The core problems for small and medium companies are access to funds and cheap funds, Serbia's Minister of Economy Nebojsa Ciric said Tuesday.

Opening the 7th international conference on small and medium companies at Belgrade's Sava Centre, he stated the two components were key to the development of that sector, which comprises 99.8 percent of the companies in the country and employs two thirds of the workforce.

Small and medium companies have had trouble finding sources of funding, especially since 2008, he noted, pointing out that new and innovative companies faced the biggest hurdles.

Deputy Prime Minister Verica Kalanovic said access to funding sources was key to solving the problems in the sector, which "has the most difficulties out of Serbia's entire economic system." This pillar of the economy is fairly vulnerable and sensitive and requires special attention, she stressed.

In their efforts to gain funds, small and medium companies encounter problems like high interest rates, tight payment deadlines, guarantees and complicated procedures, Kalanovic explained. Those companies have to become a carrier of the economic and social development, just like in most European countries, she remarked.

According to Kalanovic, 327,000 small and medium companies in Serbia have the potential to increase their workforce and export, and they represent a link to the local self-governments, which is why they are crucial to a balanced development of the country's regions, she concluded.