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Capital can pay for equipment, inventory, technology or hiring, but it does not by itself make a business ready to grow. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are more likely to use financing well when they also have the management, workforce and digital capabilities to plan the investment and operate what it funds. The right financing matters too: its cost, repayment terms and timing need to fit the business’s stage and cash flow.
That combination—not a loan or training course in isolation—is the useful way to think about MSME growth. The evidence below spans multiple countries and does not identify one financing option or skill set that works for every firm.
Why growth depends on both capability and finance
A growing firm needs more than money in its account. It must identify an investment that can serve customers, estimate the costs and returns, carry it out, and manage the resulting obligations. A financing gap can prevent a sound plan from moving forward; limited management or workforce capability can make it harder to turn funds into stronger operations.
The International Labour Organization describes MSMEs as central to decent work, economic growth and social justice. Its work with the OECD identifies management and workforce skills, business digitalisation, formalisation and social protection among the factors relevant to productivity. Which constraints matter most depends on the firm’s sector and local conditions.
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This is not a claim that skills training guarantees growth, or that access to credit automatically creates jobs. It is a reminder to diagnose what is limiting the business before choosing a response. The ILO/OECD report discusses the productivity ecosystem; the ILO’s MSME overview provides broader context.
Which skills can help an MSME grow?
Useful capabilities depend on the business’s plans and bottlenecks. A firm expanding production may need stronger operating procedures and workforce skills; a business adopting online sales may need digital and data skills. Financial knowledge matters as well: OECD identifies insufficient financial skills and knowledge as a continuing challenge for SMEs seeking financing.
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- Management: setting priorities, planning investment, tracking costs and cash flow, and making decisions using reliable business information.
- Workforce capability: having the technical and practical skills needed to deliver products or services consistently as activity expands.
- Digitalisation: using suitable digital tools in business processes, customer relationships or sales, rather than investing in technology without a clear operating purpose.
- Financial capability: understanding the amount needed, the total cost and obligations of financing, and whether expected cash flow can support repayment.
These are areas to assess, not a universal training checklist. If the binding constraint is unreliable demand, for example, a new system or course may not resolve it. The firm should connect each capability investment to a defined operational need.
What the latest cross-country finance data show
The OECD’s Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026, published on 31 March 2026, provides official SME financing data for 48 countries. Its indicators cover 2007–2024, with the latest available data for 2025; the figures below are specifically 2024 results, not observations for every country in 2026.
- Median new SME lending increased 5.7% in 2024, but remained 4% below its 2022 level.
- SME loans as a share of GDP fell in 25 of 41 countries reporting that measure.
- Median factoring activity fell 3% in 2024, while leasing increased 1.6%.
- Long-term lending edged down, and the equity rebound was uneven.
These are scoreboard medians and cross-country counts, not a forecast for an individual firm or a description of every national market. The broader OECD SME financing overview notes that firms need financing suited to their life cycle and identifies bank reliance, information asymmetries, high transaction costs and limited financial knowledge as continuing challenges. OECD also discusses financing, business conditions and growth.
How to think about the main financing options
There is no universally best instrument. Compare the purpose and business stage against the full terms, eligibility rules and local availability. A lender’s offer or a country’s regulation can change the practical choice, so verify details in the firm’s jurisdiction before committing.
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| Option | Potential fit to examine | Key trade-offs to check |
|---|---|---|
| Bank loan | Planned investment or working capital when the firm can make scheduled repayments. | Total cost, repayment schedule, collateral, eligibility, application burden and fit with cash-flow timing. |
| Factoring | Managing cash tied up in invoices, where a suitable factoring service is available. | Fees, invoice and customer requirements, recourse or other risk allocation, and whether the advance arrives when needed. |
| Leasing | Accessing equipment or other eligible assets without paying the full purchase cost upfront. | Lease cost and term, ownership or end-of-term terms, asset suitability, and recurring payment capacity. |
| Equity | Funding a growth plan where an investor and business are suited to sharing ownership and future returns. | Ownership dilution, governance and control, investor expectations, time to secure funding and local availability. |
| Other non-bank finance | A possible alternative when a regulated, locally available product matches the need. | Provider status, total cost, repayment or other obligations, consumer or business protections, and eligibility. |
The table describes questions to investigate, not guaranteed eligibility or a recommendation. OECD reports that these forms of finance have different recent trajectories; its 2024 scoreboard medians show why a firm should not assume every option is expanding everywhere.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to decide what the business needs first
- Name the constraint. Is growth held back by insufficient working capital, equipment, workforce capability, management systems, digital tools, demand or another operating condition?
- Specify the use. Write down what the money or training will pay for and what business process or capacity it is meant to improve.
- Check readiness. Review whether the firm can plan the investment, track results and manage any new operational or repayment obligations.
- Test cash-flow fit. For debt, compare the payment schedule with realistic expected cash flow, including weaker periods—not just projected sales.
- Compare local terms. Check cost, collateral, eligibility, timing, transaction burden, risk allocation and regulation across options available in the firm’s country.
- Set a way to assess progress. Choose a practical measure tied to the intended result, such as delivery capacity, operating cost or sales channel performance, and review it after implementation.
If capability is the immediate obstacle, targeted training or process improvements may need to come before, or alongside, new financing. If an investment is viable but the firm lacks funds, suitable finance may be the missing piece. The order should follow the actual constraint rather than an assumption that every business needs a loan first.
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What the employment evidence can—and cannot—say
A 2016 World Bank blog summarising firm-level research reported that firms with loans had 1–3 percentage points higher employment growth overall across two databases. For MSMEs, the reported difference was 1–4 percentage points. The study also examined credit-bureau introductions as a source of variation in credit supply. These are study estimates, not a promise that a loan will create jobs at a particular business or a universal causal effect of borrowing.
The World Bank Group’s Jobs FAQ says an estimated 70% of MSMEs in developing economies lack access to financing. The page does not make the estimate’s base year clear, so it should be read as a broad attributed estimate, not a current measurement for every country or firm.
For the firm making a decision, the central test remains specific: identify the constraint, match finance and capability investments to a credible plan, and ensure the resulting obligations fit the business’s circumstances.
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