SME Policy Index: Western Balkans and Turkey 2019
Assessing the Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe
Robust SME sectors are critical to the prosperity of the six Western Balkan economies and Turkey, accounting for over 70% of those employed in the business sector and generating 65% of value added in these seven economies. Yet their potential remains untapped, as SMEs across the region grapple with numerous challenges that hamper their growth and productivity. They are still under-represented in international trade, and their contributions to value-added remain comparatively low as they have difficulties in moving or expanding into high value-added activities.
This report provides a comprehensive overview of the implementation of the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA) in the seven EU pre-accession economies over the period 2016-18. It monitors progress against similar assessments performed over the past decade and identifies the outstanding challenges affecting SMEs. It also provides targeted recommendations to remove barriers to SME development and unleashing their potential for driving inclusive economic growth.
Economic context and the role of SMEs in the Western Balkans and Turkey
All the economies of the Western Balkans and Turkey (WBT) assessed in this report are upper-middle income economies according to the World Bank’s Atlas method, with the exception of Kosovo*, which is a lower-middle income economy (World Bank, 2019[1]). While they all have the objective of joining the EU, they are each at different stages of the accession process ().