SWEDEN Sweden is one of the world’s most developed economies and the Nordics largest with $517bn in nominal GDP . Despite the fact that Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area it has only a total population of 10 million inhabitants most of them living in the Southern part of the country . With a GDP per capita of roughly $51,000, Sweden is considered a high-income country . The Swedish business sector comprises a significant number of SME companies. Together they account for 59% of value added and 66% of employment. Micro-businesses constitute 94.6% of all companies. Most SMEs operate in services, wholesale trade and retail, and construction. There are relatively few Swedish small and medium enterprises in the …show more content…
Consistent with it is that only 6.7 percent of firms in Sweden identified access to finance as their top obstacle. In comparison, 28 percent of firms selected an “inadequately educated workforce” as the top obstacle. In general, Sweden consistently ranks high on a number of indexes related to access to financial services. Overall, SMEs in Sweden are more likely to be credit constrained than large firms and manufacturing firms are more credit constrained compared to other sectors in the economy. A significantly higher percentage of innovative SMEs were credit constrained in 2013 than non-innovative or large firms. Moreover, sales growth is generally lower in credit-constrained firms than in firms that are not credit constrained. Historically, Swedish SMEs have benefitted tremendously from government and EU programs aimed at increasing access to finance, allowing firms to expand their business operations and grow. The data we collected seems to demonstrate that to a large extent Swedish authorities have been successful in creating an environment conducive to private firms’ getting access to credit. Laws and Regulations In Sweden there are different government bodies that oversee and try to help set or administer policies and regulations to promote SMEs. The Ministry of Enterprise and Innovation is overseeing the government commitment to financial inclusion and support
and they have a wide variety of options. Their government is similar to the U.S’s. Sweden
Sweden stands as an opulent and ancient country that prospers far more than most countries.
Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) as defined by the US business Act of 1953 refer to business enterprises that is independently owned and operated and that isn’t dominant in its operation. One with fewer than five hundred employees. According to Bank of Ghana (2006) under the Funds for Small and Medium Enterprises Development defined small and micro enterprises as firms with assets (excluding land) of between 25million Ghana cedis and 5million Ghana cedis. A lot has been said and written about SMEs the world over. It has also formed the subject of discussions in so many seminars and workshops both locally and internationally. In the same vain, governments at various levels (local, state
Economically their system is sound and fairly healthy. Sweden has a population of 9.517 million. Their GDP is $525.7 billion USD with a small difference between their GNI which is at $420.1
The SME sector is a significant component of the EU economy responsible for driving growth through entrepreneurship3.
According to the global market, Sweden is at the sixth place among the rankings for ease of doing business. It is considered to be highly competitive despite their economic activity to slow down in 2017. Even so, it’s central bank has helped the
Baldwin et al. (1997) concludes that the main reason for business bankruptcy is inexperienced management. Riding et al. (2001) cited in Orser & Riding (2003) concluded that the prime reason given by lenders for default of loans was poor management skills of borrowers. Similarly, Mason and Harrison (2001) found that most of the business investors believe that their ability to invest was limited by the quality of the opportunities the SME owners/managers see. They further identify two primary deficiencies: (1) unrealistic assumptions or information that is not credible, and (2) the entrepreneur/management team lacked
According to the data of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills of UK government, there are 5.4 million small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in 2015. Based on the official EU definition, if the staff headcount of the enterprise is less than 250 and the turnover is less than or equal to 50 million euro, which will be classified as medium sized enterprise. And for small and micro enterprises, their headcount should not be more than 50 and 10, the turnover has to be under 10 million euro and 2 million euro. Most of the SMEs contribute in the Construction section and there is a number of 956,000 SMEs estimated by the government. Furthermore, the industry of Professional, Scientific and Technical Activities (792,000), Wholesale and
Most developed countries have suffered through at least one financial crisis. The term financial crisis is in itself very broad and applies to a various number of situations in which financial institutions or financial assets rapidly decrease in value. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the Scandinavian countries – along with Finland – all faced rather serious financial crises, but the outcomes differed vastly among the nations as Denmark and Sweden pushed through to fairly satisfactory results, but Norway and Finland suffered greater complications. No nation’s crisis was identical to another’s and perhaps thereof the different outcomes, but what other factors played a role in deciding a nation’s fate. To better compare and analyze, the focus of this paper will be placed on simply two of the nations involved – Sweden and Finland -, two nations bordering each other, with a great many similarities but two very different outcomes from respective crisis and how they handled their respective issues, and what can be used for future reference.
In Kenya, SME’s are vital as they employ more than 87% of the labor force that contribute 18.4% of the National Gross Domestic product (GDP). (GOK, 2009).However, their existence in the Kenyan economy has not been without fair challenges that inhibit their growth, potential and offer them an average lifespan of five or less years in existence.
In the context of small to medium enterprises, statistics show that about half of new businesses fail within five years (Anderson 2014). The reasons for why new businesses fail have been a number of reasons. Some of them are due to high interest rates, taxes, and lack of bank lending (Anderson 2014). In the UK sector, it has been noted that the chances of a new business from flourishing is even harder than before the financial crisis (Anderson 2014). With the countless amount of reasons for why SMEs do not prosper
Entrepreneurs establish Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), which are playing an increasingly significant role in the global economy. According to the recent statistics of UK, of all private sector businesses, SMEs accounted for 99.3% at the start of 2015; 60% employment at 15.6 million; and 47% annual turnover at £1.8 trillion (FSB.org, 2015). Thus, it is of vital importance to understand how to formulate and operate an SME.
Currently, SME’s in Kenya employ more than 87% of the labor force that contribute 18.4% of the National Gross Domestic product (GDP), (GOK, 2009).However, their existence in the Kenyan economy has not been without fair challenges that inhibit their growth, potential and offer them an average lifespan of 5 or less years in existence. (Bowen, Morara, & Mureithi, 2009)
SMEs are a very heterogeneous group of businesses usually operating in the service, trade, agri-business, and manufacturing sectors. They include a wide variety of firms such as village handicraft makers, small machine shops, and computer
The importance of small and Micro Enterprises (SMEs) in the economy of any country cannot be overlooked. In fact for nearly 15 years, most researchers dealing with economic planning have highlighted the significance of these enterprises stating that they are a key player in realizing any country’s economic goals. As such, governments as well as other organizations with interest in development are laying plans and strategies to promote the establishment of Small and Micro Enterprises. This is seen as a move to ensure that there is full participation of SMEs in the country’s economy. The Small and Micro Enterprises have been known to contribute to a large extend as a source of innovation, entrepreneurial skills as well as source of employment. For example, statistics in 25countries of the European Union show that 99% of the jobs provided to its citizens come from the micro, small and medium-sized enterprises. Rowe (2008) points out that the British economy relies heavily on the participation of SMEs. On the other hand, 99% of the UK’s economy is composed of small and micro enterprises.