SOBLIROV AZAMAT A.

The article discusses the role of a consultant in developing small and medium-sized businesses in the context of economic sanctions. The introduction of sanctions at the beginning of 2022 makes us take a fresh look at many processes in the economy of our country. Among them are investment opportunities in small and medium-sized businesses. In the context of significant reduction in foreign investments, the question arises of domestic mechanisms for effective investment in new projects of small and medium-sized businesses. In the process of investing, information support and consulting become an important element. In order for a domestic investor to find projects characterized by acceptable risks and acceptable returns, and for small and medium-sized businesses to find their investor, a stable and developed system of consulting is required. At the same time, both investors and project initiators receive consulting assistance. For the project initiator, the consultant helps to properly “package” the project in order to be of interest to the investor. With the help of a consultant, the client can obtain information about the investor’s preferences for the project, about the procedure and conditions for investing in the project. Based on the professional experience in the consulting business, as well as studying the practice of the “Business Angels of Russia” community, the author summarized the experience of holding so-called mini-forums, analyzed the results of a survey of project initiators and investors, and identified the gaps in their informational preparation. The author considers the network effects of interaction between investors, consultants, project initiators and their new participants.

An important factor in the development of small and medium-sized businesses is consulting support that helps to attract investment. According to studies, investment advice prefers to follow a large business, while highly relevant issues of interaction between investors and small and medium-sized business project initiators often remain out of sight. The article reviews and analyzes the best practices for holding mini-forums aimed at creating sustainable links between project initiators in need of investment and private investors willing to invest in highly efficient business projects. This kind of interaction format increases the productivity of consulting activities in the field of helping small and medium-sized business project initiators in finding investments. Holding domestic mini-forums today is concentrated in the framework of the ‘Business Angels of Russia' Community. Within the framework of mini-forums, investors can get detailed information about several projects at once, and project initiators find their investor faster and easier. Consultants, in turn, expand the range of potential clients. In general, the practice of holding mini-forums contributes to the activation of potential and existing investors and the development of small and medium-sized businesses in Russia.