The 27th Session of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (COMCEC), which was held in Istanbul in October 2011, decided on “Enhancing the Competitiveness of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises in the OIC Member States” as the theme for the Exchange of Views at its 28th Session, which will be held in October 2012, and requested the Statistical, Economic and Social Research and Training Centre for Islamic Countries (SESRIC), in collaboration with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and relevant OIC institutions, to organize a workshop on this theme and submit its report to the next COMCEC session.

In accordance with this decision, SESRIC organized, in collaboration with the IDB, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Organization of the Republic of Turkey (KOSGEB) and SME Corporation Malaysia (SME Corp Malaysia), a workshop on this topic in Ankara, Republic of Turkey, on 12-14 June 2012.

The workshop focused on the following four sub-themes related to SMEs in OIC countries: (1) Access to Markets; (2) Access to finance; (3) Access to Technology and Innovation; and (4) Country Practices and Experiences. The workshop aimed at making a set of policy recommendations for enhancing the competitiveness of SMEs in the member countries as well as proposing certain modalities for cooperation among the member countries in this important area.

Documents

• Final Report and Recommendations (English) (Arabic) (French)
• Draft Agenda (English) (Arabic) (French)
• Draft Work Programme (English) (Arabic) (French)
• General Information (English) (Arabic) (French)
• Organization and Logistics Information (English) (Arabic) (French)
• Registration Form (English) (Arabic) (French)

Presentations

Session I: Access to Markets

• Issues and Challenges in Exporting – OECD (English)
• Survey Results on the SME perception of effectiveness of government policy, Turkey - OECD (English)
• Leveraging on E-Commerce in Promoting Access to Market – SME Corp. Malaysia (English)
• Economic Integration and Export Behavior of SMEs - SESRIC (English)

Session II: Access to Technology and Innovation

• Some Innovative Alternatives for SMEs in Light of RIO +20 - UNDP (Turkish)
• Discussing innovation in Turkey: Key issues for the next five years - TEPAV (English)
• Overview of Business Incubators – KOSGEB, Turkey (English)

Session III: Access to Finance I

• Private sector alternatives to SME financing in a growing economy: The case of Turkey - TEPAV (English)
• Challenges and obstacles in access to financing – SME Corp. Malaysia (English)
• Halkbank & SMEs Finance – Halkbank (English)
• Micro Financing: Peoples Entrepreneurs Credit (KUR) of Small and Medium Enterprises in Indonesia - Indonesia (English)

Session IV: Access to Finance II

• Financial Support Programs – KOSGEB, Turkey (English)
• Enhancing the Competitiveness of SMEs – ICD (English)
• Trade financing: Challenges and practices and default models - Syracuse University (English)
• Experiences of Albaraka Turk in the Field of SME Banking - Albaraka (English)

Session V: Country Practices and SME Experiences

• KOSGEB Entrepreneurship Supports – KOSGEB, Turkey (English)
• Best Practices on Developing SMEs: Malaysia’s Experience - Malaysia (English)
• Small and Medium Industry Development Policy - Indonesia (English)