Nizhny Novgorod - territory of business

The governor of Nizhny Novgorod, Valery Shantsev, attended the opening of the All-Russian Forum "Territory of Business - Territory of Life." The ceremony was held at the Chamber of Commerce.

President of the National Partnership of Participants of the Microfinance Market, Mikhail Mamut, said that Nizhniy Novgorod was not accidentally chosen to host the twenty-fifth anniversary forum.

"The Nizhny Novgorod region has rightly deserved to hold this forum. We can see a high level of support that local authorities give to small business. We were very impressed that in 2012 the Nizhny Novgorod region took the first place among subjects of the Russian Federation on the level and type of support to small and medium-sized businesses as rated by RIA Novosti. The policy of such a positive attitude to small business, which Governor Valery Shantsev runs, is not commonplace in all regions of the country," said Mikhail Mamut.

Foreign observers also note the success of the Nizhny Novgorod region in the development of small and medium-sized businesses. Scientific Director of the German-Russian Forum, Alexander Rahr said: "Last year, it was Germany that launched a Russian initiative on medium-sized and small businesses, to give it an opportunity, among others, to gain a foothold in the German market. This powerful initiative was supported by economic ministries of the Russian Federation and Germany. In my view, the results could be better, although we can not say that there was no progress reached in this area. Some Russian regions that do not depend on the sale of oil and gas, such as the Nizhny Novgorod region, are highly successful in developing small and medium-sized businesses."

According to the governor, there are 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses in the region, employing 580,000 Nizhny Novgorod residents, which makes 35 percent of the able-bodied population of the region.

The implementation of the comprehensive program for the support of small and medium-sized enterprises, adopted by Governor Valery Shantsev in 2006, allowed the Nizhny Novgorod region to come first among the regions of the country on business activity (RIA Ranking - 2012). During seven years of the program, the number of small and medium-sized businesses in the Nizhny Novgorod region has increased by a quarter, while the share of small and medium-sized businesses in the region's economy has reached 30 percent. The share of small and medium-sized businesses in the region's Gross Regional Product doubled, as compared to 2005, and amounted to 15.4 percent. In municipal areas and urban districts of the region, there are 42 centers and business support funds; a network of business incubators is being created as well.