Providing finance to the bottom of the pyramid

International Trade Centre’s flagship report, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Outlook (SMECO) 2019 was formally launched at the World Trade Organisation coinciding with the Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Day (MSME) on June 27, 2019.

The third edition of the report, emphasizes the need of annually investing $1 trillion to unlock the development power of small businesses.

Ms Arancha Gonzales, Executive Director ITC inviting attendees for giving SMECO a detailed read said “Collective action is needed to link the offer of investment with the demand for it. The trade policy community has a crucial role in investment facilitation for MSMEs and an improvement in conditions can ensure that finance reaches the bottom of the pyramid”.

Representatives from trade and finance organizations in Senegal, Ghana, India and Tajikistan participated in discussions exploring themes of impact investing for MSMEs and the highlights of SME Outlook.

Speaking about impact investing for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises participants agreed that SMEs contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through the employment opportunities they generated, the business practices they chose to adopt, the sectors in which they operated and the impact they had on the broader economy.

Therefore, it was necessary to create an enabling environment for MSMEs around the world so that they could use their potential to contribute to the achievement of SDGs.

Presenting the main findings of this year’s SMECO, Ms Marion Jansen Chief Economist and Director Division of Market Development at ITC said delivering growth, development, job creation and stability in emerging economies could become a reality by connecting MSMEs with investors.

In addition to MSME day events in Nairobi, Mumbai, New York, Lyon and Offenburg, the occasion provided an opportunity to reflect on ways of supporting MSMEs to become engines of inclusive growth.