ACCESS TO FINANCE AND SME GROWTH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: SURVEY-WEIGHTED EVIDENCE FROM THE 2023 WORLD BANK ENTERPRISE SURVEY

Authors

  • Tarik Kahric International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Malcolm Duerod International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Abstract

Abstract

This paper examines the relationship between access to external finance and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina, using firm-level microdata from the 2023 World Bank Enterprise Survey. Real annual sales growth over FY2019-FY2022, computed as the annualised log-difference of CPI-deflated sales, is regressed on an indicator of access to finance (holding a bank loan or line of credit) together with firm size, firm age, top-manager experience, exporter status, foreign ownership, and sector and region fixed effects, on an analytic sample of 241 SMEs by survey-weighted least squares with HC3 robust standard errors. Access to finance is positively but not significantly associated with real sales growth (b = 2.02, p = 0.521); the null result is robust to dropping the survey weights, winsorising the dependent variable, using employment growth as the outcome, replacing the binary indicator with the share of investment financed by banks, and excluding influential observations. Over a growth window dominated by the COVID-19 shock and the 2022 inflation surge, formal credit appears to have supported the resilience and continuity of Bosnian SMEs rather than measurable growth premia. The findings caution against inferring financing-growth effects from small unweighted samples and carry implications for SME credit policy in the Western Balkans.

Key words: access to finance; Bosnia and Herzegovina; firm growth; SMEs; World Bank Enterprise Survey

 

JEL Classification: D22; G21; L25; O16

Author Biography

Malcolm Duerod, International Burch University, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Malcolm Duerod was born in Oakland, California, USA and is a native speaker of English. He has more
than 10 years’ experience coaching entrepreneurs and working with founders on startup marketing and
financial models as part of the university incubator at International Burch University.
Malcolm is frequently a panelist, mentor, judge, and expert for startup competitions, conferences and
hack-a-thons. He speaks on the economy of the Western Balkans six countries as well as how small and
medium sized businesses play and important role in keeping the economy growing, innovative and
resilient. He has mentored youth and start up companies at programs organized by the U.S. Embassy in
Sarajevo, The British Embassy in Sarajevo, and advised the Swiss Embassy in their support of small
business in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is active in the NGO community supporting the women’s focus
accelerator Fondacija 787, as well as a director of U.G. Nada Mladima “Hope for Youth”.
In addition he is a graduate of Harvard Business School with a Master’s in Business Administration.
Malcolm earned his undergraduate degree, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at University
of California at Berkeley in the United States of America. Malcolm is currently the IBU MBA program
coordinator and project manager for the Erasmus funded COWEB project and was a researcher on the
SUCCESS project. Malcolm brings an international perspective with hands on experience in teaching,
general management, and strategy consulting to each project he engages.

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Published

24.08.2026

How to Cite

Kahric, T., & Duerod, M. (2026). ACCESS TO FINANCE AND SME GROWTH IN BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA: SURVEY-WEIGHTED EVIDENCE FROM THE 2023 WORLD BANK ENTERPRISE SURVEY. Ecoforum Journal, 15(3). Retrieved from https://ecoforumjournal.ro/index.php/eco/article/view/3381

Issue

Vol. 15 No. 3 (2026)

Section

Accounting, Finance, Statistics and Economic informatics

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