Foreword
Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2022: An OECD Scoreboard provides a comprehensive framework for policy makers and other stakeholders to monitor access to finance by SMEs and entrepreneurs. It also constitutes a valuable tool to support the design and evaluation of policy measures, and to monitor the implications of financial reforms on access to finance and financing conditions for SMEs more generally.
The 2022 report analyses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the SME financing landscape in the Scoreboard countries, sheds light on the instrumental and unprecedented role that Government policy responses played in ensuring the continued flow of financing to liquidity-constrained SMEs, and analyses the trends and possible implications of the evolving policy landscape from the rescue to the recovery phase of the pandemic. It builds on the November 2020 special edition of the Scoreboard, which documented the initial impacts of the crisis on SME and entrepreneurship finance. Based on data collected for the country profiles and information from demand-side surveys, it includes indicators on debt, equity and asset-based finance, as well as on financing framework conditions complemented by summaries of public and private initiatives to support SME access to finance.
The 2022 report marks 10 years of this flagship report, which has become the international reference for information on SME and entrepreneurship finance trends and policies. It presents trends and policies for 48 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, the People’s Republic of China, Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, the Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States1.
Chapter 1 focuses on developments in SME financing through 2020 and ongoing policy responses, drawing on data received from experts from participating countries, as well as from external sources. Chapter 2 focuses on the evolution of SME and entrepreneurship support measures from the rescue to the recovery phases and draws implications and critical questions for policy makers on how the recovery packages can best support SMEs in their recovery, growth and transition toward green and digital objectives. Chapter 3 contains profiles of SME and entrepreneurship developments, as well as relevant policies, for all 48 participating countries. The print edition of this publication includes a snapshot view with key facts and figures, while more detailed profiles can be accessed online.
This publication was prepared by the Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Tourism Division of the Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE/EST) under the guidance of the OECD Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurs (CSMEE) and the CSMEE Informal Steering Group on SME and Entrepreneurship Financing. The initial findings were discussed at the meeting of the CSMEE Informal Steering Group on SME Finance on 9-10 September 2021, and a more advanced version of the report was presented at the first meeting of the CSMEE on 14-15 October 2021. The final report was approved by written procedure on 1 March 2022 [CFE/SME(2021)18/CHAP1/FINAL, CFE/SME(2021)18/CHAP2/FINAL, CFE/SME(2021)18/CHAP3/ADD/FINAL and CFE/SME(2021)18/ANN/FINAL].
Note
← 1. Aggregate calculations include data for Belarus and Russia when available.