Analyzes the lack of funding for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and recommends measures to foster an improved flow of financing.

The lack of funding available from the financial sector for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is known as the financing gap. This report analyzes this gap for both credit and equity financing and seeks to determine how prevalent such a gap may be, both among OECD countries and non-OECD economies, and recommends measures to foster an improved flow of financing to SMEs and entrepreneurs. A significant number of entrepreneurs and SMEs could use funds productively if they were available, but are often denied access to financing. This impedes their creation and growth. The "financing gap" was the subject of the OECD Global Conference on "Better Financing for Entrepreneurship and SME Growth", held in Brasilia, Brazil in March 2006. Vol. 2 presents a synthesis of the Conference discussions on the credit and equity financing gaps, as well as on private equity definitions and measurements. It also offers a selection of papers given by some of the key stakeholders (SMEs, government and financial institutions) confronting these issues.--Publisher's description.

A synthesis of the Conference discussions as well as selected papers on the credit and equity financing gaps, as well as on private equity definitions and measurements.

A synthesis of the Conference discussions as well as selected papers on the credit and equity financing gaps, as well as on private equity definitions and measurements.

"This book, titled SME Finance: Constraints and an Information Asymmetric Perspective, studies the gap between bank financing and the small and medium sized enterprises (SME) sector, based on the economic theories of information asymmetry and agency theory. Access to finance continues to remain one of the key constraints faced by SMEs to start and expand businesses, particularly in the developing economies where access to bank loans is subject to the availability of collateral. The SME financing gap, studied from the perspectives of both the key actors - banks and SMEs - is well presented in this book. The authors have used Sequential Explanatory Design, a mixed methodology, to collect data from SMEs and banks. The econometric model of the study represented SMEs' debt accessibility as a function of independent variables of loan repayment capacity, financial information, characteristics of the firm and owner and bank loan characteristics. The book provides empirical evidence that SME financing constraints are caused by factors arising from SMEs as well as the banks, primarily SMEs' high information opacity and banks' imposition of collateral to offset the credit risk. In the estimation of the econometric model, the size of collateral and owner's equity were among the most significant predictor variables. Likewise, the thematic analysis of interview data of credit officers to understand the banks' lending behavior evidenced a strong positive relationship between the size of the collateral and owner's equity and access to bank loans. SMEs' high information opacity and credit risk induced adverse selection and credit rationing on the part of finance providers. The findings of this book contribute towards academic literature on developing economies characterized by limited data available for academic and empirical research. This book provides a unique example of rigorous research on SME finance within an information economics framework. The theoretical issues are nicely balanced by the practical application of information economics to an emerging market. It can be used as a reference by researchers, academics, practitioners and policy makers in the areas of development finance, banking, development economics, microfinance and rural development. In addition, it can be used as an academic reference for a finance subject at the Master's or Doctoral level. The book is relevant to key stakeholders in understanding the debt inaccessibility from SMEs and the banks in drafting policies and measures to address the SME financing gap"--

Drawing upon current cutting-edge theories, knowledge and research findings, this Handbook provides an analysis of the interaction between small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), entrepreneurs and financial institutions globally. The contributors consider regional and international perspectives within and between Europe, North America, New Zealand, the Middle East, as well as South, Central and East Asia on a chapter-by-chapter basis. In so doing, they provide a contextualized, up-to-date snapshot of research into entrepreneurial finance across the world.

The Scoreboard presents data for a number of debt, equity and financing framework condition indicators for financing SMEs and entrepreneurs.