ANALYSIS OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BANK LOANS AS FINANCING SOURCE OF SMEs IN KOSOVO AND NORTH MACEDONIA

SMEs financing is one of the most important factors that influence SMEs growth and development in every country. Among researchers around the world this is always an important topic which needs continual research from different approaches. Knowing the importance of SMEs on the economic development of every developed and developing country and being aware that without financing the SMEs growth and development isn’t possible it is very importance to analyze the financing sources of SMEs in both neighbor countries. Bank loans are considered as the most important external financing source for SMEs around the globe. In this paper we are going to analyze the importance of bank loans as financing sources of SMEs based on comparative analysis between Kosovo and North Macedonia. Research methodology is compound by primary and secondary data, where, primary data was collected through quantitative research conducted on 300 SMEs in the Republic of Kosovo and 300 SMEs in the Republic of North Macedonia, while, the secondary data we have collected from state institutions, EU reports, research reports, etc. The results revealed that in both countries more than 50% of SMEs use bank loans as external sources of financing. The findings suggest at the end for some future lines of research and provides recommendations for the main stakeholders of this field of study.