In Iran, approximately 94 percent of the country’s economic enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). SMEs are limited-scale economic entities that, through the accumulation of micro-financial resources, entrepreneurship, and linkages with industries, create opportunities for economic development. These enterprises also play a vital role in economic growth, employment, wealth creation, and poverty reduction in countries. Despite the significant role of SMEs in economic growth, in most developing countries these companies have not been able to perform effectively in the economic growth process. One of the major reasons for the lack of growth of SMEs in most developing countries is the lack of access to financing and severe constraints in accessing liquidity. Considering the importance of this issue, this study, based on global experience and adopting a systematic review approach, analyzes SME financing by the banking sector. In this study, 215 research works were identified, and after screening, 31 relevant and high-quality studies published between 2010 and 2024 were collected. Based on the findings of this research, it can be argued that company size, company age, corruption, company location, business plan, trust level, income and profitability level, length of banking relationships, number of company owners, field of activity, managerial personality, credit history, high liquidity and repayment period, and SMEs’ adaptation to technology are among the determining factors in improving SMEs’ access to bank credits and facilities.
Sohrabi et al. (Wed,) studied this question.