Mikhail Mishustin gave instructions on the development of the SME sector

Discussions between government and business about the future of the SME sector at SPIEF and the core strategic session were reflected in specific instructions from Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin. A list of proposed support measures published on the White House website shows that authorities continue to pin hopes on the sector to replace foreign suppliers. For the purpose of import substitution, in the coming months, many credit mechanisms to help SMEs will be extended and expanded – from industrial mortgages to the preferential investment lending program. At the same time, it is planned to realize the export potential of SMEs discovered by the government. However, for now we are talking more about educational work than about new financial support measures.

At the end of last week, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin gave instructions following the results of the strategic session on the development of small and medium-sized businesses that took place in early September (see Kommersant on September 6). The list of these instructions, which actually represents a list of the most effective and promising measures to support the sector, according to the White House, is published on the government website.

Part of the instructions involves the extension and expansion of anti-crisis measures introduced by the authorities to support the sector after the start of the Russian military operation in Ukraine. Many of them were launched with the expectation of accelerated import substitution by SMEs – these are mainly credit mechanisms, including the combined program of preferential investment lending, which is key for the sector. The authorities, as follows from the instructions of the Prime Minister, expect to extend it until 2030: up to 100 billion rubles can be allocated annually for these purposes.

Within the framework of this program, loans at preferential rates (calculated using formulas depending on the key rate of the Bank of Russia – see “Kommersant” dated July 14, 2022) since August last year can be taken for investment purposes by enterprises operating in the fields of processing, logistics, hotel business and processing of agricultural products. As Kommersant was told by the SME Corporation (the operator of the program), since the launch, 1,376 loans have been issued in the amount of 142.9 billion rubles. 61% of them come from SMEs in manufacturing, 26% from companies involved in transportation and logistics, and 12% from the hotel business.

Other instructions related to improving the instruments of credit support for SMEs include extending the period for providing industrial mortgages from seven to ten years, extending the program of preferential lending to high-tech SMEs to small technology companies and securing the right to credit holidays for representatives of the sector.

Business Russia supports the government’s proposed extension and expansion of anti-crisis measures. At the same time, the organization draws attention to the fact that the development of special measures to help SME+ companies that are engaged in priority industries, but have already outgrown the scope of small and medium-sized businesses, is not on the list of instructions. Business insisted on the need for additional support for such companies at a strategic session on the development of the sector (see Kommersant on September 6). “It is precisely such companies that can become a supporting channel for the growth of private investment in new production, in the introduction of automation, and the replication of innovative technologies – that is, the implementation of a supply-side economy model,” believe Delovaya Rossiya.

The government is increasingly interested in small companies as a source of active exports – a public discussion of the topic began at the plenary session of the SME Forum as part of the SPIEF (see Kommersant on June 15). In particular, the entry of some SMEs into foreign markets becomes a marker of their comparative competitiveness in relation to others. The White House expects to outline in detail plans for the development of this track within the framework of the federal project “Export of Small and Medium Enterprises” (preparation entrusted to the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Ministry of Economy) as part of the national project “International Cooperation and Export.”

The head of Support of Russia, Alexander Kalinin, calls the lack of competencies of entrepreneurs the main problem hindering the realization of the sector’s export potential. It is assumed that the increase in the number of export support centers proposed by the organization and described in the instructions of the head of government will help solve it. One of the most popular measures to support exporters, Mr. Kalinin notes, remains a transport subsidy: at the same time, small businesses, according to Opora Russia estimates, account for only 5–10% of all allocated funds, the main limits are chosen by large companies. Let us note that business also spoke about the importance of increasing transport subsidies at SPIEF, but instructions for the implementation of this measure are not yet published.

Kristina Borovikova