Development of Small and Medium Enterprises: B&H Compared to Other Western Balkans Countries

Experiences of many countries that were very successful in transition process like Slovenia, Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland show that special attention has been given to the development of a powerful SMEs sector in order to change the economic structure and initiate economic development. Small and medium enterprises make 99,8% of the total number of enterprises and they create 60% of the GDP and 50% of all investments in EU. SMEs were the main source for increasing employment in last ten years. The EU has a goal that it will be the most competitive region in the world before the end of 2010, and for achieving that goal it will count on the development of small and medium enterprises. If we look at SMEs and their development in that regard, in light of making the whole region of the western Balkans closer to the European Union, it is clear that SMEs in this part of Europe must develop faster and become a dominant form of income for the region. SMEs contribute significantly to decreasing unemployment, but only with the presence of a powerful government and a consistent industrial policy in which a business environment for entrepreneurships can develop. The significance of this research is in the need of selection of decisions on:essential elements of entrepreneurial environment in Western Balkans; identification of main obstacles for the development of SMEs in these countries, and analysis of institutional support to the development of SMEs and entrepreneurship in these countries.