Publications

The SME Competitiveness Outlook 2020 analyses the impact of the pandemic on small firms, international supply chains and trade. It provides projections and a 15-point action plan for businesses, policymakers and business support organizations to weather the crisis – and gear up for a ‘new...

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...

Le manque de connaissances sur les options existantes et les démarches associées, la difficulté à comprendre les termes financiers et le manque de garanties empêchent les femmes de rechercher un financement. Ce rapport s’appuie sur l’expérience de bailleurs de fonds qui appliquent...

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...

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...

Thanks to a more services-based economy and the prestige associated with women’s entrepreneurship, new opportunities allow Nigerian women to play a more active role in business.Nigerian businesswomen need support for registration and certification, banking, skills development and flexible work...

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...

Women Shaping Global Economic Governance brings together contributions from leading policymakers and thought leaders from all across the world on how to shape our economies.Written entirely by women, this book is not about women. It is written by women who want to encourage everyone, including the...

This guide offers policymakers and trade practitioners practical, step-by-step advice on how to mainstream gender concerns into the work of their trade ministries, small business ministries and trade support institutions.

Increasing annual investments in small and medium-sized enterprises by $1 trillion would yield disproportionate dividends in terms of progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals. These investments also have the potential to deliver healthy returns for investors.To boost investment in...

La Perspective de la compétitivité des PME soutient que les petites et moyennes entreprises sont le « maillon manquant » de la croissance solidaire.L’argument, qui se fonde sur trois piliers de la croissance solidaire - utilisation des outils internet, concurrence, et changement - montre que...