WUNRN
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
(EBRD) is planning a series of public consultation meetings in Rabat, Amman,
Istanbul, Ankara, Almaty and London to discuss EBRD’s draft Strategy for the
Promotion of Gender Equality in line with the Bank’s Public Information Policy.
Civil society organisations, clients and partners of EBRD and other interested
persons may comment on the draft strategy of the Bank and participate in these
meetings, organised by the Regional Environmental Center (REC) on behalf of
EBRD.
For logistical information and registration, please
visit http://ebrd-public-consultations.rec.org/.
Amman: Monday, 14 September 2015
Rabat: Monday, 21 September 2015
Almaty: Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Istanbul: Wednesday, 7 October 2015
Ankara: Friday, 9 October 2015
London: Monday, 12 October 2015
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For the text of the draft Gender Strategy, and all information with regard to the public consultation, please access the link: http://www.ebrd.com/ebrd-and-gender-equality-overview.html - gender@ebrd.com
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In
addition, the Small Business Support team’s
ongoing grant-based Women in Business Programme has provided extensive training
for women starting their own businesses. Women have held a significant portion
of board seats in companies in which the EBRD holds equity stakes; by 2012
around 46 per cent of seats were held by women nominee directors.
Identifying,
designing and assessing projects that promote equal opportunities in a specific
country require a good understanding of:
·
the areas in which gender
gaps are greatest;
·
what explains these gaps,
i.e. what institutional, economic, social, or political characteristics of the
economy they might depend on;
·
the channels through which
EBRD projects might be able to influence the conditions affecting gender gaps;
and finally,
·
how to find projects that
might deliver gender-related systemic impact and measuring that impact.
http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/advice-for-small-businesses/overview.html
SMALL BUSINESS SUPPORT: OVERVIEW
At
the EBRD we provide more than just finance.
Through
our Small Business Support (SBS) programme, we also provide business advice to
help small and medium-sized businesses grow, succeed, then grow again, becoming
genuine catalysts for their local economies and region.
A
vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector is a vital ingredient
for a healthy market economy. However, finance alone often cannot meet the
challenges facing small and medium-sized businesses. They also need access to know-how
to improve their performance and grow.
We
draw on the know-how of our network of international advisers and local
consultants to help transform a wide range of businesses, looking at areas
including strategy, marketing, operations, quality management, energy
efficiency, financial management and beyond.
We
also build strong, competitive markets for business advice that will thrive
independently, well into the future. We’ve been doing this successfully for
over twenty years, committing over €230 million of donor funds to assist nearly
14,000 small and medium-sized businesses in 25 countries. When it comes to
creating healthier, more prosperous and more durable small businesses, we know
how.
Our
results
We
have transformed the performance of thousands of small businesses and laid the
foundations or smart, sustainable and inclusive growth in markets across our
region. Results matter to us. Focusing on the right objectives, our projects
achieve the best possible outcomes and we are confident that the results speak
for themselves.
By
connecting our clients to local consultants and international advisers, we help
transform a wide range of businesses. From the smallest companies looking to
grow, to those going global, our expert network of advisers helps our clients
step up and start thinking big.
One
year after completing each project, we return to measure changes in the
client’s business performance. Within a year of a project:
·
77 per cent of our clients
increase their turnover by an average of 23 per cent and improve their
productivity by an average of 8 per cent
·
57 per cent create new
jobs, increasing their employee numbers by an average of 14 per cent. Last year
alone, our clients created over 9,500 new jobs
·
17 per cent secure
external financing to continue their growth.
Market
development
We
also know that a competitive market for business advice requires a wide variety
of advisory services and qualified, competent consultants to deliver them. Over
the years we have:
·
Grown our consultant
network by 20 per cent annually. We now have 6,000 local consultants ready to
help small businesses, with almost a third (28 per cent) based outside of large
cities
·
Trained the next
generation of consultants in core consulting skills
·
Introduced new and more
sophisticated services, including advice on energy and resource efficiency
(from 0 projects in 2004 to 7 per cent of our portfolio today)
·
Supported the
establishment of local business associations in countries such as the Kyrgyz
Republic, Mongolia and Far East Russia.
Our
professional development programmes help consultants to build their
competencies to better serve their clients. We offer a variety of
opportunities, from introductory courses to help new consultants establish
their business and learn essential consulting skills, to training for more
experienced consultants to improve their marketing, business diagnostics and
project management.
We
also enable consultants to expand their services with specialised training in technical
areas such as energy efficiency and export promotion. By creating a strong pool
of local expertise, we know that the benefits of our work will be sustained
into the future.
But a market does not work without strong demand. Client contributions to our projects have risen consistently over the years, demonstrating a growing willingness to pay for external advice. We make this a key priority in our engagement with a business. Eighty-two per cent of our clients have never worked with a consultant before starting their project, but when we come to evaluate their projects one year after project completion, 95 per cent of our clients say they would hire a consultant again, and almost half have already done so.