Small businesses create 50% of jobs in G20, but only receive 6% of investment: report

Small- to medium-sized businesses across the G20 create 50 per cent of jobs but receive just six per cent of investment, according to new report.

Financial services firm Ernst & Young’s recently released report, Funding the Future, found small- to medium-sized enterprises (SME) see investments of US$714 billion, six per cent of the total US$11.507 trillion for all forms of investment.

According to Ernst & Young, bank lending is still difficult to obtain—particularly in the early stages of growth—despite intervention by a number of governments throughout the G20. “Access to funding continues to be one of the most significant challenges for the creation, growth and survival of SMEs, particularly innovative ones,” said Colleen McMorrow, Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneurial Services Leader in Canada. “In our survey of more than 1,000 entrepreneurs across the G20, almost two-thirds found access to finance difficult in their country.”

Without the ability to secure funding, entrepreneurial companies will be unable to reach their growth potential and may not survive at all, the report noted. “One of the crucial requirements for an environment in which entrepreneurship can flourish is a financial system that supports entrepreneurs by expanding both traditional and innovative forms of lending.”

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