What is vSME

This chapter looks at a particular focus of e-government, that of support for business in general and SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) in particular. While this is only one segment of PIT (public information technology), it is an important one. Figure 1 illustrates this, showing overlap between the three areas of government, citizens, and businesses (note the diagram is not to scale). The chapter starts with an overview of the importance of SMEs to regional and national economies, showing why governments encourage their start-up, survival and growth. Following this, an overview of e-G2B (e-government to business) initiatives around the world is provided, with particular attention directed to the SME perspective. The chapter closes with consideration of future trends, conclusions, references, and keyword definitions.