Sme policy index.

362 Pages·2015·3.32 MB·English

by  OECD

SME Policy Index S
M
E
Eastern Partner Countries 2016 P
o SME Policy Index
lic
ASSESSIng thE IMPlEMEntAtIon of y In
thE SMAll BuSInESS ACt for EuroPE d
e Eastern Partner Countries
x

Contents
2016
Overview: 2016 Small Business Act assessment of Eastern partner countries
2016 SME Policy Index scores for Eastern partner countries
Policy framework and assessment process E ASSESSIng thE IMPlEMEntAtIon of
a
Economic context and the role of SMEs in the Eastern partner countries s thE SMAll BuSInESS ACt for EuroPE
t
e
r
n
Part I. Small Business Act assessment: Findings by SBA dimension P
a
Chapter 1. Entrepreneurial learning and women’s entrepreneurship (Dimension 1) in Eastern partner countries rt
n
e
Chapter 2. Bankruptcy and second chance for SMEs (Dimension 2) in Eastern partner countries r
C
Chapter 3. I nstitutional and regulatory framework for SME policy making (Dimension 3) o
u
in Eastern partner countries n
t
r
Chapter 4. Operational environment for SMEs (Dimension 4) in Eastern partner countries ie
s
Chapter 5. S upport services for SMEs and start-ups and public procurement (Dimensions 5a and 5b) 2
0
in Eastern partner countries 1
6
Chapter 6. Access to finance for SMEs (Dimension 6) in Eastern partner countries A
S
Chapter 7. Standards and technical regulations (Dimension 7) in Eastern partner countries S
E
S
Chapter 8. Enterprise skills and innovation (Dimensions 8a and 8b) in Eastern partner countries SIn
g
Chapter 9. SMEs in a green economy (Dimension 9) in Eastern partner countries t
h
E
Chapter 10. Internationalisation of SMEs (Dimension 10) in Eastern partner countries IM
P
l
E
M
Part II. Small Business Act assessment: Eastern partner country profiles E
n
Chapter 11. Armenia: Small Business Act country profile tA
t
Chapter 12. Azerbaijan: Small Business Act country profile Ion
o
Chapter 13. Belarus: Small Business Act country profile f
t
h
Chapter 14. Georgia: Small Business Act country profile E
S
Chapter 15. Republic of Moldova: Small Business Act country profile M
A
l
Chapter 16. Ukraine: Small Business Act country profile l B
u
Annex A. Methodology for the Small Business Act assessment – Technical annex S
In
E
Annex B. Organisation profiles S
S
A
C
t
f
o
r
E
u
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P
E
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ISBn 978-92-64-24623-2
03 2015 05 1 P

