Table Of ContentSME Policy Index S
M
E
The Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa P
o SME Policy Index
2014 lic
y
In
d
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT FOR EUROPE e The Mediterranean Middle
x
Contents East and North Africa 2014
Key fi ndings for the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa region
T
The policy framework, methodology and assessment process h
e
M IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT
Economic and SME overview of the Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa region
e
d FOR EUROPE
Part I. Results of the assessment by Small Business Act for Europe dimension ite
r
Chapter 1. Education and training for entrepreneurship, including training for women’s entrepreneurship ra
n
e
Chapter 2. Effi cient bankruptcy procedures and “second chance” for entrepreneurs a
n
Chapter 3. Institutional and regulatory framework for SME policy making M
id
Chapter 4. Operational environment for business creation d
le
Chapter 5. Support services for SMEs and public procurement E
a
Chapter 6. Access to fi nance for SMEs s
t
a
Chapter 7. Supporting SMEs to benefi t from Euro-Mediterranean networks and partnerships n
d
Chapter 8. Enterprise skills and innovation N
o
r
Chapter 9. SMEs in a green economy th
A
Chapter 10. Internationalisation of SMEs f
r
ic
Part II. Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa Economy Profi les a
2
0
Chapter 11. Algeria 1
4
Chapter 12. Egypt IM
P
Chapter 13. Israel L
E
M
Chapter 14. Jordan E
N
T
Chapter 15. Lebanon A
T
IO
Chapter 16. Overview of Libya N
O
Chapter 17. Morocco F T
H
Chapter 18. PA E
S
M
Chapter 19. Tunisia A
L
L
Annex A. Assessment grid and weights B
U
S
IN
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S
S
A
C
T
F
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Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264218413-en. RO
P
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SME Policy Index:
The Mediterranean
Middle East and North Africa
2014
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SMALL BUSINESS ACT
FOR EUROPE
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ORgANISATION PROFILES – iii
Organisation profiles
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), MENA-OECD
Initiative on Governance and Investment
The OECD is a forum in which governments compare and exchange policy
experiences, identify good practices in light of emerging challenges, and promote decisions
and recommendations to produce better policies for better lives. The OECD’s mission is to
promote policies that improve economic and social well-being of people around the world.
The MENA-OECD Initiative on governance and Investment for Development is a
regional effort, initiated and led by countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
It promotes broad reforms to enhance the investment climate, modernise governance
structures and operations, strengthen regional and international partnerships, and promote
sustainable economic growth throughout the MENA region.
European Commission, Directorate-General for Enterprise and Industry
Enterprise and Industry Dg helps enterprises and industry to be competitive and SMEs
to grow, so that they can generate economic growth and more jobs. It develops policies
and actions for the re-industrialisation of Europe aiming at an innovative, modern and
sustainable economy.
It is tasked with ensuring a fair level playing field for business in exploiting
opportunities of the European Union (EU) single market for goods and it supports the
expansion of their economic activities outside the EU. To achieve its policy goals and
promote innovation and entrepreneurship, it develops and manages EU support programmes.
European Training Foundation
The European Training Foundation (ETF) is a specialised EU agency that supports
30 partner countries to harness the potential of their human capital through the reform of
education, training and labour market systems in the context of the EU’s external relations
policy. The ETF’s vision is to make vocational education and training in the partner
countries a driver for lifelong learning and sustainable development, with a special focus
on competitiveness and social cohesion.
The ETF’s added-value comes from its neutral, non-commercial and unique established
knowledge base consisting of expertise in human capital development and its links
to employment. This includes expertise in adapting the approaches to human capital
development in the EU to the context of the partner countries supporting the development
of home-grown solutions.
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
iv – ORgANISATION PROFILES
European Investment Bank
The European Investment Bank (EIB) is the financial investment arm of the European
Union (EU) and was created by the Treaty which established the European Community. Its
role is to finance investments consistent with EU policy objectives and to take initiatives
that complement the corresponding EU assistance policies, programmes and instruments
in the different regions of the world, always adapting its activities to developments in EU
policies.
The EIB manages the Facility for Euro-Mediterranean Investment and Partnership
(FEMIP), which aims to foster private sector activities in Mediterranean Partner Countries,
for instance through the creation of core economic and social infrastructure and by
providing funding to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as a way to underpin
growth and generate employment opportunities. EIB offers credit lines to MSMEs through
partner banks as well as equity investments and operations in the microfinance sector. The
Bank is consistently seeking to broaden the range of its instruments for MSMEs in order
to ensure that its offering addresses gaps over the whole value-chain in view of the greatest
possible development impact.
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
FOREwORD – 3
Foreword
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential drivers of job creation
and inclusive economic growth worldwide. In the Mediterranean, North Africa and
Middle East Region, SMEs represent the vast majority of firms, account for between
half to three quarters of total employment, and contribute substantially to innovation
and value creation. In addition, governments of the region have been working to build
a more conducive business environment and have implemented targeted policies to
support SME development.
