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US Ambassador to Kazakhstan takes part in Atyrau Round Table

On Wednesday, March 16th 2005, John Ordway, the United States Ambassador to Kazakhstan, met with local Atyrau businesses to discuss issues surrounding Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME's). The event was hosted by The Enterprise Development Project's (EDP), funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Atyrau regional office.

Themed as "The Development of the Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Sector is a Key Component into Transitioning into a Free Market Economy", the round table featured several clients and partners of the EDP Atyrau office and focused in on issues concerning SME's today- ranging from general business knowledge to regulatory obstacles. Participants also spotlighted several specific areas and examples where they saw a direct improvement in the SME environment as a result of the assistance provided by EDP/USAID.

SME's play a crucial role in transitioning former USSR republics into stable and viable market economies. For Kazakhstan and the rest of Central Asia, assistance in SME development has been delivered through EDP/USAID. EDP is helping to successfully move Kazakhstan onto the global market by providing valuable services to SME managers in modern business practices and trade facilitation. EDP Consultants work closely with local SME managers to implement progressive changes in their organizations, to identify and solve real problems, to help them to provide high quality services and products to their clients and to educate them international best practices.

EDP/USAID, implemented by the Pragma Corporation, has twelve offices, in five Central Asian Republics and employs over 200 individuals in the region. In Kazakhstan the EDP has five offices- Almaty, Atyrau, Oskemen, Uralsk and Pavlodar.

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