The benefits of digitalisation for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are multiple, allowing them to boost competitiveness, expand market access and improve customer relations. The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) considers it necessary to support the digital transformation of SMEs with measures adapted to the specific needs of different types of companies.
The information report Digitalisation and SMEs in the Mediterranean region adopted by the EESC sets out to analyse the current state of play of digitalisation in northern, southern and eastern Mediterranean countries and highlight specific challenges. One of the main conclusions of the report is the need to establish a “broad policy agenda aimed at strengthening the decisive role of SMEs in the socioeconomic development of the Euro-Mediterranean countries and, most importantly, in the fight against unemployment”.
According to María Helena De Felipe Lehtonen, rapporteur of the report, SMEs’ digitalisation in the EuroMed region is of the utmost importance if they are to increase their competitiveness in the global market
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The availability of digital infrastructure does not automatically lead to the adoption of digital business models and technologies. According to the 2019 Digital Economy and Society Index (DESI) of the European Commission, more than 50% of firms in Mediterranean EU Member States such as Greece, Spain, Italy or France have very low levels of digital intensity, compared to less than 20% in leading countries such as Finland, Denmark or the Netherlands. Continue reading “Digitalisation is a key challenge for SMEs”