Small Entrepreneurs and the Microcredit Programme 1992-1995 [antikvár]

l.Introduction The topic of the present research paper is a special group of small (micro-) enterprises mushrooming in Hungary today, namely novice enterprises having applied for Microcredit, one of the enterprise promotion programmes of HFEP, the Hungárián Foundation for Enterprise Promotion, between 1992 and 1995. In order to place the Microcredit Programme and its applicants into a wider context, the paper analyses the experiences of other recent domestic credit and assistance schemes and those distinctive features of the Hungárián self-employed that affect, in our opinion, the efficiency of such credit or assistance programmes. We shall describe • the generál resources available to Hungárián small entrepreneurs to launch and develop the enterprise, • credit schemes and other forms of assistance potentially available to small and médium sized enterprises (SMEs) in the midnineties, • the special role of the Microcredit Programme in laun-ching and operating enterprises, • the distinctive features of micro-enterprises applying for Microcredit, • the nature of the selection mechanisms, if any, affecting the approval of Microcredit, • the composition of the beneficiaries of Microcredit by professional career, development plans, investment size, activity structure, markét relations and assets. The primary data source of the present empirical research aimed at sketching the profilé of small enterprises applying for Microcredit is the uniform data sheet prepared for each enterprise/entrepreneur on the basis of the business plan form fitted in upon presenting the credit request. This database is the main instrument and subject of our research (see Appendix). The business plan indicates the legal status, age, activity profilé, staff size and composition, markét relations and markét position of the small enterprise. The corresponding data sheet covers the nature and capital requirements of the planned investment, totál assets including real estate and movables and the nature and value of collaterals. The resulting database not only allows us to describe the status of the enterprise, but alsó to characterise the entre-preneurs themselves: in addition to the common socio-demographic variables, we queried their previous pro-fessional career in order to identify any correlation between the achievements of the enterprise and the professional career and experiences of the entrepreneur. Finally, the database includes data relating to the approved credits originating from the Credit Approval and Extension Authorisation form and alsó those experiences gained from the Microcredit managers' visits on the project premises that may be of relevance for predicting the future perspectives of the successful applicants. The data sheets in question cover both successful and rejected Microcredit applicants. Ali small entrepreneurs acting on this preferential credit option are of interest to us, because one of our objectives is to identify the credit allocation priorities of the Programme, le., what activity profilé, financial background, initial instrument and resources structure markét network and qualifications gave small entrepreneurs the best chance of being granted the credit. This is the reason why the research covers all applicants, successful and rejected ones alike. Since Microcredit applicants represent the group of starting Hungárián small enterprises in manv respects, the research will hopefully contribute to the better knowledge and understanding, and alsó the better documentation, of this segment of the enterprise sector.