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07/03/2006 - Access to finance is one of the biggest obstacles to the creation, growth and development of small businesses, according to OECD analysis. Banks are often wary of lending to SMEs. Assets and collateral may not be big enough to underwrite the loans and the track records of small companies – particularly those developing a new idea or technology - are often patchy.
How governments can help entrepreneurs get the funds to develop their business will be the focus of a high-level international conference on Better Financing for Entrepreneurship and SME Growth in Brasilia from 27–30 March 2006, organised jointly by the OECD and Brazil’s Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade. The conference is open to the media.
To be inaugurated by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, accompanied by several ministers from OECD and non-OECD countries, the conference will bring together experts from governments and international organisations, as well as representatives from business and civil society. In total more than 80 countries will be represented at the talks.
The conference aims to assess the needs of entrepreneurs and SMEs and to find out which policies have been most successful at bridging the apparent gap between the requirements of small businesses and those of investors. The meeting will also explore new ways of solving funding problems.
The event builds on two OECD ministerial conferences on SMEs: in Bologna, Italy, in 2000, where 48 countries adopted the Bologna Charter on SME Policies; and in Istanbul, Turkey, in 2004, where 72 countries outlined ways of boosting the competitiveness of small businesses in a globalised economy in the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration.
The Brasilia conference takes place in the framework of the OECD Bologna Process on SME and Entrepreneurship Policies which brings together OECD and non-OECD economies for strengthened dialogue and co-operation to foster entrepreneurship and SME competitiveness at the global level.
To find out more about the conference, or to register their attendance, journalists should visit the conference website at: www.desenvolvimento.gov.br/oecd-conference, or contact the OECD Media Division (tel: + 33 1 4524 9700).
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