Know-how transfer of public support programs for small and medium-sized enterprises from Slovenia to the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Authors
Jaka Vadnjal
Keywords:
Support for small and medium-sized enterprises, Policy measures, Government, Transition economy, Market failure, Counselling, Consultants, local enterprise centre, Small and medium-sized businesses, Performance, Voucher system, Satisfaction level, M13
Abstract
The need for external business support for small and medium enterprises has
been an issue for many governments around the world. Government agencies have
developed several initiatives and the scheme presented in this paper is targeted
at support in the form of counselling, combined with provision of information
and training to small and medium-sized enterprises. The program was started
in Slovenia in 2000 and in 2006 the know-how for the system was transferred to
the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. After the pilot phase, the need for
its assessment evolved. An opportunity also for the transfer of methodology for
its evaluation came clear. Thus, the same approach was used in both countries,
which enabled an excellent benchmarking opportunity for further development
of the scheme in the two countries. This paper presents the fundamental concept
of the voucher system. The assumptions for an effective system are analyzed and
comments from evaluations are discussed. The potential for further development
of the system in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is discussed.