WASHINGTON – The U.S.-Ukraine Foundation (USUF) has signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Business Community Club (BCC), a Ukrainian national small-business association headquartered in Lviv. The project aims to support small business development in Ukraine by deepening communication and cooperation between U.S. small businesses (including Ukrainian diaspora entrepreneurs) and their counterparts in Ukraine. Through joint activities USUF and BCC will educate small businesspersons and authorities in Ukraine about small business sensibilities and best practices in the USA, as well as policies and entities in the United States that foster small business development.
Small businesses are considered the backbone of the American economy. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration, in the United States small businesses make up 48.5 percent of private-sector employment, 46 percent of private-sector output and 37 percent of high-tech employment.
The Business Community Club, which currently has about 1000 members, was established to support “the development of Ukraine as a strong European state by means of developing small and medium business and establishing civil society based on business ethics and [the] national idea.” BCC believes that Ukraine can become “one of the most successful countries in the world.” The organization is headed by Mykola Savulyak and, besides its headquarters in Lviv, currently has offices in Kyiv, Ternopil and Ivano-Frankivsk, with plans to establish branches in every oblast in the country.
For more information or to become a part of this new initiative, readers may contact the U.S.-Ukraine Foundation at [email protected] or USUF Vice-President John A. Kun at 202-524-6551.