The European Commission in a report last year criticised Central and Eastern European countries for the state of the small- and medium-size enterprise (SME) sector. "Good access to finance will be an especially big challenge for accessing countries" that will have to comply with existing EU legislation, according to the report, published in late 2003. The focus, among other areas, should be on early-stage financing and increasing equity in SME balance sheets.
SMEs make up about 45 per cent of the Czech Republic’s gross domestic product (GDP). In Western European nations, that ratio is even higher, around 60 per cent, and industry analysts expect the number here to grow. Following seven years of continuously dropping volumes of loans going to this segment, money started to pour forth last year.
