The present publication was prepared by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), led by Lamia Kamal-Chaoui, Director. It served as the background documentation to support discussions at the 2018 OECD Ministerial Conference on “Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth”, organised by the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurs (WPSMEE), under the auspices of the Committee on Industry, Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIIE), at the invitation of the Mexican Ministry of Economy.
Thanks are due to the Delegates of the WPSMEE and the CIIE. Grateful appreciation is expressed in particular to Alejandro Delgado (President of Mexico’s National Institute of Entrepreneurs, INADEM), Monica Aspé Bernal (Mexico’s Ambassador, Permanent Representative to the OECD) and Alejandro Gonzalez (Chair of the OECD Working Party on SMEs and Entrepreneurship). The WPSMEE informal steering group for the Ministerial Conference, composed of Alejandro Gonzalez Hernandez and Ivan Ornelas Diaz (Mexico’s National Institute of Entrepreneurs, INADEM), Mustafa Taner and Oguz Hamsioglu (Ministry of Science, Industry and Technology, Turkey), Christin Pfeiffer (Ministry for Economic Development, Italy), Ana Costa Paula (Ministry of Economy, Portugal), Martin Godel (Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research, EAER, Switzerland), Andrei Murariu (Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, United Kingdom), and Hiroshi Chishima (Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Japan), provided valuable guidance throughout the preparations. Nick Johnstone (OECD Directorate of Science Technology and Innovation) contributed to the Conference preparations and summary.
The Mexican government generously hosted the event, chaired by Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal, Minister of Economy. Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch, State Secretary for Economic Affairs, Education and Research, Switzerland, Stuart Nash, Minister for Small Business, New Zealand, and Hasan Ali Çelik, Vice-Minister of Science, Industry and Technology, Turkey, graciously served as the Conference’s Vice Chairs.
The documentation for the Conference was coordinated by Lora Pissareva under the supervision of Miriam Koreen and Lucia Cusmano (CFE). The various background papers were prepared and reviewed by colleagues from across the OECD, whose contributions are gratefully acknowledged:
The Key Issues paper – Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth - was authored by Lucia Cusmano, Lora Pissareva, Marco Bianchini and Miriam Koreen (CFE), with support from the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) and the Statistics and Data Directorate (SDD).
Chapter 2 - Enabling SMEs to scale up - was authored by Chiara Criscuolo, Matej Bajgar, Flavio Calvino, Jonathan Timmis (STI), Mariarosa Lunati (SDD), Lucia Cusmano, Marco Bianchini and Miriam Koreen (CFE).
Chapter 3 – Enhancing SME access to diversified financing instruments - was authored by Lora Pissareva, Miriam Koreen, Marco Bianchini and Kris Boschmans (CFE), with comments from the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs (DAF).
Chapter 4 – Fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated economy - was authored by Javier Lopez Gonzales, Laura Munro and Julia Nielson (TAD), Timothy Destefano, Jonathan Timmis, Koen De Backer and Chiara Criscuolo (STI), Mariarosa Lunati (SDD), Marco Bianchini and Lucia Cusmano (CFE).
Chapter 5 – Improving the business environment for SMEs through effective regulation - was authored by Lora Pissareva and Lucia Cusmano (CFE).
Chapter 6 – Business transfer as an engine for SME growth – was authored by Lora Pissareva and Lucia Cusmano (CFE).
Chapter 7 – Developing entrepreneurship competencies – was authored by Andrea Hofer, Giulia Ajmone Marsan and Jonathan Potter (CFE).
Chapter 8 – Promoting innovation in established SMEs - was authored by Marco Marchese and Lucia Cusmano (CFE), with comments by from the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation (STI).
Chapter 9 – Strengthening social inclusion through inclusive entrepreneurship – was authored by David Halabisky and Jonathan Potter (CFE).
Chapter 10 – Monitoring and evaluation of SME and entrepreneurship programmes – was authored by Sandra Hannig and Jonathan Potter (CFE), and Carlo Menon (STI).
Sincere thanks go to Angel Gurría (OECD Secretary-General), Mari Kiviniemi (OECD Deputy Secretary-General) and Gabriela Ramos (OECD Chief of Staff and Sherpa) for their active participation in the conference, as well as to the OECD Directors who chaired the parallel sessions and stakeholder event: Martine Durand (Chief Statistician and Director of Statistics and Data Directorate), Greg Medcraft (Director of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs), Álvaro Santos Pereira (Director of the Country Studies Branch at the Economics Department), Mario Pezzini (Director of the Development Centre) and Andy Wyckoff (Director of the Directorate for Science, Technology and Innovation). For their valuable support in preparing the Ministerial Declaration, thanks go to Nicola Bonucci (Director for Legal Affairs) and the entire OECD legal team, particularly Céline Folsché, as well as to Lucy Elliot, Blandine Barreau and Julie Habersetzer from the Council and Executive Committee Secretariat.
The Conference also benefited from the support and engagement of the OECD Centre in Mexico, and particularly Roberto Martinez. Amanda Gautherin (OSG), André Eychenne and Sebastien Patrix (EXD) provided invaluable support on site.
The OECD co-ordination team was led by Miriam Koreen and included Lora Pissareva, Lucia Cusmano, Josie Brocca, Fatima Perez, Marco Bianchini, Pilar Philip, Pauline Arbel and Heather Mortimer-Charoy. Thanks also go to Rudiger Ahrend, Karen Maguire, Delphine Clavreul, Nathalie Gosselin, Barbara Cachova and Thea Chubinidze in CFE for their support.