OECD SME Financing Scoreboard 2026 – Key Takeaways

On 31^st May the OECD SME Financing Scoreboard 2026  was released. This report was produced by the OECD Centre for Entrepreneurship, SMEs, Regions and Cities (CFE), as part of the programme of work of the Committee on SMEs and Entrepreneurship.

An OECD Scoreboard offers valuable international evidence to help governments and financial institutions monitor access to finance, financing conditions and policies for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs. The 2026 Scoreboard provides official data on SME financing for 48 countries across the OECD and beyond. It covers indicators on debt, equity, asset-based finance and financing framework conditions from 2007-2024, complemented by the latest available data for 2025. It also provides recent information on public policies and private initiatives to support SME finance, along with evidence on the demand for finance.

What come out is that borrowing costs remain historically high (34/39 countries above pre-pandemic levels), and lending conditions have tightened. New lending shows tentative recovery (+5.7% in 2024), but it’s still 4% below 2022 levels, and long-term loans are declining.

Alternative financing (factoring, leasing) stays subdued, while venture capital is recovering but concentrated mainly in AI. Fintech and non-bank lenders are increasingly filling the gap.

Governments are investing in digital infrastructure for asset-based finance and scaling up public VC schemes, targeting green-tech, deep-tech, and women-owned businesses.

The outlook calls for stronger support for long-term SME investment, diversified financing instruments, and responsible AI-driven finance tools.

Read the report here: OECD (2026), Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs 2026: An OECD Scoreboard, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/075d8058-en