On September 21, the “Think Small First” forum, organized by the National Business Coalition of SMEs with the support of CIPE Ukraine, was held in Kyiv. The Fuel and Energy Business Association took part in the event.
The forum brought together entrepreneurs from various regions of Ukraine, representatives of the Verkhovna Rada, the Government, state institutions, international organizations, and analytical centers. Participants discussed how to fulfill European integration commitments and implement reforms so that new requirements do not create additional barriers for small businesses.
The key principle of the forum was the call: “Think small first. No decisions about small businesses without small businesses.”
For the fuel industry, this principle is of particular importance. Today, small and medium-sized fuel businesses operate under conditions of constant shelling, destruction of gas stations, complex logistics, and a decrease in demand in frontline communities. At the same time, enterprises must comply with regulatory and tax requirements formulated without taking into account war risks and the actual conditions of their work.
The problem of supplying fuel to frontline territories, where stationary gas stations are damaged or destroyed, remains particularly acute. Current legislation still does not create a full-fledged mechanism for the legal operation of mobile fueling stations, although they can become the fastest solution for providing fuel to communities, municipal services, critical infrastructure, and local business.
During the forum, representatives of the Association spoke with Svitlana Vorobei, Deputy Minister of Finance of Ukraine. She reiterated the position that a temporary special regime should apply to the fuel industry in frontline territories. Businesses must be provided with legal mechanisms for supplying communities with fuel, in particular through the use of mobile gas stations.
This is not about weakening control, but about establishing clear and feasible rules regarding licensing, settlement operations, fuel accounting, and safety. Such rules should simultaneously guarantee state control and allow legal business to operate promptly where stationary fuel infrastructure is destroyed or temporarily unavailable.
When the authorities form the economic ecosystem of a region or the country as a whole, they must first think about the small. It is impossible to set the same rules for market participants who have unequal resources, capabilities, and ability to adapt to new requirements.
Frontline territories demonstrate this particularly vividly. After the start of the full-scale war, a significant part of big business was the first to reduce its presence or relocate to safer regions. Instead, local small and medium-sized businesses continued to work in their communities. It is these enterprises that preserve jobs, pay taxes, provide people with goods and services, support critical infrastructure, and actually preserve the viability of frontline regions.
Therefore, supporting small business is not a matter of privileges. It is a matter of the economic resilience of communities, their ability to live, work, and recover even in wartime conditions.
This is precisely the principle followed by the Fuel and Energy Business Association. We are convinced that in any industry, business of any size has the right to exist and develop. Small and medium-sized businesses should focus on the best practices of big business, raise their standards, and set themselves the goal of growing. However, the state must create conditions under which this growth will be possible, and new requirements will not lead to the squeezing out of smaller participants from the market.
“Think Small First” should become not a declaration, but a practical principle of state policy. Before adopting every new decision, it is necessary to assess how it will affect a small entrepreneur, whether they will be able to fulfill the established requirements, and whether they will lead to the closure of legal enterprises, loss of jobs, and deterioration of communities’ access to basic services.
Thinking about the small first does not mean opposing them to the large or granting someone privileges. A strong economic ecosystem arises when businesses of different scales see each other as partners: they are not just in the same boat, but together grab the oars and steer it in the same direction. Big business sets a high bar and opens up new opportunities, while small and medium-sized business provides flexibility, competition, presence in communities, and economic resilience. It is precisely this model—based on interaction, mutual reinforcement, and the right of every business to work, develop, and grow—that is supported by the Fuel and Energy Business Association.
