The brief characteristic of the Foundation: not state, non-profit making, charitable organization.  It was founded in December 24, 1997 by group of the young initiative people for the assistance in enterprise development of all business manifestations.

Areas of activity:

Main - Lugansk area.
Minor - Zaporizhia, Donetsk, Dnepropetrovsk, Kharkov area.

Main customers:

Small and medium size business.

Purpose of the Foundation:

The purpose of activity of Foundation is the development and realization of programs directed on comprehensively development and increase of the efficiency of enterprise activities.

Objectives of the Foundation:

* Development, introduction, implementation of programs on social tension reduction and creation of new jobs.
* Training and consultancy services on business development.
* Creation of Training-informational centers, clubs, business - incubators.
* Rendering assistance to the teachers, scientists and students in their activity directed on studying, establishment and further development of business activities.

Basic partners:

Regional Enterprise Support Foundation in Lugansk region;
Lugansk Investor Support Agency.
Ukrainian State Company on re-structuring a coal-mining industry;
Ukrainian Foundation of Business Support;
French association "CEPAC-02";

 Activity in the Lugansk area:

The Lugansk region is located in a south-east part of Ukraine.

The area was founded on June 3, 1938. Its territory makes up 26,7 thousand ??2 (4,4 % of the state territory). The population is 2,9 million (5,7 % of total Ukraine inhabitants). It is one of the most densely populated areas. Average density of the population 105 persons on 1 ??2. 87 % of the population, in villages 13 % lives at cities and settlements of a urban type.

The main problem in area is a common production recession of former existing traditional kinds of activity and consequence of re-structuring of coal branch too.

As a result of all that for today the amount of vacant jobs to number of the vacant population makes up 22 %, from which women - 60,1 % from a total number of the vacant population, and 35,2 % - young people in the age of before 30 years old. One of the main directions of activity of Interregional Foundation "Business Center" (IRF BC) in Lugansk area is unemployed training on the basic subject of enterprise activity.

Training is conducted in the following subjects:

1. Financial analysis.
2. Book-keeping.
3. Marketing researches.
4. Legal base of business.
5. Basic business - planning.
6. Management.
7. Psychology of business dialogue.

The special feature of our training is that trainees can be people of various age, different professions and educational level. A basic condition to be eligible for the courses is if a person have his own business - idea and his/her wish to develop a business-project (within 3 months) to realize this idea.

The training is already carried out systematically and it becomes more and more popular at the population In miner's cities Stahanov, Antracit and Bryanka as well as in the regional center - Lugansk. schedules The starting up of new training centers in other four cities of Lugansk area is planned for summer of 1999.

NGOs of other Ukrainian regions have become interested in the operational experience of our Foundation.

IRF "BUSINESS - CENTER" participates in realizations of the following programs:

IRF "Business - Center" together with Regional Enterprise Support Foundation in Lugansk have won the tender to participate in realization of the program "Rendering of the support to small and medium business development to decrease the social tension which is mainly appeared as a result of coal industry re-structuring in Lugansk region" as well as European program Tacis EDUK 9601 named "Support to address the social impact of the restructuring of the coal industry in the Donbass, Ukraine".

Within the framework of realization of these programs IRF "Business - Center" carries out the whole complex of services for the subjects of small and middle business as follows:

* Consultancy in the field of the taxation and accountancy, economic right, financial analysis, marketing research and psychology of business relations;
* Auditing of the investment projects;
* Granting the help in drawing up of the feasibility report of development of the enterprises;
* Drawing up of the analytical forecast of further enterprise development envisaging;
* Development of the marketing strategy (business - plan) of the enterprise and preparation of the documents package which are necessary to represent with original offer to a potential foreign investor.

Sources of finance:

* Donor organizations grants.
* Charitable installments.
* Passive income.
* Incomes from our own activity.
* Installments of the partners.

Perspectives and directions of Foundation development

Current achievements of IRF "Business - Center" and it’s partners:

* All the necessary prerequisites are created for the establishment of the network other complementary "Think Tanks" in Lugansk region, which are capable to organize all necessary arrangements for the adaptation of Western achievements to the local environment in the field of establishment and development of public non-profitable organizations;

* The material base for the execution of training in the fields of: institutional development, financial analysis and management, legal ensuring, book keeping, practical marketing, training on development of youth clubs and clubs of the female initiatives is created;

* The operation in organization and realization of training for non-governmental public organizations is begun from the point of view of the importance of their influence political and economic reforms realizations in Ukraine;

* The preconditions for the regional development and international cooperation with similar organizations in countries of Central Europe are created;

* The base for realization of diverse measures directed for the unification of of not state public organizations leaders’ efforts in realization of economic reforms is prepared;

* The experience is accumulated for the elucidation in mass media of new methods and approaches in solution of existing problems in region as well as in the sphere of issuing of our own information materials preparation.

If you look forward to:

- open for yourself Eastern Ukraine;
- get acquainted with cooperation opportunities with IRF "Business-Centre" and its partners;
- establish a friendly and mutually beneficial relation.