Grants for small and medium businesses: medical and cosmetology sector

The existence and development of small and medium-sized businesses largely depend on government support. European countries have long established appropriate policies, but the government of Ukraine has not yet developed an effective financing scheme for those wishing to start their own business. Taking into account the relevance of this issue, estet-portal.com talked with Olga Shaverina – EU grants expert at ADF Consulting – and found out what grants for business in the medical and cosmetology sector can be received by entrepreneurs in Ukraine and what needs to be done for this.

Olga Shaverina, Technical Assistance, Horizon 2020: IT and Communication Technologies, Research Infrastructure, Security, Medicine, Innovation in Small and Medium Businesses in ADF Consulting.

Most small and medium-sized companies in Ukraine mainly develop on their own or borrowed capital. Many find it difficult. At the same time, the practice of helping small and medium-sized businesses has long been developed in Europe, but how are things in Ukraine?

Historically, small and medium-sized businesses have played a significant role in the economy and self-employment of European countries. Therefore, European governments pay them considerable attention. In different EU countries, even in different cities of the EU, there are various support programs for both start-ups and existing entrepreneurs. On average, an entrepreneur who starts his own business can receive non-repayable subsidies in the region of 15,000 30 000 EURO and various soft loans in the amount of up to 300 000 EURO, not to mention numerous programs of internships, training, exchange of experience, participation in exhibitions and conferences.

In Ukraine, small and medium business – a relatively new culture, and the state is still poorly adapted to support it, but some government programs still work. & nbsp; In the conditions of modern currency instability, they have lost their relevance, but they exist. For example, there is a "subsidy" from the employment fund to start your own business, in 2008 its amount was equivalent to $ 2,000, now this amount has remained unchanged and has turned into $ 600. This is very little for a serious business, but if the situation is completely stalemate, $ 600 can be started. History knows examples of conquering continents with "a couple of dollars in your pocket".

Often, city budgets allocate funds and hold grant competitions related to various urban development topics. Often the amounts are negligible, but the situation has begun to level off in recent years. So, this year, the grant budget of Kyiv to finance private projects for the development of the city amounted to 50 million hryvnia. Information about such competitions is available on the websites of city administrations, often not in the most visible place – must be searched.

A lot of grant programs organized by international foundations and ratified by Ukraine, as well as grants established by various international organizations in competitions in which Ukrainians can also participate are now a significant help.

A lot of grant programs organized by international funds and ratified by Ukraine, as well as grants established by various international  organizations.

What are grants and how do they differ from, for example, a subsidy?

Grants – it is one of the popular project financing tools. Grants are earmarked and non-refundable, i.e. the grantor, in exchange for the allocated resources, wants to receive some result of the funded project.

Grants can be initiated by very different organizations – from governments to private companies. Each grantor sets his own goals and conditions for issuing grants, he also determines possible candidates for such funding.

Grants – this is, first of all, a competition of projects and companies wishing to realize the goals of the grantor for the allocated resources. If the subsidy – this is assistance that is issued to everyone who writes an application and meets the requirements, then the grant – this is a competition for the best solution in the announced competition, in grants & nbsp; just meet the criteria and have the intention to do everything well – few. You must prove that you – best.

How to find the right grant for an entrepreneur?

As a rule, each grantor has his own website, where information is posted. The task of the entrepreneur – determine which donors he plans to work with. To do this, it is advisable to look through all the donors known to him, read the plans and goals of the current year’s grantmaker, see which projects were allocated funding last year, determine whether he (the entrepreneur) has such a vector in his own activities and whether there is a coincidence in the interests of grantor. After that, you need to determine the list of sites and conduct a constant –1–2 times a month – monitoring the news in search of a contest announcement.

There are also some platforms that publish monthly news of donors (grantors), but it is more reliable to identify your donors yourself and track their activity yourself.

And what exactly can an entrepreneur from the field of medicine and cosmetology receive a grant for?

In today's realities, exchange programs and specialized internships can be the most relevant, especially in the field of management and management – almost every embassy in a European country has programs and grants of this nature. You need to go to the website of the embassy and find the section "Grants \ Internships" etc. All the information you need will be there.

Companies with an innovative component are eligible for grants from the Horizon 2020 European program. If a company has its own developments in the field of healthy aging, services for ages 55+, healthcare, subject to a number of conditions and passing the competition (on average, about 10 projects) you can count on financing in the amount of 50 000 to 2.5 million EURO. Some targeted competitive programs in the health sector are designed to provide funding from 2 million euros and more.

