Kazakhstan Small Business Development Project Bi-Monthly Report: December 2009 – January 2010

The project focused on two components: Building GOK capacity to support SMEs and Building BSP capacity to support SMEs. Under Component 1, KSBD worked with the Enterprise Development Department (EDD) to define SME categories, which determines eligibility criteria for government support. The EDD requested a sample budget for an Enterprise Development Center (EDC) concept, which was provided along with information on financial sustainability. KSBD also worked with the Entrepreneurship Development Fund/Damu (EDF/Damu) to develop a more detailed concept on EDCs, focusing on its functions and services. The main difference in the concept regards the services to be provided by the future EDCs. A meeting was organized at the Damu headquarters to discuss the two concepts, and it was agreed that both presentations be shared at the First National Seminar on the results achieved by the "Business Advisor Program." KSBD assisted 330 SMEs and co-financed 1,462 training participations. The "Know About Business" (KAB) program continued implementation, achieving the following milestones: 74 teachers were certified in KAB, and over 13,826 additional students in 63 vocational institutions received KAB training. Two new teachers were certified to train teachers in KAB. The project also strengthened its BSP network, focusing on assisting BSPs to complement training with consulting assistance based on training and SME management. The project added quantitative key ratios collected from SMEs to measure business impact.