Access to finance is ranked as one of the constraints on businesses in the Western Balkans region (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia). Across the region, up to 99 percent of enterprises are small or medium-sized (SMEs). SMEs are a primary source of economic growth, innovation, and most importantly, job creation in the region. To attract funding from investors and grow their businesses successfully entrepreneurs need the necessary skills to become investment ready. However, in the Western Balkans, entrepreneurs lack investment readiness for different reasons, including lack of knowledge about the availability of external sources of finance
hesitation to surrender partial ownership and control of their business
and lack of knowledge of how to sell their ideas to potential investors. This guide is targeted at SME owners and managers of SMEs in the Western Balkans who are interested in developing their businesses and are considering whether venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) could be an option.