This publication, SME Policy Index, The Mediterranean Middle East and North
Africa 2014, Implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe, provides policy
makers with a framework to improve their national SME policies. The report helps
identify strengths and weaknesses in policy design and implementation, compare
experiences and performance, set priorities, and measure convergence towards
implementation of the policy principles promoted by the Small Business Act for Europe.
The report comes at a crucial time. Over the last three years, several of the
economies located on the Southern shore of the Mediterranean have undergone a process
of political and economic transition. Among other social demands, there is a pressing
need for stronger economic growth and sustained job creation. Several countries within
the European Union are also facing slow growth and persistent unemployment with the
crisis.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and
the European Commission have been working together with countries in the region
to promote SME development. In particular, EU members and their Mediterranean
neighbours refer to the same policy guidelines to improve the business climate and spur
entrepreneurship. Since the signing of the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise
by the Euro-MED Industry Ministers in 2004, Euro-MED economic co-operation in
the enterprise policy domain has made significant progress. The Small Business Act for
Europe, adopted by the EU in 2008, has provided additional inspiration to guide reforms
and improve SME policy. The assessment results point to a growing convergence in the
SME policy domain between both shores of the Mediterranean. Steps have also been
taken to integrate economies in the Mediterranean North Africa and Middle East into
the global economy and to shape a Euro-Mediterranean area where SMEs can start,
expand, create jobs, export, import, invest and build business partnerships for their own
benefit and the benefit of all.
This report is the outcome of a combined effort by the European Commission and
the OECD, in co-operation with the European Training Foundation and the European
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
4 – FOREwORD
Investment Bank, and was carried out within the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean
industrial co-operation process. The report has been produced with the active co-operation
of the governments in the Mediterranean North Africa and Middle East and involved
extensive consultation with experts, stakeholders and organisations representing the SME
sector. we look forward to continuing this close and fruitful co-operation on SME policies
in favour of growth, jobs and social cohesion in the Mediterranean North Africa and
Middle East Region.
Angel gurría Antonio Tajani
Secretary-general, Vice-President of
OECD the European Commission
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
PREFACE – 5
Preface
The report on the implementation of the Small Business Act for Europe in the
Mediterranean Middle East and North Africa 2014 provides an assessment of SME
policy in Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, PA and Tunisia (the MED
economies or the MED region), and a policy overview for Libya. The assessment was
conducted in 2013 within the framework of the industrial co-operation process of the
Union for the Mediterranean and is based on the Small Business Act for Europe (SBA).
It builds on the methodology of the SME Policy Index, which allows international
policy comparisons and the identification of good practices and areas where progress is
needed. The report is an update of a similar exercise carried out in MED economies in
2008, based on the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Enterprise.
The assessment was performed through a highly collaborative and consultative
process involving MED governments and public institutions, private sector
organisations and civil society. Each of the participating MED economies contributed
to the collection of data and information on SME policies under the supervision of a
national coordinator and with the participation of independent local experts for some
policy dimensions. MED economies also contributed to the formulation of the results
of the assessment.
The assessment was undertaken by the European Commission (the Commission), the
European Training Foundation (ETF) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation
and Development (OECD), in consultation with the European Investment Bank.
The report concludes that the region as a whole has made progress in key SME
policy dimensions. However, that progress has consisted more of gradual improvements
of policies and less on the introduction of structural, institutional or policy reforms.
Furthermore, progress has been more marked in the economies that have developed
a solid and well-structured institutional framework for SME policy. There is a close
correlation between the quality of the institutional policy framework, strategic
approaches to SME policy making and constructive consultations, on the one hand, with
the private sector and policy performance on the other hand.
Looking forward and based on these results, MED economies would benefit from
stepping up their efforts to improve the business climate and adopt comprehensive,
coherent and participatory approaches to SME policy making. They could also usefully
increase their efforts to measure the effectiveness of policies through monitoring and
evaluation and mainstream lessons learned and successful pilot projects. Euro-MED
partners could support this process by exchanging experience and good practice, at
both Euro-MED (north-south) and intra-MED (south-south) level. Partners could
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
6 – PREFACE
also contribute to build the capacity of SME policy and wider partner institutions
(e.g. education); and reinforce and extend enterprise networks (for instance Europe
Enterprise Network), business-to-business and government-to-business dialogue.
Daniel Calleja Flavia Palanza Madlen Serban Marcos Bonturi
Director-general and Director Director Director,
EU SME Envoy Facility for Euro- European Training global Relations,
Dg Enterprise and Mediterranean Investment Foundation OECD
Industry and Partnership
European Commission European Investment
Bank
SME POLICY INDEX: THE MEDITERRANEAN MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA © EU, ETF, OECD 2014
