Company news
Representatives of small and medium-sized businesses meet at Expoforum
The opening ceremony was held by Yevgeny Yelin, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, Yuri Kalabin, Chairman of the Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade of St. Petersburg, Elena Tsereteli, Chairman of the Public Council for Small Business Development under the Governor of St. Petersburg, and Anatoly Turchak, President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg.
In his welcoming remarks at the opening ceremony, Yevgeny Yelin, Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg, emphasised that “this Forum successfully implements 3 main tasks: to give business representatives the opportunity to address questions to representatives of city administration, to mark the best organisations with memorable awards and to offer forum participants a convenient platform for finding new partners and discussing current issues.”
Yuri Kalabin, Chairman of the Committee for Industrial Policy, Innovation and Trade of St. Petersburg, wished participants good luck and said that in 2018 alone, more than 5,000 St. Petersburg companies had delivered exports, and this year another 400 had joined them for the first time as exporters. This means that the competencies of the participants in this sector are high enough to occupy a worthy place in the global market.
Anatoly Turchak, President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg, wished everyone success “in this difficult but necessary job.”
Elena Tsereteli, Chairman of the Public Council for the Development of Small Business under the Governor of St. Petersburg, thanked those present: “I take my hat off to those who made unique stands. The uniqueness of our Forum is that the lion's share of the work is done by public figures. The driving forces of business are undoubtedly the movers and shakers.”
The opening ceremony ended with the presentation of awards to the winners of the “Best Entrepreneur of St. Petersburg 2019” contest. Entrepreneurs from various fields of small business received awards and letters of gratitude. In the nomination for “Industrial Production”, the Petrodvorets Rocket watch factory, represented by General Director Anatoly Cherdantsev, was recognized as the best; in the nomination for “Innovative Activities” the work of the Scientific and Technical Enterprise TP “TKA”, headed by Konstantin Tomsky, was praised, and in the nomination for “Hotel Business” Elshan Babaev, General Director of the International Baltic Investment Company, received a well-deserved award.
18 districts of St. Petersburg were represented at the Forum exhibition. Every year, the Small and Medium Business of St. Petersburg exhibition demonstrates the contribution of small and medium enterprises to the economy of the metropolis.
The forum not only introduces the innovative products of enterprises, but also offers participants a rich congress programme. At workshops, round tables, and panel discussions, experts considered the important issues concerning supporting small and medium-sized businesses in St. Petersburg. The masterclass platform “My business. My future” worked over two days.
Traditionally, the first day of the Forum has ended with the announcement of the results of the Best Stand of the St. Petersburg Region contest. Representatives of the city’s state authorities and members of the Competition Commission, chaired by Anatoly Turchak, President of the Union of Industrialists and Entrepreneurs of St. Petersburg, got acquainted with the exposition and awarded the prize to the stand of the Pushkin district.
On 5 December, during the Forum, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Public Council for the Development of Small Business under the Governor of St. Petersburg and the Business Center Europaischen Partnerschaft (Cologne, Germany). In addition, the Public Council for the Development of Small Business under the Governor of St. Petersburg concluded a strategic agreement with the Tourism Cluster of St. Petersburg.
The Forum went on until 6 December inclusive.
