Description
Serbia's SME sector is fragmented (96% microenterprises) and constrained by limited access to finance, weak innovation, and uneven regional support. To address these systemic barriers, the project introduced a regional market systems approach, focusing on two core sectors (Agriculture & Food, Equipment & Machines) and three cross-cutting areas (Digital, Green, Creative), with the goal of boosting productivity, exports, and inclusive growth.
CEVES's Role
As a consortium partner and Knowledge Management lead, CEVES played a pivotal role in shaping the program’s strategic focus. Drawing on its analytical expertise, CEVES directly influenced the selection of priority sectors and regions, ensuring interventions targeted SMEs with the strongest growth and export potential. CEVES also led project learning cycles, impact evaluation inputs, and spearheaded the development of the SME Compass—a unique data-driven diagnostic and monitoring platform that has since become a cornerstone of Serbia’s SME policy ecosystem.
Key results
Influenced sector prioritization by providing evidence-based analyses that shaped where USAID support was directed.
Designed and institutionalized the SME Compass, combining proprietary surveys (1,500+ SMEs), SORS statistics, and administrative data from over 40,000 firms.
Delivered a Power BI interactive dashboard tracking SME performance across 75 indicators in nine thematic pillars (business model, innovation, digitalization, green transformation, finance, gender equality, HR, sentiment, and business environment).
Positioned SME Compass as a long-term national resource, now entering its third research round in 2025, with upgraded survey coverage, data integration, and dashboard functionality.
Although the USAID project has ended, SME Compass continues to provide evidence-based insights to donors, policymakers, and financial institutions, reinforcing its role as a sustainable tool for SME development.
Services Provided by CEVES:
• Evidence-based sector and regional competitiveness analysis.
• Development, rollout, and continuous upgrading of SME Compass.
• Knowledge management and facilitation of adaptive learning cycles.
• Policy analysis, evaluation, and dissemination to USAID, government, and ecosystem stakeholders.
