Agency for Development of SMEs to expand network of rep offices in Azerbaijan (Exclusive)

Baku, Azerbaijan, May 16 By Matanat Nasibova - Trend: Azerbaijan’s Agency for the Development of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) plans to open 20-25 representative offices in the country's regions by the end of 2019, the Agency's Chairman of the Board Orkhan Mammaov told Trend. "Every month we open new offices of 'Friend of SMEs' and currently, their number has reached 12. In the future, we plan to bring this figure to 60. We expect that the network of 'Friend of SMEs' will purposefully expand and cover all regions of the country," Mammadov said. He also noted that the opening of the first House of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in Baku is planned to be realized by the end of 2019. According to the agency's Chairman, this will be an "open platform" operating in the one-stop shop mode with the aim of providing various kinds of services to entrepreneurs, including consulting. The main goal of creating the House SMEs is to ensure efficiency, transparency and optimal access of businesses to financial resources. The Agency for the Development of SMEs of Azerbaijan was established on the basis of the decree on improvement of management in the field of SMEs signed by President Ilham Aliyev in December 2017. The task of the agency is to ensure the consistency of reforms, as well as the improvement of the business regulation system and the application of effective coordination, enhancing the role and competitiveness of small and medium-sized businesses in the country’s economy, and the compliance of the management system of this sphere with modern requirements. As a single structure with special powers, through the Houses of SMEs, the agency will organize, coordinate, evaluate and regulate the services rendered by state agencies and organizations in this area. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @MatanatNasibova