Publicaciones

This SME Competitiveness Outlook assesses the impact of conflict and fragility on business performance. It unveils a Fragility Exposure Index, and shows that fragility, as experienced by firms, can be reduced by 25% if they take actions to reinforce competitiveness. These include engaging with...

International business investors can embed sustainability in each step of their operations. This guide describes the social, environmental and economic practices that international firms must understand when entering a new market.

This is a national companion guide to the publication The Business Guide for Sustainability in Foreign Investments. The companion guide presents an overview of Ethiopia’s environmental and social regulations for investment operations in agroprocessing and light manufacturing. It also provides...

Trade improves the food supply of least developed countries (LDCs), but import dependence on concentrated suppliers of cereals, vegetable oils and sugar threatens their food security. In 2022, increasing food  and fertiliser prices, the war in Ukraine and export restrictions depressed LDC food...

Four services sectors are key to an economic transformation. This report calls them 'connected services.' Transport and logistics, financial services, information and communication technologies, and business and professional services contribute directly to economic growth – with an increasing...

This major business survey shows that almost 80% of small firms that adopted advanced digital tools reported better production efficiency.

Exporting responsibly sourced high-value-added wood products from South-East Asia, including the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, can drive economic growth. Rising demand for timber in Europe offers opportunities for small to medium-sized producers. Strengthening the regional wood-processing...

Small and medium-sized enterprises in Kenya are an underexploited resource with significant potential to boost inclusive growth.Drawing on data from the SME Competitiveness Survey, this report finds that even though Kenyan companies organize their production processes professionally and have a...

This is a national companion guide to the publication The Business Guide for Sustainability in Foreign Investments.

E-commerce is a vital part of commercial activity, yet few provisions on digital trade reference gender equality. This report explores policy reforms needed to bridge the gender divide on digital access, adoption and usage. The report recommends building e-commerce capacity focused on gender...

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. This report outlines these and other findings from the SME Competitiveness Survey, which surveyed...

A review of trade flows, value chain, sustainability, illegality and animal welfare of the trade in Southeast Asian python skins.The paper analyses reported trade in python skins, the added value at each stage from hunting to retail and likely areas of illegal activity (smuggling, false declaration...