First Regional Policy Dialogue

The first Regional Policy Dialogue will address the issue of “Deploying and Financing Digital Technologies for SME Twin Transitions in the Western Balkans”. The aim of the event is to provide a platform to discuss digital technologies as mechanisms to improve energy efficiency and to reduce the energy consumption of SMEs, therefore advancing both the digital and green transitions. The event will provide a space to exchange and understand the areas of application of digital technologies among SMEs in the Western Balkans, and to identify priorities to facilitate the adoption of these technologies.

The OECD will share key policy considerations and good practices to foster the adoption of green-relevant digital technologies by SMEs, including measures to enhance access to green finance. 

This event is organised in the context of the Digital and Green SMEs project, financed by Croatia.

Western Balkans economies have been increasingly supporting SMEs in adopting digital technologies, developing e-commerce and e-business, and engaging in digital innovation, motivated namely by the ambition to engage in the digital transformation. In addition, several of the region’s economies have experienced robust growth in the ICT sector, with exports of ICT services increasing from 8.2% of total service exports in 2018 to 13% in 2022. These improvements are reflected in an increased regional score on Western Balkan Competitiveness Outlook’s Digital business indicator, rising from 2 in 2021 to 2.62 in 2024. Despite these positive trends, Western Balkan economies should further encourage SMEs to adopt more advanced digital solutions and invest in initiatives to foster technological innovations to unleash the region’s digital potential while enabling the conditions for a circular economy to emerge. 

Digital technologies can help reduce GHG emissions caused by SMEs by promoting energy efficiency and facilitating the adoption of renewables. In addition to energy efficiency, digital technologies also offer opportunities to help SMEs to move to circular-economy business models (i.e., resource efficiency) and to facilitate their adoption of renewable energy microgeneration.

The event will a) shed light on the digital technologies availability and relevance for SMEs’ twin transitions and b) improve the understanding of accessing and efficiently use green financing in the Western Balkan economies for new digital technologies.

Gabriela Miranda, Senior Advisor, OECD South East Europe Division, gabriela.miranda@oecd.org

Vukan Jokic, Junior Policy Analyst, OECD South East Erurope Division, vukan.jokic@oecd.org