The EBRD Business Guide is an online platform for SMEs which employees of financial institutions will find useful when working with SME. The site provides information and resources on how SMEs have resolved challenges, legal information and tools. The resource offers a range of modules and templates on finance, strategy and planning, HR as well as checklists on digitalization, work safety and other.

The platform is accessible at the following address: https://businessguide.ebrd.com/

All material is available in English and, among others, selected material is available in Russian.

Kyrgyzstan          Tajikistan            Uzbekistan

'Driving at work is something that we do without fully appreciating the risks. Road traffic crashes are among the leading causes of death for the working-age population worldwide and for many people driving is the most dangerous aspect of their work'. This can also apply to financial institutions and their employees while driving for client visits or regular commuting between home and office.

The EBRD supported the development of a special road safety toolkit for all who drive and manage vehicle fleets to help mitigate risks in that field.

This is a free-access e-learning course designed by a team of international experts. Sign up at https://roadrisktoolkit.com to access training and resources to keep yourself safe.

EBRD ESD has developed an Environmental and Social Assessment Skills capacity-building training program as part of the wider EBRD’s Covid Resilience Framework. The training material can be useful to FIs as it provides detailed guidance on EBRD Performance Requirements (2019), as well as on some critical industry sectors:

• power generation;
• electrical supply and distribution sectors;
• water supply;
• wastewater collection and treatment;
• district heating;
• agribusiness;
• healthcare infrastructure and pharmaceuticals.

It is expected that the program will also help FIs who work in other sectors. The training material includes a module on GIS and Spatial Data Management, which is a good resource when things have to be done remotely.

The training material is available in Arabic, English, Russian and Turkish languages at https://www.ebrd.com/esa-training/pr-guidance.html.

Within the Small Business Initiative, in addition to finance, EBRD also provides business advice to help small and medium-sized businesses grow, succeed, then grow again, becoming genuine catalysts for their local economies and region. By connecting SMEs to local consultants and international advisers, EBRD helps to transform a wide range of businesses. From the smallest companies looking to grow, to those going global, our expert network of advisers helps our clients step up and start thinking big.

Advice for Small Businesses is available in all the countries of Central Asia.

Download the "Advice for Small Businesses" brochure via this link (PDF format).