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The COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine have caused significant economic shock at the global level leading to lower growth and higher inflation. With fewer resources to weather this impact, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have been particularly vulnerable to the repercussions of this crisis. They have found themselves fighting for their survival, hit by lockdowns, reduced demand and travel restrictions, higher energy prices as well as supply chain disruptions.
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Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) contribute to the economic performance and sustainable and inclusive development of societies. SMEs in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, the Republic of North Macedonia, Serbia, and Turkey (the seven pre-EU accession economies) account for almost three quarters of private-sector employment and generate around 60% private-sector value added. The region’s SMEs were hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, which negatively affected their liquidity, and now the recent increases in inflation and energy costs – consequences of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – risk limiting SMEs’ recovery.
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The SME Policy Index is a benchmarking tool designed to assess policies that support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in emerging economies and monitor progress in policy implementation over time. The index was developed in 2006 by the OECD in partnership with the European Commission, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Training Foundation (ETF). Since then, it has been applied 10 times, covering 33 economies in 4 regions: the Western Balkans and Turkey (WBT), Eastern partnership countries, North African and Middle East regions, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations countries. For the WBT region, it is structured around the ten principles of the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA), providing a wide range of pro-enterprise measures to guide the design and implementation of SME policies in the European Union.
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