SME Policy Index for Western Balkans and Türkiye 2026

Acknowledgements

The SME Policy Index 2026: Western Balkans and Türkiye – Resilient SMEs for competitive and sustainable economies is the result of a collaborative effort between the OECD and seven pre-EU accession economies (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo1, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Türkiye). The work was co-ordinated by the OECD’s South East Europe Division.

The assessment was conducted under the guidance of Andreas Schaal, OECD Global Relations and Co-operation and Cooperation Director and OECD Sherpa, Karim Dahou, OECD Deputy Director and Head of China Unit for Global Relations and Co-operation, and Marzena Kisielewska, Head of the OECD South East Europe Division.

The work was led by Jovana Pavlovic Djukic and Marijana Petrovic, Economic Advisors at the OECD South East Europe Division. The report also benefited from the valuable input of William Tompson, Head of the Eurasia Division, OECD, and Mariarosa Lunati, Senior Advisor, Middle East and North Africa Division, OECD, who acted as lead reviewers of the publication.

This report was made possible thanks to the contributions of the appointed SME Policy Index (SMEPI) co-ordinators who supported the data collection and verification process. The OECD expresses its sincere gratitude to more than 500 government officials and other stakeholders across the region who have been actively involved in the data collection and whose engagement and dedication have made this assessment possible.

Special thanks are extended to the following individuals and institutions:

 

Economy	SMEPI Co-ordinator(s)	Statistical Office Co-ordinator(s)
Albania	Anxhela Bushati, supported by Klodian Mene and Xhoana Hudra	Ermira Muhaj
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Brankica Pandurevic (state level) Sead Dziho (Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina) Milka Latincic, supported by Ognjen Smitran (Republika Srpska)	Miljan Popic
Kosovo	Nol Buzhala, supported by Kreshnik Thaqi and Gent Berisha	Avni Kastrati
Montenegro	Andjela Gajevic, supported by Sanja Varajic	Majda Savicevic, supported by Jelena Markovic
North Macedonia	Jumni Ademi, supported by Elizabeta Todorova	Zoran Stanojkovski
Serbia	Marko Zelic, supported by Jelena Matovic	Dijana Dodig Bukilica, Nikica Rodin, Veselinka Skiljevic and Marija Vulovic
Türkiye	Neriman Pinar Işin, supported by Beyza Kuriş, Abdullah Aktepe, and Esra Ataş Kaya	Uğur Özcan

The primary authors of the report were: Benoit Dicharry, Tommaso Rucci, Rocco Salvadori, Merima Smajic and Sophia Katsira (Cluster 1 - Ensuring an enabling environment for SMEs and entrepreneurs), Dafina Marashi (Cluster 2 - Fostering SME sustainability and resilience), Hana Aljevic (Cluster 3 - Supporting digital transformation of SMEs), Stephanie Lizzo (Cluster 4 - Harnessing human and social capital for SME development).

Dimensions 1 and 8a were drafted by Stephanie Lizzo, 2 and 9 by Dafina Marashi, 3 by Rocco Salvadori and 4 by Rocco Salvadori and Hana Aljevic, 5a by Merima Smajic and Sophia Katsira, 5b by Tommaso Rucci in co-operation with Maja Kust, 6 and 8b by Benoit Dicharry, 7 by Tommaso Rucci in co-operation with Knut Blind, Nikola Matovic and Sokol Tominaj, 10 by Merima Smajic, Sophia Katsira and Hana Aljevic and 11 by Hana Aljevic.

The report was reviewed and benefited from valuable comments and inputs from OECD colleagues, including Lucia Cusmano, Marija Kuzmanovic, Marco Bianchini, Marta Lasheras Sancho, Jan-Philipp Schmidt, Giulia Honegger, Juan Ramón Larraín Aylwin, Pablo Shah, Marco Marchese, Roberto Crotti, and Maria Camila Jiménez Suárez (all from the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities); Andrew Green, Won Hee Choo and Ilaria Goretti (all from the OECD Science, Technology and Innovation Directorate); Bert Brys and Daniel Fichmann (both from the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration); Katarina Svatikova (OECD Environment Directorate) and Piotr-Nils Gorecki (OECD Public Governance Directorate – SIGMA).

Comprehensive support throughout the assessment and drafting process was provided by experts: Asel Doranova, Elin McCallum, Efka Heder, Amir Sarajlic, and Nemanja Sormaz.

The SME Policy Index is a joint initiative developed in close co-operation with its partner organisations: the European Commission (EC), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Training Foundation (ETF). The OECD team is particularly grateful for contributions from Mathieu Bousquet, Anja Nagel, Tanith Bello, Sigrid Brettel, Antoine Colombani, Barbara Jesus-Gimeno, and Jiri Plecity and their teams from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Enlargement and Eastern Neighbourhood (DG ENEST); Uwe Stamm and Alexandros Mouzakitis and their team from the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN); as well as Svenja Petersen, Christoph Saenger, and Dina Konquer (all from EBRD), and Kristien Van den Eynde, Filippo Del Ninno, Romain Boitard, Jan Peter Ganter De Otero, Nicolas Jonas, Florian Kadletz, Gordon Purvis, Lisa Rustico and Matthias Themel (all from ETF) – all of whom reviewed, provided feedback and supported the publication. The EU Delegations in the Western Balkans and Türkiye, as well as the Delegation of Türkiye to the OECD, also provided valuable insights to the publication.

The independent assessments were conducted with the support of local consultants: Jolanda Trebicka (Albania), Jasmin Gabela (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Valmira Rexhëbeqaj (Kosovo), Nemanja Sormaz (Montenegro and Serbia), Andrija Aleksoski (North Macedonia), and Şirin Elçi (Türkiye).

The report was prepared for publication by Taline Shahinian and edited by Jennifer Allain and Julie Harris. The following people also contributed to the success of the project: Umur Gökçe, Zofia Polakiewicz, Vukan Jokic, Marta Riva, and Cameron Gethings.

This report has been produced with the financial assistance of the European Union. The views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official position of the European Union or its Member States.

Note

← 1.  The designation of Kosovo is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.