The Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) recently reviewed a series of new trade initiatives and recognized the achievements of several businesses at its latest meeting.
Marco M. Alemán, Assistant Director-General of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), introduced tools designed to support MSMEs. These include the Global Innovation Index and related report, alternative dispute resolution services for intellectual property rights enforcement, and resources that help small businesses access patent documents and scientific literature. Alemán also highlighted WIPO's IP for Business Programme and Global Entrepreneurship Empowerment Program, which offer online guidance to assist MSMEs in developing intellectual property strategies and navigating registration systems.
Dorothy Tembo, Deputy Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), discussed outcomes from the first Global SME Ministerial Conference held in Johannesburg in July 2025. According to Tembo, "The Conference prompted in-depth discussions across the main themes: accelerating the green transition; digital transformation; and improving access to finance." Anne Chappaz from ITC added that a Leadership Dialogue for Trade Promotion Organizations took place alongside the conference, focusing on technical support to improve digital readiness among small businesses. She stressed the importance of strengthening such support with more case studies.
Ambassador Matthew Wilson of Barbados, Coordinator for the WTO MSME Group, provided an update on preparations for MC14 by summarizing work completed since MC13 in a draft ministerial statement. The group also assessed progress in implementing recommendations from the December 2020 MSME Package. Colombia shared experiences integrating MSME concerns into its WTO Trade Policy Review process while ITC updated members about outreach efforts related to the Global Trade Help Desk—an online platform providing data to assist small businesses with exporting and importing goods and services.
Ambassadors Patricia Benedetti (Cabo Verde) and Clara Delgado Jesus (El Salvador), chairs of the WTO Trade and Gender Working Group, outlined their ongoing collaboration with the MSME Group ahead of MC14.
The Inter-American Development Bank presented findings from its recent study on MSMEs and trade facilitation within Latin America and the Caribbean. The study identified best practices as well as challenges faced by small traders seeking greater integration into value chains.
Two winners were recognized at this year’s Small Business Champions Competition: Silaiwali from India, which empowers women artisans by upcycling garment factory waste into handcrafted products; and NetZero Pallets from Viet Nam, which transforms biomass into carbon-neutral pallet materials.
A special “MSME Spotlight” segment featured AFRIpads—a Ugandan company producing reusable hygiene products—introduced by representatives from the United Nations Sanitation and Hygiene Fund. AFRIpads currently serves over seven million women and girls across forty countries.
Participants also discussed measures supporting MSMEs transitioning out of informal economic activities. Presentations included updates on Nigeria’s national initiatives through SMEDAN as well as ILO’s decent work program focused on formalization efforts.
Other organizations contributed insights during this session: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development described tools encouraging sustainable foreign investment in small firms along with updates to its SME Financing Scoreboard; meanwhile, Universal Postal Union shared information about its TradePost project aimed at simplifying trade processes for smaller enterprises.
Emmanuelle Ganne from WTO highlighted connections between digitalization trends—including artificial intelligence—and opportunities for small business development following insights gained at September’s Digital Trade Transformation Forum. Ambassador Wilson noted that another recent meeting concentrated on trade digitalization strategies specifically tailored toward MSMEs’ needs.
Additionally, Russia invited experts from its Export School to discuss training programs developed for female entrepreneurs.
The next meeting of this working group is scheduled for December 2, 2025.