Small and medium enterprises account for 41.2% of value added as Turkey strengthens integration into global supply chains
Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are deepening their integration into global value chains and strengthening supply and partnership links with multinational companies, according to a recent OECD report on Turkey’s economy.
The report, part of the OECD’s SME Policy Index 2026 covering the Western Balkans and Turkey, found that SMEs account for around 68.5% of employment and 41.2% of value added in the Turkish economy, underlining their central role in the country’s growth. The OECD noted that the competitiveness and resilience of these firms matters not only for Turkey’s own sustainable growth but for the wider region’s economic convergence with the EU.
Turkey has spent the past decade working to strengthen SME policy and bring it into closer alignment with European standards, though the report noted that accelerating green and digital transformation, alongside rising geopolitical uncertainty, has significantly changed the environment in which those policies operate.
The report also highlighted Turkey’s role as a major exporter and an important node in regional and global value chains, noting that as Turkish SMEs’ integration into these chains has deepened, the strategic and institutional infrastructure supporting supplier development and stronger links with multinational companies has strengthened correspondingly.
