It is impossible to overestimate the importance of small and medium-sized businesses for ensuring consistent and sustainable development, providing employment for the population, and growth of the middle class.
The New Eurasia Foundation has always considered the middle class as an effective resource necessary for successful social development of the country’s territories.

As with any other program area, developing entrepreneurship requires a systemic and holistic approach to problems that takes into account the interests of various stakeholders.  Over the past several years, the Foundation has implemented a broad spectrum of innovative projects and designed model approaches for the development of entrepreneurship, such as advisory support of small and medium-sized businesses, access to financial resources, development of small innovative businesses, creation of regional and municipal small business support infrastructure, and many others.  

In 2004-2009 the Foundation’s operational vector within this field has not undergone serious changes. Improving efficiency of small businesses, creating conditions required to increase the number of jobs in the small business sector, improving the financial sustainability of entrepreneurship, and supporting entrepreneurial initiatives are issues that have become even more important during a global economic recession.
All projects implemented by the Foundation in this field were supported by municipal or regional governments, as well as large Russian corporations, such as: SUAL-Holding, ILIM-Pulp, Severstal Group, Salym Petroleum Development, Rusdragmet, and Siberian Coal and Energy Company.  The Foundation pioneered the promotion of corporate social responsibility in Russia, specifically in the implementation of social investment programs in the territories where large mining and processing companies were operating.