Strategy for the development of small and medium-sized businesses// Mariupol city

A strategy for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Mariupol was developed and adopted in 2019.

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Due to its historical characteristics, industrial Mariupol lags behind other Ukrainian cities in terms of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) development.

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Goals

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The main goals of the SME support programme are the following:

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1. Promoting entrepreneurship and being a role model of the entrepreneur through events and educational programmes in schools and universities. Development of support tools and programmes for developing existing SME – easy access to knowledge and information, technology and innovation, and consulting. 
2. Development of activators – market niches and industries in trade, hospitality (HoReCa), construction, services, creative industries and manufacturing.
3. Creating a favourable external environment that stimulates the emergence and development of SME: reducing administrative barriers, creating tax incentives and financial support mechanisms, and developing incubators and hubs.

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Analysis

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In the process of developing the Strategy, several starting points and approaches to the problem of developing small and medium-sized businesses were used:

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1. Analysis of European experience - research of best practices in the EU and the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA).
2. Study of the conditions for the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Mariupol.
3. Analysis of benchmarks for Mariupol both within Ukraine, the European Union and the world.
4. Focus groups with city businessmen, SME representatives, officials, deputies, journalists and public figures.
5. Analysis of possible ‘soft’, ‘hard’ and ‘infrastructure’ interventions in accordance with Asian practices of SME development.

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Research and focus groups have identified three sets of features that threaten the effective development of SMEs:

1. Culture: lack of an entrepreneurial culture, the associated mindset and prestige of this type of activity; negative attitudes towards entrepreneurs, the prestige of working at a factory and the lack of role models of successful entrepreneurs in the city.
2. Activators: A range of market factors, niches, and industries traditionally occupied by SMEs are underdeveloped: trade, hospitality, construction, creative industries, tourism, etc.
3. Support mechanisms: There are practically no systemic support mechanisms for SMEs.

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Offer

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The SME development strategy in Mariupol includes three strategic pillars:

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1. Culture - to stimulate an entrepreneurial culture in the city.

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Goals:

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• Promotion of entrepreneurship: to ensure the growth of support and positive perception of entrepreneurship among the city's residents.
• Changes in education: to organise entrepreneurship and related skills training at all stages of education by 2021.
• Assist in creating entrepreneurial communities (general and thematic) in Mariupol.

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Methods:

2. Activators - to implement activator projects for SMEs.

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Goals:

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• Localisation of procurement: to increase the current level of localisation of procurement by local authorities and businesses.
• De-shadowing of business: to create equal conditions for all and provide tools to support white businesses.
• Activation of market niches: to stimulate the creation of new SMEs by activating market niches that can potentially develop the city's economy.

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3. Людський капіталSupport mechanisms - to create quality and developed support mechanisms.

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Goals:

• Establish an SME Centre responsible for coordinating support for SMEs in the city.
• Launch support programmes for new and existing SMEs.
• Reduce administrative barriers - create a single window (hotline, training, etc.).

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Implementing the initiatives will help create all the conditions for a full-fledged entrepreneurial journey.

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What's next

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In 2019, the city council approved a targeted programme based on the strategy and established the SME Support and Development Centre.

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In 2019-2020, we worked with the city council, with support from USAID Ukraine, to develop the Centre and its team:

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1. Helped to open the SME centre: wrote the statute, regulations, business processes, organisational structure and other documents necessary for its launch.
2. Conducted a competition for the centre's director and key personnel positions.
3. Helped to develop an operational plan and business model.
4. Conducted training for the centre's staff, including workshops and study visits to Lviv and Ivano-Frankivsk to learn from business support experience.
5. Developed a functional zoning of the Centre's building and a list of logistical support.

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The Centre received a special award as part of the Best Local Government Practices 2021 competition.

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Team

Maks Yakover - founder of Big City Lab urban bureau

Viktoria Titova - CEO of Big City Lab urban bureau

Kyrylo Kryvolap - CEO of the Centre for Economic Recovery, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine

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Problem

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A characteristic feature of the current state of sports in Ukraine – and in Mariupol in particular – is the Soviet model of management. The emphasis is on high-performance sports, where:

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• 99% of public expenditure is spent on maintaining the city's 7 youth sports schools, which train 4,100 people, mostly aged 7-17. 
• 1% of funds are spent on other institutions.

