On Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day, celebrated on June 27 the Informal Working Group on MSMEs announced three small business champions. Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala recognized the significant potential of the projects presented during the championship, emphasizing their capacity to make a substantial difference.
“Projects like those proposed for this championship can make a difference," Okonjo-Iweala said in a World Trade Organization (WTO) press release.
The United Nations (UN) General Assembly designated June 27 as “Micro-, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises Day” to observe these businesses' efforts.
To commemorate MSMEs Day, the Informal Working Group on MSMEs introduced three new small business champions. The three winners of the 2023 Small Business Champions Competition were announced, with Divasity.com from Nigeria, which provides a platform connecting start-ups and entrepreneurs with essential tools and technology for business growth. Coprogeny from Cameroon focuses on enhancing agricultural value chains through agricultural cooperative efforts. Hey Success from the Philippines offers consultancy and professional services to support small businesses. The competition, held under the theme "Helping smallholder farmers go global," was jointly organized by the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, International Trade Centre (ITC), and the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), according to a press release by WTO.
The UN wrote MSMEs, especially women and youth lead, faced recent hardships and are vulnerable to rising inflation and supply chain disruptions.
The Informal Working Group on MSMEs also launched an improved Trade4MSMEs platform, and unveiled "The Trade Game," a resource aimed at assisting MSMEs in navigating the intricate landscape of international trade. Furthermore, it hosted a panel discussion that focusing on exploring the opportunities and challenges faced by smallholder farmers in the realm of international trade, according to a press release by WTO.
The UN added this year observed supporting resilient supply chains that benefits the environment and workers.
“Projects like those proposed for this championship can make a difference," Okonjo-Iweala said in the WTO press release. "They provide capacity building through training and access to finance that opens doors and leads to more sustainable development.”
The UN also wrote MSMEs benefit the economy via job creation and promote equitable economic growth.
“Data and intelligence must be honest, accurate, validated and easy-to access," said The Chair of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs Ambassador Matthew Wilson of Barbados, according to a press release. "This is what the Trade4MSMEs website aims to do — put data and intelligence at the fingertips of policy makers and MSMEs.”
To learn more about MSMEs, visit Investopedia's Small and Midsize Enterprise (SME) Defined: Types Around the World webpage.
“When seeking to access international markets, smallholder farmers face even greater challenges than other small businesses," Deputy Director-General Xiangchen Zhang said in the WTO press release. "Besides difficulties accessing information about trade procedures, they have to comply with regulatory requirements, such as safety and health-related procedures, that may be challenging to understand or find clear instructions for. Looking at ways that trade policymakers can support them is important work and I hope that this can be the start of future exchanges.”