About 143,000 people are employed in small and medium-sized businesses in the Vitebsk region
The quality and quantity of support tools for this sector of the economy have acquired special significance in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and the new epidemic rise of seasonal infections. A three-tier system of economic support has been created in Belarus. It provided for opportunities in the regions to take measures to reduce costs for organizations and entrepreneurs by reducing the tax burden and lowering land lease payments. In such conditions, the business community itself demonstrated exemplary self-organization skills to provide prompt assistance to medics. According to Deputy Head of Administration Elena Borzdyko, the district's entrepreneurial sector supported those who worked on the front lines of the pandemic with a total amount of over 50 thousand rubles.
Small and medium-sized businesses account for up to 15% of the district's industrial production volume, the share of this sector of the economy in export of goods is about 40%, and in services – up to 90%. Annually, more than 300 individual entrepreneurs and over 150 new organizations are registered in the district, creating about 400 jobs. If in 2015 the share of entrepreneurship in the district's budget revenues did not exceed 12%, then in the current year its contribution has grown to 25%.
Similar trends are characteristic of most districts of the Vitebsk region and the northern region as a whole, noted Alexander Trofimov, Head of the Entrepreneurship Development Department of the Committee for Economy of the Regional Executive Committee. According to data as of the beginning of the year, about 143 thousand people are employed in small and medium-sized businesses. Alexander Trofimov is confident that the positive dynamics of the development of this sector are ensured, in part, thanks to the conditions created in the country. Currently, the State Program "Small and Medium-sized Entrepreneurship in the Republic of Belarus" for 2016-2020 is being implemented in the region, with more than 1.8 million rubles allocated for its measures in 2020. In 2019 alone, state financial support was provided to 23 small businesses for a total amount exceeding 90 thousand rubles.
A network of infrastructure entities supporting small and medium-sized entrepreneurship has been created and is operating in the Vitebsk region, including 8 entrepreneurship support centers (3 in Vitebsk, 2 in the Orsha district, one each in Novopolotsk, Polotsk, and Glubokoye) and the small business incubator "Law and Order," with sites in Vitebsk, Orsha, and Polotsk. According to Mikhail Keizerov, Director of the incubator, more than 200 organizations are currently located there. The incubator provides rental of premises, office equipment, and other property, assists in finding partners, obtaining financial resources, implementing modern technologies into production, consults on financial literacy, taxation, labor protection, and export, and provides marketing, accounting, and legal services. Today, the Small Business Incubator LLC PG "Law and Order" is creating the "Vitebsk Silicon Valley" technopark for biomedical and information technologies.
Alexander Trofimov elaborated on the issues of providing state financial support to small businesses using funds allocated under various state programs. This topic is highly relevant for businesses. He noted that assistance is provided on a competitive basis, and the creation of new jobs is a mandatory condition for obtaining borrowed funds. The guarantee fund system was launched two years ago by the Belarusian Fund for Financial Support of Entrepreneurs. Representatives of banks spoke about the financial products currently available for businesses.
The seminar featured up-to-date information on taxation specifics, and issues of social security and labor protection were covered in detail. Specialists from the Vitebsk Zonal Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology discussed preventive measures and the specifics of the current epidemiological situation. As Alexander Trofimov noted, the organizers tried to cover the most relevant topics for entrepreneurs to help them avoid troubles associated with misunderstandings of current legislation.