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KfW SME Panel
KfW SME Panel 2020
Coronavirus pandemic has dampened expectations for 2020 – SMEs entered the crisis from a strong position
The coronavirus crisis has left a deep imprint on the SME sector. The KfW SME Panel 2020 shows that they continue to be severely impacted and their expectations for 2020 as a whole are at a historic low. The turnovers of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are set to drop more steeply than in the financial crisis of 2009. As a result, many enterprises fear further considerable pressure on employment. Equity ratios are also under stress. But SMEs broadly rest on a solid foundation, partly because of their renewed good performance in 2019. Employment, turnovers and investment rose again last year. SMEs were able to increase their profitability and build up their financial buffers once again, so they entered the crisis from a very good position. But the pathway out is likely to be long and hard and the impact will be felt for a long time.
The KfW SME Panel (KfW-Mittelstandspanel) is the first and so far only representative longitudinal data set covering all small and medium‑sized enterprises in Germany. A unique feature of the dataset is that it even allows calculations for micro enterprises with fewer than five employees. The data of the KfW SME Panel are collected via a repeat written survey of small and medium‑sized enterprises (SMEs) in Germany with an annual turnover not exceeding EUR 500 million. According to this definition, there are almost 3.6 million SMEs in Germany. The different waves of the KfW SME Panel contain between 9,000 and 15,000 observations and include information on firms' investment and innovation activities as well as firm characteristics, such as the number of employees and sales for the current and the previous year, share of skilled employees, industry and finance.
KfW Research, KfW Bankengruppe, Palmengartenstr. 5-9, 60325 Frankfurt,