SME Policy Index: Eastern
Partner Countries 2016
ASSESSING THE IMPLEMENTATION
OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT FOR EUROPE
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FOREwORD – 3
Foreword
The Eastern partner (EaP) region comprises six countries (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus,
Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine). Despite different economic structures,
they share a number of common strengths, including a highly educated workforce, a
strategic geographic position and a recognition of the importance of improving the business
environment. To leverage these strengths, the EaP countries are progressively opening up
their economies to trade and investment opportunities and are making efforts to converge
with best policy practices and global standards.
Today, all six countries are striving to strengthen competitiveness, diversify their
economies, boost growth and increase resilience against external shocks. Small and
medium-sized enterprise (SME) policies are a fundamental component of this reform
agenda. SMEs are major contributors to sustainable and inclusive growth and job creation.
They account for 60% to 70% of employment and generate more than 60% of total value-
added in OECD countries. Dynamic and growth-oriented SMEs integrated into global
value chains are key to boosting productivity, innovation and competitiveness. Yet SMEs
everywhere continue to be constrained in their access to finance, skills’ level, innovative
capacity, access to business support services and opportunities for internationalisation.
The SME Policy Index: Eastern Partner Countries 2016 – Assessing the Implementation
of the Small Business Act for Europe offers policy makers and other stakeholders in the EaP
countries a framework to assess progress in designing and implementing effective SME
policies. It is the second report of its kind, following the first assessment published in 2012.
This 2016 edition takes stock of progress made in the EaP countries since 2012. It uses an
enhanced methodology to identify strengths and weaknesses in relevant policies, compares
performance across countries and policy areas, and measures convergence towards the
policy principles of the Small Business Act for Europe. The analysis is supplemented by
country-level policy recommendations and a dedicated policy roadmap to address persistent
challenges since the first round of assessment.
The 2016 assessment reveals significant, albeit uneven, progress. Many of the
recommendations made in 2012 have been implemented. Despite country variations, the
overall implementation of business environment reforms is a necessary step towards a level
playing field for all businesses. Moreover, it is encouraging to observe greater attention
being given to the institutional aspects of SME policy making, with a clear drive towards
introducing medium-term SME strategies and setting up dedicated agencies. However,
targeted support measures are still needed to enhance SME competitiveness, innovation
and internationalisation, and boost entrepreneurial human capital; while monitoring and
evaluation systems must be considerably strengthened to capture the impact of policies on
businesses and provide grounds for calibration where needed.
This publication is the result of co-operation between the OECD, the European
Commission (DG Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs), the European
Training Foundation and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, in
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015
4 – FOREwORD
partnership with the governments of the six EaP countries and in consultation with experts,
stakeholders, and representatives of the SME sector. we look forward to continuing this
very fruitful collaboration on SME policy reforms as an important driver for growth, job
creation and social cohesion in the EaP region. In particular, we believe that the dedicated
Eastern Partnership SME Panel will be instrumental in monitoring and discussing
further progress and possible challenges in SME policy-making in EaP countries through
continuous policy dialogue.
Marcos Bonturi Lowri Evans Madlen Serban Philippe
Director, Global Director-General, Director, European Le Houérou
Relations, OECD DG Internal Training Foundation Vice President,
Market, Industry, Policy and
Entrepreneurship Partnerships, EBRD
and SMEs,
European
Commission
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015
ACkNOwLEDGEMENTS – 5
Acknowledgements
This report is the outcome of work conducted by the six Eastern partner (EaP) countries
(Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine) within the
framework of the SME Panel of the Eastern Partnership co-ordinated by the Directorate-
General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs of the European
Commission, the OECD Eurasia Competitiveness Programme under the authority of the
Eastern Europe and South Caucasus Initiative Steering Committee, the European Training
Foundation (ETF) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
The report was written under the guidance of Marcos Bonturi, Director for Global
Relations, OECD; Daniel Calleja, former Director-General, and Lowri Evans, new Director-
General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG GROw) of the
European Commission; Madlen Serban, Director, ETF; and Philippe Le Houérou, Vice
President, Policy and Partnerships, EBRD; as well as Anthony O’Sullivan, Deputy Director
for Global Relations, OECD; Antonio Somma, Acting Head of Division and Head of the
Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, OECD; Christos kyriatzis, Deputy Head of the
International Affairs Unit, DG GROw, European Commission; Anastasia Fetsi Head of
Operations Department, ETF; Xavier Matheu de Cortada, Head of Thematic Policy Unit,
ETF; Andrew kilpatrick, Director for Project and Sector Assessment and Charlotte Ruhe,
Director for the Small Business Support Programme, EBRD.
The work was led by Daniel Quadbeck, Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, OECD;
Michaela Hauf, DG GROw, European Commission; Olena Bekh, ETF; and Svenja
Petersen, EBRD; in co-operation with Verena kroth, EBRD. The report was developed
under the supervision of Antonio Fanelli, Senior Advisor, Global Relations Secretariat,
OECD.
Principal authors of the report are Anton Leis Garcia, Meryem Torun and Anna
Eliseeva, Eurasia Competitiveness Programme, OECD; Eugene Mazur, Environment
GROw, European Commission; Olena Bekh and Anthony Gribben, ETF; Svenja Petersen,
Verena kroth, Christian Cronauer and Simone Zeh Atanasovski, EBRD. Significant
contributions were made by Milena Corradini (ETF), Vincent McBride (ETF), Franca
Crestani (ETF), Timo kuusela (ETF), Gabriela Platon (ETF), Margareta Nikolovska (ETF),
Martiño Rubal Maseda (ETF), Liia kaarlop (ETF), katerina Tarasevich (ETF), kristien
Van den Eynde (ETF) and Mariavittoria Garlappi (ETF), Frederique Dahan (EBRD), Stela
