Editorial – Scaling Up – L’Economiste

The first warm-up rounds ahead of the official start of the election campaign are already under way. Political parties are fine-tuning their platforms and preparing their campaign promises. But beyond the usual slogans, the government that emerges from the upcoming legislative elections will be judged on one particular issue-its real economic test: fixing a growth model that remains insufficiently inclusive, has limited capacity to create jobs, and makes it difficult for small and medium-sized enterprises to grow into large companies
This assessment was made by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) in its latest annual report. The diagnosis is not new. It has been widely shared for several years. Today, building infrastructure, investing and attracting foreign direct investment are no longer enough. The priority now is to take action so that every percentage point of growth generates more jobs and so that economic momentum enables the emergence of a critical mass of mid-sized companies that is still lacking.The new development cycle cannot succeed through large corporations alone, even though they have a decisive role to play. They must act as catalysts in helping their ecosystems of smaller businesses move up the value chain, particularly through skills transfers and integration into value chains.
For now, many micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) seem destined to remain small, undercapitalized and confined to narrow markets. The CESE highlights the absence of a productive continuum between large companies integrated into the global economy and the rest of the entrepreneurial fabric.
In this respect, the real challenge for the next government will be to shift from an economy whose momentum is driven by public investment to one that fosters the emergence-and, above all, the growth-of companies capable of scaling up and investing on their own.