Mediterranean SMEs as the basis of a sustainable partnership between Mediterranean countries

Gassan ANBAR

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Executive Summary: Historically and economically, the Mediterranean region must strengthen its links to contemporary challenges. Mediterranean SMEs are rooted locally and resilient, play a key role in the local economy, job creation, innovation, and could become the pillars of an economic and human bridge, fostering shared, inclusive and sustainable growth, but French SMEs face competitiveness challenges (labour costs, tax burden, administrative burden and regulatory instability). It is recommended to build on local partnerships in the South and East of the Mediterranean, invest in innovation and develop economic complementarities, as these SMEs have many advantages and opportunities in various sectors: infrastructure, energy, water, food, education and industry. Current barriers include regulatory barriers, lack of cross-border financing, and the difficulty of networking. To overcome these obstacles, the author proposes, among other things, the creation of a platform dedicated to SMEs, the strengthening of financing programmes, the encouragement of new guarantees, the promotion of exchanges between young entrepreneurs, the simplification of export procedures and the creation of an SME Mediterranean label.

Keywords: SMEs, Mediterranean, Geoeconomics, Sustainable development, France, Label « SMEs
Mediterranean”, Entrepreneurship, Local Partnerships, Financing.