1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
In focus
UkraineUSAWorld Cup
Latest audioLatest videos
Live TV
An employee assembles gearbox components for a rudder propeller
Image: Oliver Berg/dpa/picture alliance

Small and medium-sized enterprises

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are key engines of economic growth, creating jobs and driving innovation. They help local communities and industries to develop and thrive.

Skip next section All Content on this topic

All Content on this topic

DW | Business | 2026 | Ingenieur aus Indien übernimmt Führung eines Traditionsbetriebs in Rheinland-Pfalz

India meets German engineering

Indian ownership gives a German firm a digital and global push.
BusinessJune 10, 202604:58 min
A laptop computer on a table, next to a coffee mug with a to-do-list that includes "show off AI skills"

Germany's Dr. Wolff cosmetics company is going all in on AI

This medium-sized, family-run business encourages its employees to embrace artificial intelligence to stay competitive.
BusinessMay 25, 2026
Spice in a market

Why India's SMEs are suffering from Hormuz Strait crisis

Many sectors in India are reliant on trade and energy supplies from flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.
ConflictsApril 16, 2026
A screenshot of Black Forest Labs' picture generator showing AI-generated pictures

German AI on the cutting edge, but commercially at a loss

The US and China are racing to develop artificial intelligence. But why isn't there a successful AI company in Germany?
BusinessFebruary 16, 2025
Valencia, Spain after the flood

Valencia: the flood and its consequences

After the devastating floods, thousands of people in Valencia want to get back to normal.
BusinessJanuary 29, 202506:10 min
A bull statue stands in front of the building of the German stock exchange in Frankfurt,

Germany's stock index DAX hits 20,000 despite economic woes

Confidence in Germany's 40 biggest firms has little to do with sentiment on the ground.
BusinessDecember 3, 2024
DW AfricaLink | Podcastcover

Can viable SMEs propel Africa’s economies?

Africa’s Small and Medium Enterprises essential, but there aren not enough of them. Eddy Micah Jr talks to experts.
BusinessNovember 20, 202426:56 min
A young female executive looking at a computer screen, a dismayed look on her face

Wanted in Germany: Heirs for family-owned businesses

As the patriarchs of family businesses retire, top positions are left vacant. The reason goes beyond a lack of interest.
BusinessOctober 11, 2024
Symbolbild KI Gesichtserkennung

What does the EU's AI Act mean for Europe's SMEs?

Companies using AI tools will eventually have to comply with the EU's AI Act. Smaller companies face legal uncertainty.
BusinessDecember 6, 2023
Südafrika Corona-Last Selbstständige

South African women hit hard by pandemic

South African women running their own businesses are seeing the progress they've made slip away.
SocietyOctober 21, 202102:04 min
German Chancellor Angela Merkel in China visiting a Webasto factory

China eyes Germany's 'hidden champions' model

Germany's 'hidden champions' are increasingly facing pressure in their home market from Chinese companies.
BusinessAugust 30, 2021
Employees at UK firm Forageplus

Small UK firms struggle with post-Brexit hurdles

For Britain's SMEs, trading with European nations used to be easy. That's no longer the case.
BusinessJune 2, 2021
Car plant in Russia

Corporate debt hinders Russia's growth

The economic crisis has swamped the small business community with debt, but worse is on its way.
BusinessJanuary 22, 2021
An archive picter of former East German communist leader Walter Ulbricht lecturing a group of business owners on the benefits of state ownership.

Eastern Germany's family businesses defy adversity

Thousands of family businesses were expropriated in the GDR. The way back was difficult, but often successful.
BusinessOctober 2, 2020
external

Dr. Wolff Group finds fortune in crisis

Cosmetics maker Dr. Wolff Group has shifted production to disinfectants to keep its staff employed.
BusinessAugust 5, 202002:38 min
Nicola Leibinger-Kammüller of Trumpf

German family-owned businesses still male-dominated

Gender equality and diversity are weak spots in the dynastic business culture of Germany’s family-owned businesses.
BusinessJune 10, 2020
An open-topped Land Rover with tourists in the Serengeti National Park

Africa's tourism industry in ruins

Africa's tourism industry has been hard hit by coronavirus lockdowns. DW meets operators struggling to stay afloat.
BusinessMay 13, 2020
Knauf employee in Moscow

German family firms love Russia

Family businesses in Germany love to be active in Russia, a new study finds.
BusinessJanuary 7, 2020
external

German firms face skilled workers shortage

In rural areas of Germany it's becoming more difficult to fill job vacancies due to a shortage of skilled workers.
BusinessAugust 30, 201902:36 min
external

UK SMEs weigh relocating options amid Brexit

Frustrated with Brexit negotiations, a third of small and mid-sized British businesses are considering relocation.
BusinessFebruary 19, 201902:39 min
Screenshot Made in Germany Sendung 12.02.2019

Greece: Edging back from the brink

The Greek economy has tanked over the past decade. Some companies have weathered the crisis.
BusinessFebruary 12, 201904:27 min
Laptop showing binary code

German firms warned about industrial espionage

A new study has found that a third of small and medium-sized companies have been the victim of industrial espionage.
PoliticsDecember 6, 2018
Ger-money's Kate Ferguson

Small businesses fuel Germany's economy

Small companies specializing in life's most essential items are the backbone of the German economy.
BusinessNovember 30, 2018
external

