Developing investment consulting for small and medium-sized businesses in the new economic conditions

Abstract

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 mediumsized 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.