed.
“Maybe, the money earmarked by the project is not that big on a national scale, but for the selected 12 districts these are significant financial resources. There is an agreement with the UNDP representatives that if the project kicks off successfully, the number of districts that will be able to apply for financial aid will be increased in two or three years,” Dmitry Krutoi said.
“First of all, we expect an increase in SMEs in the manufacturing sector. We would like to give a particular attention to farming. Unfortunately, this segment of the agricultural industry is not growing as fast as we expected,” the minister noted. He praised the previous program of support at the local level and added that tangible results of the ongoing project are expected to materialize next year.
The Global Entrepreneurship Week is an annual global event aimed at finding new ideas for entrepreneurship. The event takes place in 170 countries. In 2018 the Global Entrepreneurship Week will draw over 15,000 partner organizations around the world under the auspices of Kauffman Foundation. This event has been held in Belarus since 2011. Its official representative is the BEL.BIZ Center of Business Communication. Its partners are the U.S. Agency for International Development, the Development Bank of Belarus, the Economy Ministry, the International Finance Corporation and the British Embassy. The event will be supported by the Council of Ministers of Belarus.
