In September 2022, the OECD South East Europe Regional Programme organised a series of roundtables (hybrid and virtual) in each of the six Western Balkan economies and Türkiye (WBT) , which all saw high-level participation and wide public interest (400+ participants attended in total).
These roundtables provided the opportunity to discuss economy-specific findings and policy recommendations of the SME Policy Index 2022 publication, gathering policy makers, government officials, representatives of partner organisations (European Commission, European Training Foundation, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) as well as other local stakeholders.
Participants discussed the progress made in aligning domestic policies with the Small Business Act for Europe and outstanding challenges to support the development of the SME sector and ensure its recovery and resilience in light of recent external shocks. More in-depth discussions were held on priority areas for SME development such as SME crisis management, human capital development and digitalisation of public services.
