Across the Western Balkans and Türkiye, small and medium-sized enterprises generate between 66% and 83% of employment, and account for 54% to 78% of value added, placing them at the centre of the region's economic development. Despite two decades of reform efforts, SME productivity remains low, ranging from EUR 15 000 to EUR 25 000 per person employed, well below the EU SME average of EUR 52 000. While the region has demonstrated resilience, with average GDP growth of 3.1% in 2025, the pace of structural transformation remains insufficient to close the productivity and convergence gap within a reasonable timeframe.
Against this backdrop, the presentation of the findings of the OECD's flagship report SME Policy Index 2026: Western Balkans and Türkiye, at the High-Level Launch in Budva on 12 May 2026 brings together ministers, policymakers and regional stakeholders to examine policy pathways for building more resilient, competitive and sustainable SME ecosystems across the region.
Now in its 20th year, the SME Policy Index remains the most comprehensive assessment of SME policy development across Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Türkiye. The 2026 edition assesses performance across 13 policy dimensions, four thematic clusters and offers 449 actionable recommendations to help governments shift from reactive crisis management to forward-looking, resilience-based policy frameworks. For the first time, the Index will be complemented with a dedicated Data Hub, enabling greater accessibility and visualisation of results to support evidence-based policy making across the region.
