Financing and Growth of Small and Medium Enterprises in Québec 2011

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) play an important role in creating jobs and stimulating the economic growth of territories. They are usually associated with innovation, production flexibility and the vitality of industrial sectors and regions. However, to fully take on this role, SMEs need to have access to sufficient financing.

This survey report consists of two parts and features the results of the 2011 Survey. The first part is comprised of six chapters on the external financing requests of SMEs in Québec in 2011. It includes an overview of each external financing request by type of financing, the debt financing request rate in relation with conditions under which the request was made, the request and approval rate of lease financing, the request and approval rate of government financing, and the financial sources used in the creation or purchase of the SME. The second part consists of three chapters on the growth prospects of SMEs between 2009 and 2014, internal and external obstacles to their growth, and finally, their geographic markets.

Note: The data presented in the tables below cannot be directly compared to those presented in the tables for 2007. Comparisons can only be made after adjusting the respective fields used in the 2007 and 2011 surveys, which was done in the tables found under SME financing between 2007 and 2011.