Publication: Helping Western Balkan SMEs Expand Exports Through Online Training and Consulting
Date
2022-12-01
ISSN
Published
2022-12-01
Author(s)
Abstract
One of the key challenges facing
innovative small and medium enterprises is customer
acquisition. This is especially a constraint in less
populated countries like those in the Western Balkans, where
domestic demand can be limited for specialized services and
products. Exporting to larger and richer countries provides
a potential solution, but expanding into foreign markets
involves considerable search frictions, and small firms may
lack the skills and confidence to market to foreign buyers.
The authors test the effectiveness of a capacity building
program that aimed to help firms bounce back from the
COVID-19 pandemic and help them expand their markets and
export more. The results show that capacity building can
help provide the skills and confidence for innovative SMEs
to better reach and sell to foreign buyers. They also
provide some of the first evidence on offering training
virtually to firms in multiple countries at once, which
offers promise for the scalability of such efforts.
Citation
“Cusolito, Ana Paula; Darova, Ornella; Mckenzie, David J.. 2022. Helping Western Balkan SMEs Expand Exports Through Online Training and Consulting. © Washington, DC: World Bank. http://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/38406 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”