Alternative Form of Mapping Potential and Active Small Business Agglomerations

Clusters, concentrations of businesses and research institutions, show high capacity for job creation, innovation and development. They can also, foster the access to the EU development funds. However, in the case of small business, their early tracing can be very difficult with top-down methods. The statistical activity code mapping, fairly appropriate for big industries, fails due to the apparent discrepancies between the registered and the actual activity of the small businesses. In addition, these clusters are often built around focal firm located out from the region in focus. We surveyed concentrations of small businesses in three regions in Macedonia using structured focused groups. We relied on the capacity of the local business support and regional development agencies and the institutions of higher education in these regions, infrastructure established with prior programs of the Government, and various donor agencies. We managed to discover several existing and potential small business clusters that should be further supported by the related national policy. Since the structure of the small business support network is similar, we conclude that this approach can prove useful in other countries and regions, with similar business development services network