Strategies of the Development of Entrepreneurship and SME

Within its goals the Confederation carries out the following functions:• To protect rights of the entrepreneurial subjects, their property and other legalinterests before the corresponding state structures, municipality bodies and otherorganizations;• To assist strengthening of the market infrastructure and development ofentrepreneurship relevant to the trends of the State Entrepreneurship DevelopmentProgram;• To participate in the collective negotiations with the Azerbaijan Government andTrade Unions Confederation with the purpose of regulation of the labor relationsaccording to the Labor Legislation in the country, to sign the tripartite GeneralCollective Agreement together with the Azerbaijan Government and Trade UnionsConfederation;• To provide the establishment of permanent business relations among its members,to assist work out of the investment, innovation and other initiative projects andformation of sound entrepreneurship environment;• To participate in preparation and realization of various social-economic orientedsector, regional and country programs;• To assist local entrepreneurs in search of partners in the country and abroad,participate in their information supply;• To realize the preparation of the social-economic oriented draft laws and othernormative-legal acts related to the development of entrepreneurship;• To create conditions foe study of the world experience of entrepreneurship and itsavailable application in Azerbaijan;• To assist the establishment of social-economic oriented organizations.At present time more than 3,500 entrepreneurs’ subjects including about 35Associations and Unions of economic and social orientation are united in AEC. AEC implementsits responsibilities as the representative of the employers being a social partner in the trilateralGeneral Collective Agreement signed between Cabinet of Ministries, Trade UnionsConfederation and AEC on 7 July 2004 for determination of social-economic policy in Azerbaijanand regulation of labor relations.AEC is the member of International Organization of Employers, World Association ofNGOs, International Industrialists and Entrepreneurs Congress, Azerbaijan-British TradeIndustrial Council. Confederation works closely with the embassies of USA, Great Britain,Germany, France, Iran, Turkey, Egypt and Israel, international organizations, such as UNDPand participates in their various meetings. AEC has its representatives in 35 regions ofAzerbaijan Republic.Support and control by the state can be registration of entrepreneurship activity, legal,financial, special permission, informational, consulting, technical, scientific, and training andother kinds of assistance.The main directions for state support to enterprises according to the Law of AR “OnState Support of SME” are the creation of favorable legal environment, financial andinvestment assistance, promotion of foreign economic activities, performance of favorable taxpolicy, vocational education and training, creation of simplified systems for statistic reports andaccountancy, improvement of state regulation on entrepreneurship, permanent improvementof license systems, enabling the promotion of quality level and competitiveness of services andgoods producing in SME sphere, provision of participation of SME subjects in implementation ofState orders, support of structure changes and technological development in SME sector,support of expanding cooperation links among the small, medium-sized and large enterprises,establishment of sale-exhibition center for goods of SME subjects, etc.107