Melnic (EBRD) and Ivor Istuk (EBRD).
The report was reviewed and benefitted from further inputs provided by Jonathan
Potter and Stuart Thompson, Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs and Local Development,
OECD; the SIGMA (Support for Improvement in Governance and Management) initiative;
Anthony O’Sullivan, Antonio Somma and Anita Richter, Global Relations Secretariat,
Brita Hemme, DG GROw, European Commission; colleagues from the EU Delegations
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015
6 – A CkNOwLEDGEMENTS
in Eastern partner countries; the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement
Negotiations (DG NEAR); the European External Action Service and other Directorate-
Generals from the European Commission; Arjen Vos, Deputy Head of Operations
Department, ETF; and the Department for Country and Sector Economics, the Financial
Institutions team, the Legal Transition team, Resident Offices, and the Small Business
Support Programme team at EBRD.
The methodology of this report was developed jointly with the OECD South East
Europe Division and benefitted from the experience of similar policy assessments carried
out previously in the Eastern partner countries, western Balkans and the Euro-Med region.
These reviews measure country convergence with the Small Business Act for Europe.
In the EaP countries, the following SBA co-ordinators led their countries’ participation
in all stages of the project: Gayane Gevorgyan (Armenia), Elcin Ibrahimov (Azerbaijan),
Irina Babachenok and Yulia Mamontova (Belarus), Lali Gogoberidze (Georgia), Lilia Palii
and Valentina Veverita (Moldova), and Tatiana Borisiuk (Ukraine). In particular, the SBA
co-ordinators led the countries’ self-assessment and co-ordinated the contributions of
different government institutions and other national stakeholders.
The independent assessments were conducted with the support of local consultants:
EV Consulting (Armenia), Yulia Aliyeva (Azerbaijan), UNITER (Belarus), ISET Policy
Institute (Georgia), CIVIS (Moldova) and Gfk (Ukraine). Country surveys were carried
out with the support of: EV Consulting (Armenia), ACT (Azerbaijan and Georgia),
UNITER (Belarus), CIVIS (Moldova) and Gfk (Ukraine).
The final report was edited and prepared for publication by Vanessa Vallee, Marianne
Aalto, Global Relations Secretariat, OECD; and Fiona Hinchcliffe. The implementation
of the project was assisted by Elisabetta Da Prati, Jolanta Chmielik and Mariana Tanova,
Global Relations Secretariat, OECD.
The report benefitted from the financial support of the European Union and the United
kingdom.
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015
TABLE OF CONTENTS – 7
Table of contents
Abbreviations and acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Overview: 2016 Small Business Act assessment of Eastern partner countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21
key findings for each policy dimension . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
key findings for each country. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
2016 SME Policy Index scores for Eastern partner countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39
Policy framework and assessment process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .45
The SBA assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46
The assessment process . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47
Policy framework: the Eastern Partnership and the Small Business Act for Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .51
Economic context and the role of SMEs in the Eastern partner countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
A heterogeneous region with a diverse economic structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53
Regional developments are damaging macroeconomic performance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55
Policy barriers are limiting SME’s potential for economic competitiveness and inclusive growth . . .60
Unleashing the potential of SMEs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
Part I
Small Business Act assessment: Findings by SBA dimension
Chapter 1. Entrepreneurial learning and women’s entrepreneurship (Dimension 1) in Eastern
partner countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .69
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .80
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .81
Chapter 2. Bankruptcy and second chance for SMEs (Dimension 2) in Eastern partner countries. .83
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .84
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .85
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015
8 – TABLE OF CONTENTS
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .92
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94
Chapter 3. Institutional and regulatory framework for SME policy making (Dimension 3) in
Eastern partner countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .97
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .98
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .99
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .109
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110
Chapter 4. Operational environment for SMEs (Dimension 4) in Eastern partner countries. . . . 113
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .123
Chapter 5. Support services for SMEs and start-ups and public procurement
(Dimensions 5a and 5b) in Eastern partner countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125
Dimension 5A: Support services for SMEs and start-ups. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .126
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .127
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .129
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Dimension 5B: Public procurement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .136
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .140
Chapter 6. Access to finance for SMEs (Dimension 6) in Eastern partner countries. . . . . . . . . . . 141
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .144
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 145
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .154
Chapter 7. Standards and technical regulations (Dimension 7) in Eastern partner countries . . . 155
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .156
Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
The way forward . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .160
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
Chapter 8. Enterprise skills and innovation (Dimensions 8a and 8b) in
Eastern partner countries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Dimension 8a: Enterprise skills. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .164
Assessment framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
SME POLICY INDEX: EASTERN PARTNER COUNTRIES – © EBRD, ETF, EU, OECD 2015