‘Underdevelopment of small business in the field agriculture is our mistake,’ Head of Sverdlovsk Region Government Alexei Vorobiev said at the meeting devoted to the region’s success in the socio-economic field and in the implementation of the national top-priority projects in 2006.

At the same time, the share of small businesses in the total business turnover amounted to 31% (500 billion RUR, which is 25% better than in 2005); the number of people employed by small businesses exceeded .5 million, with 19,000 job vacancies created in 2006.

164 million RUR (which is 2.7 times more than in 2005) were invested in the small business development from the regional budget.

As regards this year, the government sees the efforts to even out the developmental level of small business in different cities and towns of the region and further improvements in creating a wholesome regional small business infrastructure as its major challenges. At least six new units, including the municipal small business support funds, information and help centers, and business incubators, must be set up in 2007.