U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)

Year: 2014

The purpose of this study is to assess the access to finance of Serbian SMEs. It is also a foundation for further research aimed at developing policy recommendations that could help enhance the SME sector’s performance, growth and their contribution to the overall value added. Expansion and development of the SME sector is both the opportunity and necessity for Serbian economy. This report has two components, first that is focused on demand side and second, that is focused on supply side. The first component aims at shedding the light on the structure, performance and growth potential of Serbia’s SMEs, a very large segment of Serbia’s economy that is little understood, and has been relatively neglected by both policymakers and the public. The purpose of the second component is to understand and analyze bank SME funding practices in order to identify if there are opportunities to expand funding to the mutual benefit of both banks and SMEs while at the same time contributing to the country’s growth.

Report