Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2017
An OECD Scoreboard
Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2017 provides information on debt, equity, asset-based finance, and framework conditions for SME and entrepreneurship finance, complemented with an overview of recent policy measures to support access to finance in 39 countries. The sixth instalment of this annual publication provides a solid evidence base to improve SME policy making. Almost a decade after the financial crisis, the financing situation of SMEs and entrepreneurs has generally improved in 2015 and the first half of 2016 in most participating countries, and indicates a more favourable business environment. While alternative sources of financing are gaining some traction, SMEs nevertheless remain very reliant on bank lending, making them vulnerable to credit market conditions and the economic climate.
Fostering markets for SME finance: Matching business and investor needs
This chapter focuses on key demand- and supply-side barriers that currently limit SMEs’ access to non-bank finance instruments. It reviews recent trends in policy measures to support the development of such alternative finance instruments, including SME investor-readiness and financial literacy programmes, as well as ways to incentivise institutional investors, retail investors and other potential market participants to enter SME equity markets, with the objective to identify good practices and policy recommendations.