German SMEs to continue trade with Iran

The head of the German-Iranian Chamber of Commerce says smaller German firms will keep business ties with Iran intact.
BusinessNovember 5, 201802:59 min
People walking with shopping bags

Looking for a small-business successor

By 2020, up to a quarter of Germany's small and medium-sized businesses may close — unless someone younger takes over.
SocietyOctober 13, 201806:13 min
Estland Talinn - "Ideas from Europe" Danish startup Too Good to Go (European Commission)

EU initiative highlights European startups

The 'Ideas from Europe' startup competition is the EU’s latest effort to promote entrepreneurship on the continent.
BusinessNovember 29, 20177 images
German researcher

Germany: more money for innovation

Germany's economics minister wants to make life easier for innovative companies across Europe's powerhouse.
BusinessApril 18, 2017
Logo "Made in Germany"

Made in Germany - Made in Germany

Protectionists are also gaining support in Europe. Exporting companies are alarmed.
BusinessJanuary 25, 201725:59 min
DW - Made in Germany

Trump – a concern for German firms

German companies are concerned about protectionist statements made by the new US president.
BusinessJanuary 25, 201704:59 min
EIB President Werner Hoyer

Record financing for SMEs in Europe

The EIB Group has taken stock of its 2016 activities.
BusinessJanuary 24, 2017
external

German renewables reform has SMEs worried

After years of generous government sponsorship, German on-shore wind parks face regulatory hurdles.
June 10, 201602:51 min
Sardex credit club founders, at their headquarters in Serra manna

Sardex a model B2B credit club

Sardex is a successful local B2B credit club on the island of Sardinia.
June 3, 2016
DAX Index Börse in Frankfurt

German SMEs balance profits and tradition

The Institute for Ecological Economy Research says many firms are jumping on the no-growth bandwagon.
BusinessMay 13, 201602:55 min
Symbolbild Flüchtlinge als Fachkräfte

Refugees in German companies

German firms want to hire more refugees, but missing qualifications or insufficient language skills remain a challenge.
March 9, 2016
Belgien Greenpeace Protest gegen TTIP in Brüssel

Small business owners oppose TTIP

Many small and mid-size companies in Germany are hoping EU-US free trade negotiations will fail.
February 22, 2016

German SMEs join forces to resist TTIP

Several thousand small and midsized companies in Germany are resisting the proposed EU-US free trade agreement, TTIP.
February 22, 201602:47 min
Deutschland TTIP Leseraum für Abgeordnete

TTIP reading room

After a long struggle, TTIP documents have been made available in a high-security reading room with strict rules.
January 29, 2016
Refugee now working in Germany

Germany companies willing to hire refugees

85 percent of small and medium sized enterprises would happily hire a refugee, a survey says.
January 26, 2016
A Chinese national flag and a company flag fly in front the logo of China National Chemical Corporation (ChemChina)

Chinese billions for German businesses

China's economy is hurting. But that hasn’t stopped big, state-owned companies from going on shopping sprees in Europe.
January 13, 2016
Car mechanic at work

SMEs make a comeback

The EU executive has released a new report on the state of the bloc's SMEs.
November 19, 2015
South Korean models posing beside Germany's Volkswagen Touareg luxury sport utility vehicle unveiled at the Seoul Hilton Hotel (Photo: JUNG YEON-JE/AFP/Getty Images)

A look at German-Korean economic ties

Barbara Zollmann, director of the German Chamber of Commerce in South Korea, speaks to DW about bilateral trade ties.
October 9, 2015
Deutschland Mittelstand F. Dick GmbH & Co. KG

Risks to the Mittelstand

German industry and government leaders are worried about risks to the country's crucial medium-sized enterprises.
July 23, 2015
Deutschland Mittelstand F. Dick GmbH & Co. KG

'Mittelstand' in innovation crisis

Survey says innovation in Germany's 'Mittelstand' continues to suffer.
February 25, 2015
An Indian woman works at the India Europe Al company

German-Indian trade ties

Bochum’s India Europe Al brings together German and Indian companies working in the metal sector.
August 13, 2014
Symbolbild - Girokonto

UK bank probe

Britain's competition watchdog is to launch a probe into some business practices by the four big retail banks. Lending to small and medium-sized firms and current accounts is not working well for customers, it says.
July 18, 2014
Germany's mid-sized F. Dick company

German SMEs upbeat

Germany's mid-sized firms are quite happy about their business prospects, but there's a flaw.
May 14, 2014
Solaranlage auf Hütte in einem Dorf / Senegal

German bank looks abroad

Germany's KfW bank increasingly gives aid to emerging nations as help for domestic business shrinks.
BusinessFebruary 13, 201401:12 min
external

EU eases SME access to public funds

Belgian SME Inverto lives off innovation and research. But without advance funding none of its ideas would get off the ground. With commercial credit scarce the EU is making SME access to public funding much easier.
January 16, 201401:23 min
external

Small German companies making big machine tools for China

Germany's small and mid-sized companies are said to make up the backbone of the German economy. Union Chemnitz in eastern Germany is a prime example. The company make machines that help their clients make just about anything. 60 percent of Union Chemnitz's sales go to China.
BusinessApril 26, 201302:33 min
Handcuffs lying on euro banknotes © S-Christina #26609805

Underestimated security risks

Small and medium-sized companies in Germany have been found to be rather negligent when it comes to providing efficient structures against economic crime. They often look for fraud in the wrong place.
November 27, 2012