ACCESS TO FINANCE IN SME SECTOR: A FEDERATION BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINIAN PERSPECTIVEMeldina Kokorović Jukan, Emira Kozarević, Senija Nuhanović |
Published 07/05/2019 |
ABSTRACT
This paper investigates problems which small and medium size enterprises (SMEs) experience with the access to finances in Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH). The focus of the research is to analyze needs for external financing, characteristics of recently obtained financing, obstacles for obtaining financial sources as well as to help with the understanding of the future SMEs needs and the finance climate. In order to evaluate adequacy of access to finance for SMEs in FBiH, a survey based on the European Central Banks’ SAFE methodology was conducted using a sample of SMEs in the FBiH. Data were collected in 2016 on the sample of 80 SMEs. The adapted questionnaire for this survey is created in the manner to analyze the perception of SMEs in FBiH regarding availability and adequacy of financial products/services offered by banks and other financial institutions. The research is expected to provide information regarding identification of problems from SMEs perspective when seeking external financial sources and can be used as guidelines for improvement of existing institutional framework in Federation Bosnia and Herzegovina for better access to finances for SMEs.
Keywords: SMEs, access to finances, financial/banking sector, institutional framework.