According to Reuters, SMEs can play a big part in Central Europe’s economic recovery:
Imploding demand and tighter credit have held back eastern Europe’s small and medium firms in the economic crisis, and how they cope could significantly determine which countries in the region recover quicker.
Small businesses provide 60-70% of all jobs across Central Europe, and pay at least half the taxes. That makes SMEs critical to the region’s economic recovery. (Other important factors are governments’ fiscal discipline, demand from Western Europe and the pace of foreign direct investment.)
A major issue for SMEs is limited access to credit. Lending rates in Central Europe have traditionally been less than in Western Europe. With the financial crisis, small business credit across the region has virtually frozen.
