ABSTRACT
This study examines Turkey’s recently revived credit guarantee fund (KGF) mechanism from a comparative historical perspective and identifies the structural features of the Turkish economy that complicate access to finance for small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs). In the past, the banking-based financial system in Turkey, state banks, and the public sector had been unable to resolve the problem of SMEs’ access to finance. Consequently, the public authorities revived the KGF in early 2017. The KGF was established in 1993 but stayed idle until recently. Despite these efforts, structural impediments to easing SMEs’ access to finance persist in the economy. This chapter identifies the chronic current account deficit, high inflation, large size of the informal economy, and the bank-based financial system as the major structural obstacles to easing SMEs’ access to finance. Moreover, the global financial crisis exacerbated the problem for Turkish SMEs. This chapter posits that for Turkey to resolve the financing problem of SMEs, it is necessary to identify clearly the sustainability of the recently revived KGF and its impact on public and private debt. In addition, the KGF mechanism needs to prioritize SME financing in value-added tradeable goods so that it can contribute to long-term, sustainable economic growth in Turkey.
