Address: Ulitsa Nizegorodskaj 6,
         Rooms 249,274
         Novosibirsk, 630102
         Russia
         Phone: 7 (3832) 10-21-04, 10-21-06, 10-21-08 
         Fax: 7 (3832) 10-10-87
         E-mail: [email protected]

Funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the USAID Business Development Program is designed to stimulate and sustain the growth of the emerging private sector in Russia. It provides direct assistance to new Russian small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as to organizations such as training institutions, business associations, and local business service organizations. By stimulating the development of new, private businesses and helping to ensure their survival, the Program serves as a catalyst for Russian economic revitalization.

The local representative of the Program (the Novosibirsk Business Support Center (BSC)) achieves these goals primarily through initiatives to support local business associations, assist organizations and firms that provide services to SMEs, and provide business planning and financing advice to SMEs. The BSC is also developing small business development initiatives with the regional government and is providing business skills training to entrepreneurs through seminars and participant training in Novosibirsk, Moscow, St. Petersburg, and the United States.

The Novosibirsk BSC�s primary initiatives and partners are:

Association of High-Tech Firms.
This is a voluntary association of 15 small high-tech companies looking to bring their newly developed products to market. Based in the scientific center of Akademgorodok -- home of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences -- the Association offers such services to its members as marketing advice and support, seminars on business management topics, information provision, market research, partner search, and communications support (faxing, telephone) at its Akademgorodok business center.

Information Service Center (ISC).
Designed to provide information technology (IT) consulting, training, and services to SMEs, the ISC has been set up and managed by the OASIS (Siberian Investment Accord) Association with support from the BSC. Housed in newly renovated offices with computer and communications equipment provided by the BSC and other partners, the ISC is delivering IT services to small firms, including training seminars in the office use of computers and communications equipment and in how to work in Russian and international networks (including access to the Internet and the World-Wide Web), and the design and procurement of office information systems.

Regional Quality & Certification Center (QCC).
Supported by the regional government, local certification firms have established an association, the regional QCC, to assist local SMEs in obtaining voluntary international certification for their products. The QCC provides direct consulting to firms on standards and certification, conducts seminars, and advises the local government on certification policy issues.

Business Skills Training with the Siberian Civil Service Academy.
The Siberian Civil Service Academy, part of the country-wide civil service training network established by the President of the Russian Federation, offers business skills training to local entrepreneurs and also educates government employees in the management of business and regulatory issues. The Novosibirsk BSC together with the Civil Service Academy and other local partners conduct regular business-related seminars for young entrepreneurs in the region.

Business Advisory Services.
The BSC has provided direct business consulting to over 180 small and mid-sized firms in the past year. The BSC�s consulting services primarily take the form of assistance in drafting business plans, accessing finance, and identifying trade and investment partners. The BSC regularly channels business plans to international financial institutions, such as the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the US-Russian Investment Fund.