New Possibilities of Supporting Polish SMEs within the Jeremie Initiative Managed by BGK

Abstract

In developed countries small and medium-sized enterprises constitute a dominating group of entities, if considered by number, and are seen as the driving force of the economy. In 2011 in Poland 1,748,000 enterprises conducted business activity and out of that number 99.8% were businesses representing the SMEs sector (1,781,000). These enterprises employed over 6.3 million people out of the total labour force amounting to 9 million and annually they generate approximately 50% of GDP. Due to the role played by the SMEs sector, it is important to protect that sector in the time of the economic slowdown. For that reason in 2012 Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego (BGK), which is controlled by the Treasury, launched programmes aimed at supporting major social investments as well as some other programmes concerning collateral loan and credit programmes for SMEs. The programmes are intended to sustain employment in the sector. The objective of the paper is to present the areas of financial support for entities from the SMEs sector provided by means of the BGK budget funds.

DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013.v4n9p759