Cyprus records mixed performance in the small and medium-sized enterprises sector (SMEs) , according to a study published by the European Commission through DG GROW, with scientific support from the Joint Research Centre (JRC).
The study assesses SME performance across ten key policy dimensions, including entrepreneurship, “second chance”, the “think small first” principle and responsive administration, state aid and public procurement, access to finance, the single market, skills and innovation, the environment, internationalisation, and digitalisation.
According to the data, Cyprus records 48% in entrepreneurship and 50% in the “second chance” category. In the area of “think small first” and responsive administration, the score stands at 31%, while state aid and public procurement reach 47%.
Access to finance is recorded at 67% and the single market at 68%. Skills and innovation stand at 55%, the environment at 44%, internationalisation at 44%, and digitalisation at 40%.
Compared with the European Union average, Cyprus performs above average in entrepreneurship. Below-average results are recorded in “second chance”, responsive administration, state aid and public procurement, access to finance, and the environment.
Performance close to the EU average is observed in the single market, skills and innovation, internationalisation, and digitalisation.
According to the analysis, SMEs performance across the European Union is characterised by a multi-dimensional structure, with significant variation across policy areas.
The report notes that the first principal component of the statistical analysis explains around 36% of the total variance, indicating that it is not feasible to compress the results into a single composite indicator.
(Source: CNA)