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As a result, only 12% of the adult population regularly engages in sports. For comparison, the average figure in EU countries is 42%, and in Sweden, which ranks first in Europe, it is 69%.

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In 2017, our team developed a sports development strategy for the city of Mariupol, with the main goal of promoting mass sports as ‘sport for all’. 

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Goal

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The strategic goal by 2021 is to increase the number of children and adults in Mariupol who regularly do sports and to lay the foundations for a sustainable increase over the next ten years. 

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Analysis

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To understand the reasons for and solutions to this situation, we have studied the key areas of urban programmes for promoting healthy lifestyles worldwide, best practices and recommendations for sports development from the European Commission, the World Health Organisation, European and American academic research and government reports.

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The main problems are:

1. Poor condition of infrastructure facilities (premises of sports clubs, playgrounds, etc.).
2. Inefficient organisational system (sports management is carried out using approaches and methods of the 60s and 70s of the last century).
3. Lack of attention to mass amateur sports (in Mariupol, as well as in Ukraine as a whole, the system of public sports clubs is not developed).

Offer

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We have identified 3 priorities to achieve this goal:

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1. Infrastructure

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Cities need modern infrastructure for mass amateur sports. The main objectives of this strategic direction are:

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• construction of all-season multi-sport grounds for playing sports, running and cycling tracks, swimming pools;
• repair of existing sites and facilities;
• construction of sports facilities for open use by sports clubs.
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2. Mass sport

The focus of strategic changes should be on the development of mass amateur sports. The main tools here are:

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• promotion of sports through advertising campaigns, special events and projects for each target audience;
• development of club sports culture;
• competitions among target groups. 
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3. Human capital (municipal sports leaders, coaches, volunteers)

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Successful recruitment and further training of sports managers is the key to the strategy's success. The focus of this area is on:

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• Reforming sports governance;
• Establishment of centres and educational programmes for urban sports leaders, coaches and volunteers. 
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We have developed different programmes according to the age of the target audience:

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• 7-17 years old - ‘’Get Started‘’ strategy: engaging children and young people in sports through interesting clubs and activities in school sports clubs;
• 18-50 - ‘Keep going’ strategy: engaging students and those working to maintain a healthy lifestyle;
• 50+ - ‘’Keep going and participate‘’ strategy: involving people of the third age in sports, considering their needs for training and competition.

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For each strategic direction, we have developed objectives along , operational event and programme plans, key success indicators and monitoring methods.
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What's next

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Brand MSport

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Together with the Banda agency, we developed a brand for sports development in Mariupol – MSport. In addition to the brand, Mariupol now has a brand book with basic presentation templates, font and logo guidelines.
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Sports map of Mariupol

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At the request of M-Sport, we created the M-Sport online platform with all sports events, clubs and news of the city. On the sports map of Mariupol, one can easily find groups or clubs depending on the district or sport.

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The organisational structure of the Department of Physical Culture and Sports was updated:

• A statistics and accounting department has been created to collect a single database, which will help improve the quality of research and understanding of where and how to move forward.
• Attention to managers who develop sports in the districts and help organise events. This makes it possible to achieve the goals of increasing the number of people who regularly engage in sports.
• A separate focus on high-performance sports: its funding remains unchanged, but it does not receive the most attention in management
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Methodological recommendations for the creation and development of a club system of mass sport

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We helped to create a methodology with practical recommendations on how to build a system for the development and financing of children's sports (7-17 years old) and adult sports (18+); identified the sports that should receive the most attention and support; presented the elements of the city's competitive system and gradual steps for its development; wrote step-by-step instructions on how to register a sports club or create a web petition.

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Sports hub in Mariupol

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We proposed the concept of a sports hub in Mariupol – a multi-sport complex with appropriate zoning and best practice analysis. The design concept was developed by the BALBEK BUREAU team.
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Training for sports leaders

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We have created a programme of classes for sports leaders and coaches, including training sessions

on conducting football and running training;

general physical training;

sports management;

first aid of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society. 

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60 sports leaders were trained as part of the programme.

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As of 2020, 70 sports clubs have been established in the city, with 6,000 residents involved.
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Team

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Maks Yakover - founder of Big City Lab urban bureau

Viktoria Titova - CEO of Big City Lab urban bureau‍

Yuriy Sviridov - Director of the Marketing and Communications Department at FC Shakhtar