Policies to support the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have recently improved in Armenia, but key challenges remain and pose obstacles for the development and internationalisation of SMEs, an EU-supported report on ‘Monitoring SME policy reforms in Armenia’, produced under the EU4Business initiative, has found.
The report focuses on two relevant areas for the internationalisation of SMEs: connecting Armenian SMEs to global value chains in the agribusiness sector, and linking SMEs with multinational enterprises in the construction materials sector.
It finds that since 2014, the total value of exports of Armenian goods has been growing by roughly 15% per year, but export levels still lag behind the regional average for Eastern partner (EaP) countries. “The production and processing of higher-value products would help to diversify Armenia’s export basket and help local companies move up in global value chains,” the report recommends.
Produced by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the report is part of the ‘Supporting SME Competitiveness Reforms in the Eastern Partner countries’ programme. The programme is funded by the EU under the EU4Business initiative.
