About
The MED MSMEs Programme
The MED MSMEs Programme (2018-2023) is funded by the European Union and aims to convene stakeholders and support dialogue at regional level to inspire policies and regulatory reforms for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), in particular on the internationalisation and access to finance dimensions.
The Programme in a nutshell
In line with the elaboration of policies for inclusive growth in the EU Southern Neighbourhood, the European Union-funded MED MSMEs Programme builds on a national participatory approach, international best practices and regional initiatives to foster the formulation and implementation of integrated policies and instruments supporting the development of MSMEs.
What we do
The EU-funded MED MSMEs programme is seeking to place MSMEs at the centre of sustainable growth in Europe’s Southern Neighbourhood region.
The Programme contributes to improve the MSMEs business environment thanks to knowledge-based South-South and South-North dialogue and the elaboration of policy responses that are more adapted to the needs of MSMEs and their support ecosystems.
The MED MSMEs Programme is implemented with partner countries, namely Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine* , Syria** and Tunisia, in close collaboration with the network of national Small Business Act (SBA) Coordinators who are country focal points. The SBA Coordinators and members of the working groups form a community of practice which constitutes a regional platform supported by the Programme.
How we do it
The selection of activities and their implementation is driven by a set of 6 principles:
1. Mobilize the expertise and disseminate the know-how required to elaborate policies that translate into impact (“From policies to impact”).
2. Prioritize activities that can leverage the benefit of a regional approach to enhance impact at national level by capitalizing on existing initiatives and programmes.
3. Combine top-down and bottom-up approaches by capitalizing on national working groups.
4. Build the capacity of the SBA coordinators to facilitate the articulation of the regional and national levels and coordinate stakeholders at national level.
5. Articulate cross-cutting and vertical dimensions in close coordination with other regional and bilateral programmes.
6. Develop knowledge prior to organizing dialogue to ensure that events bring in value added to the participants.
The programme will mainstream gender into all activities.
* This designation shall not be construed as recognition of a State of Palestine and is without prejudice to the individual positions of the Member States on this issue.
** Cooperation with Syria is temporarily suspended until further notice from the European Commission.