Strategies of the Development of Entrepreneurship and SME

of SMEs are not informed at all of the opportunities presented by the Structural Funds, andonly 1.7 per cent of the respondents answered “I am fully informed”. 45 per cent ofrespondents are informed to a low extent, and hardly 10.6 per cent – to a significant extent.3.2.5. TASKS FOR IMPROVEMENT AND FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF SME SECTORSome of the weaknesses of the small and medium – sized enterprises are the following:• Low labor productivity – twice lower compared to big enterprises• Underused information technology and e-commerce• Poor quality of marketing strategies• Lack of specialization of small-scale production; lack of unique products• SMEs are under active in the patenting of products and services• Powers and authority concentrated in top managers; underused professionalmanagement staff• Insufficient organization and collective lobbyingAs we already pointed out, access to financial is a crucial factor for SMEs start-up,current operations and growth. The money and the capital markets penetration in the area ofSMEs is very low. This is proven by the data that almost half of the Bulgarian SMEs have neverapplied so far for a loan (45 per cent of SMEs). This may be caused either by SMEs owners’fears related to inadequate financial training, or by considerations of avoiding financial risk, inparticular with sole proprietors. This results in higher level of security, but also in lower returnon equity. It is indicative of SMEs probability of success when applying for a loan is that hardly13 per cent of submitted projects are approved. According to ESTAT Agency surveys the majorreasons for the high number of rejections are: inadequate collateral, poor financial condition,lack of clarity in the project. Bank lending remains a costly and hardly accessible source formost of Bulgarian SMEs. Also, there is poor awareness of the opportunities provided byEuropean funds among SMEs and lack of capacity to develop projects and draw money from EUfunds. Therefore, it is important to extend the rank of the alternative financial sources.Bulgarian SMEs are still passive in penetrating the international market and dealing withcompetitive pressure. The reasons for this could be sought in their insufficient experience(many companies are comparatively new and are trying to establish themselves on the internalmarket first as establishment on international markets takes time), as well as their productionorientation (most companies, especially small and micro-enterprises, are engaged in trade,services and construction, which are internal market oriented), and also in low competitivenessbecause of labor, material and energy intensive production and low technological level.The business community's general opinion is that the level of knowledge and skillsacquired by students throughout the system of education, including secondary vocationalschools, fails to meet their needs. It is both necessary to introduce more business-relateddisciplines in school curricula and use modern forms and methods of teaching and to ensurethe active partnership between businesses and educational institutions in order to improve thequality of entrepreneurial education and training and create incentives for business start-up.Setting up and implementing a policy of targeted and efficient training in entrepreneurial skillsin Bulgaria represents a complex process which requires, among other things, pooling togetherthe efforts of all interested players: the state, educational institutions, the business world andstudents themselves. The clear distribution of responsibilities for each of these groups ofstakeholders, and the establishment of an effective system to ensure their motivatedinvolvement are necessary and important prerequisites for a successful policy.There is a need to enhance the public-private partnership in providing information andconsulting services to the small and medium-sized business. Organizations in support ofbusiness are not very popular and trustworthy among their members and beneficiaries; the39