Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises

SMEs Against Global Poverty

SMEs and UN Sustainable Development Goals

How SMEs Can Gain a Competitive Edge by Embracing UN SDGs

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can achieve a competitive edge by adopting the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Embracing sustainability offers numerous benefits, and the UN Global Compact Network UK’s SDG Playbook provides practical steps to help SMEs successfully integrate these goals into their business models.
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Young entrepreneurs supported by YBI members through Futuremakers, funded by Standard Chartered Foundation

Financial Empowerment for Young Entrepreneurs: A Strategic Imperative

Youth Business International (YBI) together with ten enterprise support organisations (ESOs) from its global network of members have developed an evidence-informed approach that can systematically improve the financial health of young entrepreneurs by combining financial access and literacy via three pathways for ESOs to enhance their support.
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Digital Wage Payments Rural women using phone in village

Prioritising Digital Wage Payments for Women is Good Business for Businesses

Explore the shift from cash to digital wage payments and its implications for women and businesses. This transition offers improved financial management for women and operational efficiencies for businesses. The Better than Cash Alliance share how digital payments contribute to economic stability and gender equity, supporting global gender equity goals.
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Private Sector and Forcibly Displaced Communities

Unlocking Economic Growth: How the Private Sector Can Empower Forcibly Displaced Communities

The private sector is positioned to help solve one of the world’s great humanitarian crises, and a major driver of poverty. Worldwide, there are more than 103 million forcibly displaced people, including at least 32.5 million refugees.
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Economic Empowerment of Women in Coffee

Supporting the Economic Empowerment of Women in Coffee

The contribution that women make to the coffee value chain often goes underappreciated and undercompensated. However, TechnoServe Global Gender Director Cristina Manfre argues that by shining a spotlight on the roles women play across the value chain, we can help them to improve their incomes and economic empowerment.
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Women Entrepreneurs and Childcare: Group of Nepali babies and and children

Investing in Women Entrepreneurs: Nepali Childcare Center Gives Mothers More time

At the Baraha Child Care Center in Baddichaur, Nepal, children like Hanvi Rana develop crucial skills while their mothers, like Bimala Saru, pursue economic and household tasks. Funded by iDE through a Paul Polak Innovation Fund grant, the center is part of a larger initiative to promote gender equality and economic empowerment for women in rural Nepal.
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Dhivya O’Connor Bridging the Digital Gender Gap

New Research Sheds Light on the Digital Gender Gap

The Cherie Blair Foundation for Women, in partnership with Intuit, has published cutting-edge research, revealing the challenges, motivations and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in low and middle income countries in 2023, strongly linked to digital access and experiences. Here, the Foundation’s CEO, Dhivya O’Connor, shares the report’s key findings and calls for urgent action from the private sector to support women’s entrepreneurship and digital inclusion.
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Empowering Women is Smart Economics

Why Empowering Women is Smart Economics

TRANSFORM’s initiative in Ethiopia exemplifies the powerful impact of empowering women in entrepreneurship. By supporting projects like Kidame Mart, TRANSFORM not only aids individual success stories like Mestawet’s but also fosters community development, economic growth, and gender equality, demonstrating the far-reaching benefits of investing in women’s potential.
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Female Entrepreneurs and CLimate Change

Lifting Participation: Female Entrepreneurs Tackle Climate Change – with Bill Winters and Audrey S-Darko

Standard Chartered’s Group Chief Executive, Bill Winters and Futuremaker Audrey S-Darko on entrepreneurship, climate change & women in tech.
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Baobab Tree Alley at Sunset

Social Entrepreneurs Advancing the SDGs Through Systems Change Strategies

Discover how social entrepreneurs are driving sustainable development in Africa through the “Roots of Change” report by Ashoka. This insightful analysis highlights strategies for systemic change, addressing key challenges like poverty, youth unemployment, and climate vulnerability.
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Women's Economic empowerment

Unlocking Women’s Economic Power isn’t Rocket Science

Rathi Mani-Kandt’s article reveals the untapped economic potential of women entrepreneurs. As CARE USA’s Director, she highlights how investing in women could boost the global economy by $10 trillion by 2030. This insightful piece emphasises women’s pivotal role in driving global economic growth and prosperity.
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Two women from Ghana Sustainable Shea butter

Empowering Ghanaian Women in Sustainable Shea Trading

Shea trading does nothing to lift women producers in Ghana above the UN poverty line.  The Dipaliya Return on Extraction business model changes all that, empowering women, providing fair wages, and enabling community investments. Dipaliya stands for ethical and regenerative shea trading in Ghana.
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Cropped shot of a male baker talking on the phone while using a digital tablet at work

Introducing the Strive Community Small Business Evidence Map

Strive Community has launched the first version of their Small Business Evidence Map, a tool that charts the impact of digital and data-first support on small businesses. A resource for organisations that support small businesses to go digital, allowing users to understand the current state of evidence and explore more about what does—and doesn’t—have an impact on small businesses.
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The Business of Care - women in blue top and yellow rubber gloves cleaning a white machine

The Business of Care: Standard Chartered Interview

To mark the first UN endorsed International Day for Care (29 Oct) we have published a series of in-depth interviews, conducted as part of the research for a new report on how multinationals can better support care economy enterprises. 
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Global Goals Summit 2023 – Day 1 – Fireside 1

Building an Equitable and Resilient Future Watch our Fireside Chat with Visa Inc and the Harvard Kennedy School Corporate Responsibility Initiative to explore the trends shaping business
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Catalysing Female Entrepreneurship and Improving Access to Healthcare

Our workshop with Reckitt and WiNFUND is an opportunity to learn from 6 entrepreneurs from across Africa, and hear the speakers’ insights on how
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Global Goals Summit 2023 – Day 2 – Workshop 4

Catalysing female entrepreneurship and improving access to healthcare  Our workshop with Reckitt and WiNFUND is an opportunity to learn from 6 entrepreneurs from across
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Female shop owner surrounded by produce in Pakistan

Weathering COVID-19: Small and Micro Businesses in Pakistan

Amid the pandemic, women entrepreneurs suffered due to school closures and business shutdowns, highlighting gender inequalities and SDG challenges. Seizing hope from stories like Seema, who embraced digital tools, calls for collaborative efforts. Southern Voice’s article enriches SDG discussions with diverse Global South perspectives, advocating for inclusive policies and knowledge-sharing to empower women entrepreneurs
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Group of school children in Nigeria dressed in a green uniform and holding white bags

Eco-Green Teens Project: Empowering Nigerian Youth for Sustainable Agriculture

The Eco-Green Teens Project, initiated by a team in Nigeria, addresses the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on food insecurity and rising prices. Through financial literacy and sustainable agriculture education, rural teenagers learned to cultivate staple foods and embrace a bio-circular economy. Empowered by the Global Youth Mobilization, the program fosters entrepreneurship and addresses UN SDGs.
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Investors and Female Entrepreneurs, with Sanjukta and Heather

Investors and Female Entrepreneurs, with Sanjukta and Heather

Attention investors and female entrepreneurs. Heather Matranga & Sanjukta Mitra share why <2% of investment goes to female-led businesses.
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What do we mean by "Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises"?

Explore how empowering micro, small, and medium enterprises (SMEs) can drive economic development and reduce poverty by fostering innovation and job creation.

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