Small Business

Small business is one of the leading sector of city economy and the important factor of its development, because it helps the install competitive relations. Small business is anti-monopoly by its nature, expressing this feature in different aspects of its functioning.

In conditions of market-relation development, on one hand, the quantity of enterprises, which were created in previous years and didn’t stay the competition in new market conditions, decreases, on the other hand, new enterprises appear, which started their activity as small ones and reached the size of “large business”.

Among the first organizations in Ukraine such ones were created in Kherson to support small businesses as:

• Registration chamber (2002)
• Unified office in questions of paper concordance for receiving of permission for installing, building and reconstructing of public and manufacturing units; for starting units of entrepreneurial activity
• City Fund of entrepreneurship’s support (2003)
• Licensing authority in the sphere of economic activity (2007).

In the list of city manufacturing enterprises in 2007 there were newly-organized enterprises of small business too. New enterprises produce flour, products from metal-plastic, liquid glass, and sodium silicate.

Also the small business, quickly reacting to the changes of market state, provides the necessity flexibility for the market economy. In the city there are 3,98 thousand small enterprises and 23,6 thousand sole proprietors, who work in all sectors of economy, performing competitive production. Small business enterprises produce 8,6% of production volume of the total city economic complex. Each third employee is a representative of small business.

Development of small entrepreneurship provides the support for creating of effective competitive surrounding and partially solves social-economical problems of the city: private carriers, trade-net creation, catering enterprises (cafes, bars, restaurants) and service providers, market of food products, building, etc.

In 2007 for 10 thousand people there were 114 small enterprises, whose quantity in comparison with 2006 increased for 5 enterprises (or for 4,6 %). Moreover, small business makes a great contribution in problem-solving of employment.

156,4 thousand people were involved in economic complex of the city in 2007, almost the third part (50 thousand) – in small business and in the sphere of self-employing (sole proprietors and employers).

Small business is such a sector of economy, which was born by reforms in a literal sense. It showed itself in all spheres and branches of the city economic complex and its share is permanently growing.

For example, small business enterprises produce 8,7 % of total production volume, which is produced by the city economic complex, and forms more than 15% receipts to the budgets of all levels.

The executive committee of the city council strives to provide an opportunity for Kherson enterprises to start their own business without time-wasting.

For performing of entrepreneurial activity of units of entrepreneurship the following was provided:

Figures	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007
non-residential premises for renting	218	250	259	414	324	411
units for buying	45	36	71	59	56	95
soil-plots for using	268	166	298	248	159	428
permissions for performing of building and assembly activities in reequipment	127	185	253	241	274	344
permissions for installing of trade, catering and service units	2793	3496	3212	3285	3952	220

For solving problems connected with development of small business the city council every two years adopts the Program of development of small entrepreneurship in the city of Kherson. For the performance of the Program from the city budget in 2003 was financed - 200 thousand UAH, in 2004 - 100 thousand UAH, in 2005 – 24,1 thousand UAH, in 2006 - 133,9 thousand UAH, in 2007 - 103,5 thousand UAH, in 2008 - 50,0 thousand UAH.

By the executive committee of the city council there is a coordinating council in questions of entrepreneurial development, headed by the city mayor, and a city council of entrepreneurs, headed by the head of Kherson regional trade-union committee of small and medium business workers “Consolidation” O.P.Ivanenko.

The infrastructure of entrepreneurial support has widened. In the city there were created: Registration chamber, City Fund of entrepreneurship’s support, and Unified office, which in 2007 was visited by 1953 entrepreneurs and examined 19201 questions.

In average from 30 to 60-70 visitors come to each meeting of the Office.

In accordance with demands of the Law of Ukraine “About licensing system in the sphere of economic activity” the licensing authority in the sphere of economic activity in Kherson was created, whose main goal is to create supporting conditions for small and medium business development, to simplify and make in order of all licensing procedures, to decrease time-wasting for receiving of papers of permissive character.

The work of the licensing authority lightens the procedure of paper-receiving of permissive character through the introduction of the system of organizational unity, which gives the opportunity for the entrepreneurs not only to lower time and finance wastes but also to influence the quantity increase of those who wish to receive licensing papers and to install new types of activity without difficulties in legalizing of licensing papers.