SMB

We believe Azerbaijan’s socio-economic development is closely linked with entrepreneurship and its future development!

Results of the 6th grant competition announced for financing projects by SMB entities have been disclosed A memorandum on the green transition of SMBs signed between KOBİA and the Asian Development Bank Business forum conducted within the framework of the project "Increasing attractiveness of the Shamakhi district for private Investments" New Startups Contributing to Digitalization The 9th "KOB Fest" exhibition -sales fair is underway in Göyçay With the support of KOBİA, Azerbaijani entrepreneurs' products were showcased at the "MÜSİAD EXPO" and "Halal Expo" exhibitions Yet another meeting of the sub-group on Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) standards was held 8 more SMBs have received the "Startup" certificate New Startups That Will simplify life of People Meeting of the subgroup on “Environment, social and governance (ESG) standards”

SMEs make up 99.6% of the country's entrepreneurs 27.06.22

June 27 is celebrated around the world as the Day of Micro, Small and Medium Entrepreneurs. According to the UN General Assembly resolution on the goals of sustainable development, as well as its contribution to sustainable economic development, this date has been celebrated since 2017 under the slogan "Great impact of small business."

In Azerbaijan, as in the rest of the world, micro, small and medium business (SME) is the driving force of the economy, the key to sustainable and persistent development. About 99.6% of entrepreneurs in Azerbaijan are SMEs. Of these, 93.3% are micro, 4.5% are small and 1.8% are medium businesses. In our country, SME entities operate mainly in trade, construction, processing, agriculture, logistics and other areas. Last year, compared to 2020, the turnover of SMEs increased by an average of 85%.

The medium-term socio-economic development strategy developed within the framework of "Azerbaijan 2030: National Priorities for Socio-Economic Development" identifies the transformation of small and medium enterprises as a major source of economic growth and employment in the country as one of the strategic goals.

The Small and Medium Business Development Agency (KOBİA) of the Republic of Azerbaijan works to regulate the SME sector, improve the provision of public services to businesses, protect SME interests, and improve their access to knowledge and innovation, markets and finance, provides a range of support and services to SMEs. KOBİA works in close cooperation with the business sector to study and meet their needs.

So far, SME Development Centers have provided more than 2,400 free trainings to increase the business knowledge of SMEs, benefiting about 32,000 SMEs, and providing more than 22,000 hours of consulting services to 4,500 entrepreneurs. A free business plan has been developed for about 500 SMEs. Given the importance of starting a business and expanding existing activities, 15 domestic market surveys were conducted at the request of entrepreneurs and 25 at the initiative of the Agency. To support the digitalization and innovative ideas of SMEs, 42 Startup Certificates were issued, which exempted them from profit and income tax on revenues from innovation activities for a period of 3 years. More than 500,000 manat in grants were provided to 27 SMEs within the mechanism of financing SME projects in education, science, research and support. To support SMEs' access to markets, more than 850 SMEs have so far participated in 37 exhibitions and fairs in Azerbaijan and abroad free of charge. To date, more than 125,000 G2Bs and about 7,400 B2Bs have been provided to entrepreneurs in a single space, for a total of more than 132,000 services.

At the international level, support for SMEs will continue in line with SME challenges and government priorities in the field of entrepreneurship.