Abstract
This study aims to compare the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) of Taiwan and Colombia, and find the advantages that Taiwanese SMEs may have over Colombian SMEs. Since SMEs are a broad topic, I have limited the comparisons to policies that support SMEs, incubator support for SMEs, financial schemes for SMEs, participation in the export market and research and development (R&D) investment. This study shows how good policies for SMEs enable them to grow while helping in the creation of employment, how financial schemes enable SMEs to gain better access to sources of finance and how the allocation of those resources can affect their growth. I also review why the support offered by the incubators to the SMEs is important, what the impact of R&D is, and what effects exports have on SMEs’ success.The study begins with the definition of SMEs in general, showing the importance of the incubators, the financial resources and the R&D investment, in order to give a better understanding of the sector.Chapter 3 of this study is about Taiwan and Colombia, including their business environment, how these two countries define SMEs, and the current policies, programs and structures that give support to the SMEs.The topics analyzed for SMEs are very broad subjects; for this reason, this study attempts to present an overview of the current situations in both countries. A comparison of the results is also included at the end of the chapter.The next chapter is about the advantages of Taiwan’s SMEs over Colombia’s and vice versa, as well as some recommendations for Colombia on how to reach the level of success that Taiwan has enjoyed over the past years and still maintains at the moment. The last chapter, Chapter 5, concludes the study with the lessons learned from Taiwan. Future direction of research and references are also included.