First Digital and Green SMEs Capacity-Building Study Visit

The aim of the first Capacity-Building Study Visit as part of the Digital and Green SMEs project was to improve the understanding and spread the use of Business Support Services (BSSs) as drivers of SMEs’ twin transitions.

The event gathered digital and circular economy policy makers from Western Balkan economies, alongside Croatian government officials, business support providers and startup representatives. It leveraged longstanding OECD work in the South East Europe Region, as well as expertise on SME and entrepreneurship policy that informed the OECD Recommendation on SME and Entrepreneurship Policy. This recommendation calls for governments to facilitate the transition and resilience of SMEs and entrepreneurs to adapt to the digital and green transitions.

The study visit was co-developed with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Croatia to combine:

• peer learning and showcasing effective policy approaches in the morning, and
• direct engagement with SME support providers and business representatives in the afternoon.

The morning programme featured a scene-setting presentation on key trends in the WB6 and across the OECD, followed by an expert panel on delivering BSSs for the twin transitions in Croatia. The participants had the opportunity to engage with panellists from the Ministry of Economy of Croatia, from the Croatian Agency for SMEs, Innovations and Investments (HAMAG-BICRO) and from the ICT Alliance of the Croatian Employers’ Association (HUP-ICT).

The afternoon programme involved two site visits. The first was to Algebra University – Croatia’s leading private university and BSS provider offering SMEs digital skills trainings, digital transformation strategies and complex digital products and based on data science and AI. The second site visit was to Infobip – Croatia’s first unicorn and world leader in cloud communications.

In the pursuit of Net Zero, both site visits showcased the importance of well-funded and fit for purpose BSSs and the extraordinary potential of public-private partnerships. 

With pressures mounting from the EU Digital and Green Agendas for the Western Balkans, SMEs in the Western Balkans must adopt digital and environmentally friendly practices – in addition to increasing competitiveness in their business sectors.

Governments have an important role to play in facilitating the availability of BSSs that offer a diagnosis of the strengths and weaknesses of individual firms and provide advice on how to improve practices, including for digital and green development.

In the WB6 region, new strategies prioritising government-provided BSSs have been adopted in recent years to help SMEs in their operations and development. Co-financing the services of private-sector business consultants is the most prevalent form of support in the region, and many economies have boosted their support for business incubators and accelerators. Yet, there is much space for increasing the pace and effectiveness of business support services to accelerate the twin transitions in the region.

With the support of the Government of Croatia, the OECD is supporting the digital and green transition of SMEs in the Western Balkans through a series of high-level policy dialogues and capacity-building study visits.

• Gabriela Miranda, Senior Advisor, OECD South East Europe Division, gabriela.miranda@oecd.org
• Vukan Jokic, Junior Policy Analyst, OECD South East Europe Division, vukan.jokic@oecd.org