EU4Business

EU4Business is an umbrella initiative that includes all EU support to SMEs in the Eastern Partnership Countries (EaP) countries – Azerbaijan, Armenia, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. In 2019, the EU4Business Initiative supported SME growth through 147 projects with a total budget of €872 million. EU4Business provides the following support to SMEs: Access to finance*: • local-currency loans • finance for export-related investments or to adapt to EU standards • support for women entrepreneurs and start-ups *Funding is often provided through third parties such as local banks or partner organisations, much of it made possible by indirect finance from the EU in the form of loan guarantees Access to knowledge: • advisory services • consultancy and technical support • tailored trainings to support skills development Access to markets: • business advice • export training • networking opportunities • trade missions to EU markets Improving the business enabling environment: • effective regulations • public-private dialogue • monitoring of business regulation impact