The Impact of SMEs in The Economic Growth in Albania

Abstract

In the case of Albania, SMEs also play a very important role in the economic aspect, creating numerous employment opportunities as well as becoming a development engine for the country and its specific regions. In Albania the number of enterprises in SMEs is 99.8%, the same as in the EU. The number of employees in this group of enterprises is 79.8% in Albania from 66.6% in the EU. Value added realized by SMEs in Albania constitutes 69.1% from 56.4% in the EU (INSTAT, 2018).  This research explores the impact of SMEs in the economic growth in Albania. Most of the countries in the world are developed through SMEs business, in many aspects such as employment, export, tax, income, innovation, competitiveness (METE, 2016). Unlike large corporations which have large budgets for investment and to support research and development for the use of new technologies, SMEs face a number of difficulties such as limited access to finance, often associated with a lack of liquidity they have, the challenge of increasing competition driven by economies of scale, lack of database, low R&D costs, technological change, and capacity constraints related to knowledge, innovation, and creativity.