Financing Growth and Turning Data into Business
Helping SMEs Scale Up
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) that scale up have long raised policy interest
for their extraordinary potential in terms of job creation, innovation, competitiveness
and economic growth. Yet, little is known about which firms could effectively become
scalers, and what policies could effectively promote SME growth. This report is part
of a series aiming to help policy makers unleash scalers’ potential. Building on new
evidence from microdata work, it rethinks the nature and scope of scale up policies,
suggesting the need for a broader and more cross cutting approach. The report then
explores two thematic areas that are relevant for SME scaling up, i.e. SME data governance
and their access to ‘scale up’ finance. Based on an international mapping of 369 institutions
and 1174 policy initiatives across OECD countries, the analysis shows that SME and
entrepreneurship policy is not among the core mandates of many implementing institutions,
calling for sound coordination across the board and further mainstreaming of SME growth
considerations in both policy areas. Moreover, national policy mixes vary significantly
across countries, reflecting different approaches to promoting SME growth and to SME
targeting, but also revealing possible policy blind spots.
Available from October 07, 2022
In series:OECD Studies on SMEs and Entrepreneurshipview more titles