Publications

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.

This summary provides highlights of how small businesses can rebuild from the pandemic in a way that helps them face climate change – and how governments, business support organizations and lead firms in international value chains can support them through the Green Recovery Plan.

This paper provides key information about the North American natural products market with a special focus on selected South American and African products. Natural products in the North American market have experienced strong market growth in the last decade as consumers increasingly demand...

Understanding the global demand for environmental goods and services can unlock new export opportunities for developing country SMEs. This study provides a market overview of this complex sector, which reached an estimated US$ 866 billion in 2011, and is expected to rise to US$ 1.9 trillion by 2020...

Study explaining how to identify viable projects adapted to tourism supply chains in order to promote poverty reduction. It provides guidelines structured around three phases: 1) Diagnosis of Current Situation and Context includes tools to map the tourism value chain and the participation of the...

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...

Training module aiming to promote local creative industries in developing countries through the tourism value chain, with a view to poverty reduction. It explains how fostering artistic and cultural activities within tourism business chains can contribute to poverty reduction in a given location or...

Increasing the competitiveness of small firms in the Philippines is vital to build resilience to shocks while promoting sustainable and inclusive growth.

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.

Standards and regulations have a major impact on SME competitiveness.

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 firms are at the heart of Eswatini’s participation in international value chains. But they often struggle to trade due to production capacity constraints, including inadequate managerial skills and certification, failure to engage with business support organizations and weak linkages with...