The Achievement of Kobigel (Sme Development Support Program) Supports: Example of Erzurum Province

Abstract

Purpose – With this study, it is aimed to determine the interest and need of the SMEs in Erzurum province, which is located in the TRA1 Region, and the degree of reaching the purpose of these supports. Design/methodology/approach – The method of data collection in the research is questionnaire. The universe of the research is the SMEs in Erzurum, which Kosgeb started under the SME project title between 2016-2019 and benefited from the Kobigel - SME Development Support Program in 2019 and operate in the manufacturing sector. In this context, a face-to-face survey was conducted with 45 companies benefiting from the support program. The survey data obtained from the participating companies were analyzed with the IBM SPSS Statistic 20 package program. All findings were tested at the 0.05 significance level. As data analysis, one-way analysis of variance, Levene test and LSD test from multiple comparison tests were used. Findings – SMEs generally think that they cannot benefit from the supports. It is seen that the reasons why SMEs cannot benefit from these supports adequately are due to "lack of information about incentives", "heavy incentive conditions for SMEs" and "complex incentive procedures". The contribution of the supports to the SMEs operating in Erzurum is generally positive, and it is seen that the SMEs' thoughts on applying for new supports are positive. It has been determined that the degree of participation regarding the effects of state aids on business performance and businesses differ according to their founding capital. It is observed that the degree of participation regarding the effects of state aids on business performance differs between those whose founding capital is their own resources and those who use state grants/loans/supports or incentives as their founding capital. Discussion – It is thought that Kosgeb will benefit both the program and the SMEs in Erzurum by conducting more informative work on the Kobigel Support Program, which is the most heard among SMEs, and revising the procedures in terms of facilitating. In addition, mutual review of the conditions for SME needs will also be of mutual benefit.