Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are very important in the productive structure of Latin America, since they generate a large number of jobs; however, they have low productivity and contribution to GDP. It is essential to increase their productivity, and in order to do so, incorporating innovation is crucial.
The above was stated by Mario Cimoli, director of the Division of Development, Productivity and Management of ECLAC, in the inauguration of the meeting Innovation and SMEs in Latin America. He also stressed that public policies for SMEs are still weak, and there is still much to be done, especially considering the challenge of driving innovation and accelerating the development of new knowledge, as well as the incorporation of new technologies, products and services that have less environmental impact. Cimoli also said that to increase productivity in Latin America, SMEs must be strongly incorporated in the countries' productive structure.
Tomás Campero, Chief of the Division of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises of the Chilean Ministry of Economy, Promotion and Tourism, Jürgen Klenk, Senior Advisor of the ECLAC-BMZ/giz programme (German Cooperation), and Florian Luetticken, Project Manager of Regional Programmes for Latin America and the Caribbean of the European Commission also participated in the opening session.
In his opening remarks, Campero was emphatic in saying that "to have growing, diversified and inclusive economies, the discussion on innovation and SMEs is crucial, since it allows moving the border of growth". He said that the way to do it is through regional integration: The countries of Latin America have the possibility of addressing this responsibility together and move towards the incorporation of SMEs into development public policies.
Furthermore, Jürgen Klenk said that in Latin America there is a double gap in productivity: An external one, concerning the technological lag of the firms compared to other regions, and an internal one, between small and large firms. In the region, the latter are 6 times more productive than the first, while in OECD countries this difference is of 2.4 times. This is why, he said, public policies that facilitate SMEs access to innovative technologies to strengthen regional economic development are required.
Finally, Florian Luetticken referred to the European Union programme Horizon 2020 as a successful practice relevant for Latin America, since it is an example of industrial policy in which a European programme funds research and innovation. Thus, today Europe has 24% of the world research budget, 32% of publications of greatest impact in that area and the same percentage of patents. In addition, he said that in order to maintain competitiveness in a globalized world, small and medium-sized countries must cooperate between them and have strong public policies.
The meeting is organized by ECLAC and the Chilean Ministry of Economy, Promotion and Tourism, with the support of the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and will analyze issues related to SMEs public policies as well as the opportunities and challenges that innovation and sustainability represents for SMEs.