In addition to the Horizon 2020 program and the programs of embassies, the European grant program Cosme is about to start working. So far, it operates in a very truncated mode, but I think that in the coming years it will be able to open up opportunities for Ukrainian entrepreneurs to receive money specifically for business development in amounts up to 150 000 EURO.

If a company is considering purchasing Western equipment – there are many additional opportunities in the country of the manufacturer of this equipment: you can always contact the local chamber of commerce and industry and find out about the available opportunities for leasing, exchange and the same grants (where the recipient will not be you, but, for example, the equipment manufacturer, but the purpose of the grant is &ndash ; increase exports, for example). In general, look for opportunities – there are a lot of them. However, they all require preliminary painstaking work.

There are many opportunities to get a business grant, but all of them require hard work.

I will once again draw the attention of entrepreneurs in your field to grant opportunities in the field of increasing the level of professionalism in business management. For example, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has a special advisory support program for small and medium-sized businesses in Ukraine.

Under this grant programme, the EBRD pays up to 50% of the cost of professional consultants up to EUR 10,000. This is a very good project that allows the company to increase its performance due to the competent work of the staff.  Details can be found on his page www.know-how.org.ua

Besides, within the framework of the program to increase employment among the population, some EU countries have special funds of experts who can work for your project during the year absolutely free of charge. These can be both industry specialists and specialists in advertising, management, export, etc. Such programs operate in Italy and the Netherlands. Specialists of these programs can work in Ukraine or in the interests of Ukrainian companies.

Entrepreneurs can also use special support programs for large companies, usually they are described on the Internet pages of these companies: for example, "Microsoft" has a program to support entrepreneurs, providing free software, "PrivatBank";  introduced a special crowdfunding platform.

What difficulties usually arise in the way of those who would like to win a grant for their business?

Most difficult – the lack of a single information field about grants, sources literally need to be sought and hunted down. The second difficulty – since most grants come from foreign countries, often basic information is provided in English (in direct programs for Ukraine, information is provided in the local language). The third difficulty – preparation of the project and application. Many of our entrepreneurs live in a stereotyped setting, it seems to them that getting a grant – this is something taken for granted and they forget that the – this is a competition, and, accordingly, projects are being prepared "tap-blunder"; or inattentively read the conditions of competitions; or believe that one desire is enough. This is not true. Most grant givers have literally exhausting, scrupulous paper conditions. The level of bureaucracy is very high, and it is conditioned. In order to receive this "free money", it will be necessary to expend effort and invest your resources in the preparation of competitive projects and applications. I repeat – grants go to the best and most "obedient" projects.

There is one more surprise for those who receive grants, – very strict reporting on performance. Also, grants are often not issued in tranches in advance, but work according to the reverse system – By signing a grant agreement, you invest your own resources in the implementation of various parts of the agreement, after you report, the grantor accepts the report (may not accept it), then compensates you for the resources spent. But this is not a regulated practice, each grantor determines its own conditions.

From the good – having tried once and having received a high assessment of joint work from the grantor, you can count on the fact that it will be much easier for you to receive the next grants.

Having tried once and having received a high assessment of joint work from the grantor, you can count on the fact that it will be much easier for you to receive the next grants.

What are the requirements for – grant recipients?

Each grantmaker has its own list of requirements for potential recipients. One thing is certain: by European standards, a small business is a company with an annual turnover of no more than 50 million EURO and no more than 250 full-time employees. Often, large organizations require at least two years of experience in the market, examples of completed projects, the EBRD looks at the positive dynamics of financial reporting, but the Horizon 2020 program allows the participation of newly created companies. It is necessary to read the participation rules for each individual grantor and for each individual grant competition.

What documents are usually required to participate in a grant competition?

Each grantor may have their own requirements, but everything converges in the basic package: a certificate of registration, a charter that specifies commercial / non-commercial activities, the goals of the organization, financial statements (last and last annual), passports of persons entitled to sign, project description, completed grant application. Additionally, they can request: letters of recommendation, project schedule, project development plan after the end of funding, project development strategy, budget, availability of partner organizations and staff resumes, diplomas, etc. For an operating company, all these documents should not be difficult. Just in case, it will be good if you always have copies of your documents translated into English at hand.