KfW SME Innovation Report 2020

Coronavirus crisis is slowing down innovation among SMEs

The coronavirus pandemic has left its mark on SMEs’ innovation activity. After a brief surge at the beginning of the pandemic, small and medium-sized enterprises further reduced their innovation activities. The key findings are:

• Three in ten SMEs reduced their innovation in 2020
• Financing difficulties and skills shortages are the main barriers
• The share of innovators in the SME sector rose in 2019 as a result of new OECD definitions

KfW SME Innovation Report 2020(PDF, 1 MB, non-accessible)

Press release