Gap analysis for small and medium-sized enterprises financing in the European Union

Financial instruments related to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) represent over half of the total ESIF funds committed to financial instruments in the 2014-2020 programming period. At the end of 2018, over EUR 17 billion of ESIF programme resources had been committed to support SMEs through financial instruments and this figure is expected to increase in the next programming period.

In order to help unlock the greater use of financial instruments for SME financing in the 2021-2027 programming period, this gap analysis study considers the financing gaps for SMEs in all EU Member States. It aims to provide insights on financing gaps and market failures relating to SME financing in the different Member States and to identify the potential of financial instruments to address the financing needs. Using quantitative and qualitative data analyses, the report presents gap assessments for both debt and equity financing in each Member State. It is expected that this data will be used in the development of Operational Programmes for the 2021-2027 programming period and future ex-ante assessments.