When monitoring measures that provide funds for SMEs to receive support by external consultants or training providers (which might be also SME), who should be counted under the indicator on supported SMEs, SMEs that receive the training or the providers?

The indicator on number of supported SMEs refers only to enterprises that benefit directly from support financed by the ESF (which typically excludes SMEs being beneficiaries in the sense of Art. 2 of the CPR (Regulation (EU) No 1303/2013)). Thus, only SMEs that benefit from the training/consultancy services are to be counted under the indicator. Service providers (external consultants or training providers) should not be counted, as they are receiving payment for services as a routine part of their business and not benefiting from ESF support.