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New challenge for Ukrainian small business
EBRD announces second Best Business Project Competition
Following the success of last year's Business Project Competition for Ukrainian small and medium-sized businesses, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the National Bank of Ukraine are launching another one. Support for this initiative has been provided by the EBRD through the Technical Cooperation Special Fund. The decision was enthusiastically supported by five Ukrainian commercial banks: Aggio, Aval, Forum, Nadra and VaBank.
The first competition was designed to raise the profile of the small-and-medium-business (SME) sector in Ukraine and increase interest in an important source of long-term financing - the EBRD's SME Line of Credit. It attracted more than 100 businesses. Thirteen finalists demonstrated their ability to produce business plans and marketing strategies at on-site visits and finally before an international jury, which picked the best projects in March.
The top three winners - Dnipropetrovsk-based poultry meat producer Agro Oven, Kiev-based consumer goods distributor SAV-Service and Kiev-based plastic packaging producer Plastmodern - not only received lines of credit with a discounted interest rate from their banks, but also visited the EBRD's headquarters in London and met with UK businesspeople in May as part of their prize package.
In the second competition, which is being launched today and concludes next spring, the best Ukrainian businesses will again receive the chance to win tens of thousands of dollars in reduced-interest-rate loans, as well as a free trip for their managers to London to meet similar British small businesses, courtesy of British Airways. British Airways is participating because the airline considers mutual cooperation between Ukrainian and British entrepreneurs to be important for both nations. British Airways is confident that the competition will assist Ukrainian businesses in being dynamic and prosperous and contribute to Ukraine's economic stability and future growth.
The competition rules and entry procedures will be explained at an Information Day to be held on 25 October. Further information on how to enter the SME Business Project Competition can be obtained by calling the National Bank's Project Monitoring Unit (PMU) on +380-44-230-1818 in Ukraine, or by asking at any branch of the participating banks.
Visit the official Competition web site www.bizproject.com.ua for full details and entry forms.
The first EBRD SME Line of Credit became operational in Ukraine in 1995. As of today the Bank has provided 178 loans to Ukrainian small and medium businesses worth $150 million. Over eight years, EBRD Credit Lines for Ukrainian SME's have helped to create more than 5,000 jobs.
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