Publications

What keeps small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana from being competitive in international markets is often not of their own making, such as unreliable electricity and high interest rates.

Businesses can extend their reach in regional and global markets by understanding how to make the most of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.

To be part of value chains dominated by large global players, small and medium-sized enterprises need a sound business environment, ready access to finance, and institutional support to reach new markets and to defend their interests.

This ITC 50th anniversary publication explores new opportunities to connect small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in developing countries to global markets, provides recommendations for trade assistance and presents a road map for ITC’s future work.

The coffee sector has a huge potential to contribute to poverty alleviation in East Africa, but the sector’s development is hampered by a lack of savings and credit facilities. Moreover, women’s access to financial services is even more restricted than that of men, and most women in rural areas...

This study invites national legislators as well as all those involved in enhancing the national business environment to consider secured financing schemes that will allow an increase in the amount of credit offered to SMEs. The reasoning is simple: allow as collateral property that SMEs usually...

A comprehensive guide to the fast-growing field of Islamic banking, this publication describes Islamic financial instruments and provides practical examples of how to use them. It focuses on the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises, particularly in the area of export finance.

This guide helps small exporters understand how to obtain finance, outlining the credit process of financial institutions, pre-application preparation, finding appropriate lenders and loan repayment. Models for business plans and loan requests are included. The guide also examines barriers to...