^{A crisis is the best time for investment in learning. It is hard to wait for help from others during a crisis, but everyone should know how to help themselves.}

On 26 May, Entrepreneurs' Day, Center-Invest Bank launched a new project, «Enterprise for All», which will help SMEs in southern Russia and the local population overcome economic challenges by applying sustainable development principles and using the intellectual support of Center-Invest specialists.

To survive in the post-crisis economy, companies must cut their costs by at least 30%. This can be achieved by adopting new ways of working that international experience has proven to be effective. Information about these approaches can be found on the Center-Invest website (www.centrinvest.ru/business_study).

To be able to use these opportunities, every company should know their own business, their markets, and their advantages in these markets, and they should also have their own post-crisis development programme.

«Every entrepreneur has had a day when they have woken up literally unable to feed their family,» said Chairman of Center-Invest Bank, Dr. Vasily Vysokov, during the first lecture of the project. «At these times it is best to start the day by putting together a list of «What I know, what I am able to do, what I can do, what I want to do». You should then look at the world around you as potential market segments and put forward your products, services, and prices. You should find distribution channels and sales drivers. Taking into account the current market situation, you should determine sales volumes, outgoings, and the break-even point for your future enterprise. You should assess the initial costs and the payback period, and identify the cost of the financial resources required to start up the new business, and also the terms on which these can be obtained. You should find specialists, determine the terms and conditions of their work, and ensure they have a clear picture in their minds of the model for the new business.»

Everyone living in southern Russia should possess this minimum level of knowledge. And it is for this reason that Center-Invest Bank has launched the «Enterprise for All» project. The project includes:

• — free training seminars, open lectures, and information briefings for customers, partners and the general public;
• — free copies for educational institutions and training centres of the bank's enterprise skills training materials;
• — participation by Center-Invest specialists in its partners' educational and training events.

The first people to attend an «Enterprise for All» lecture were the Rostov higher education students and teaching staff that are in receipt of scholarships and grants from the Endowment Fund «Education and Science in the Southern Federal District», and also participants in the «SFedU-2020» project. On Entrepreneurs' Day, students and teaching staff from Rostov State Economics University were also introduced to the project during a university round table on equipping the general public with basic financial skills.