Resources
UN documents and publications
- General Assembly resolution: Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day (A/RES/71/279)
- Entrepreneurship for sustainable development (A/RES/77/160)
- Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals
United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR)
- Reducing risk and building resilience to SMEs to disasters
- Focus on prevention: Increasing SME uptake of disaster risk reduction: recommendations for policymakers, financiers and the broader business community
- ARISE Private Sector Alliance for Disaster Resilient Societies
- Do small and medium enterprises lose when disasters strike? (in playlist)
- Resilience Maturity Assessment (ReMA) Tool
United Nations Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- Promoting International Investment by Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
- Entrepreneurship Policy Framework and Implementation Guidance
- The Square for Global Goals
- Angola bets on small businesses to help transform its economy
- South Africa builds new roadmap to revitalize entrepreneurship
- Empretec - Entrepreneurship global network
- Empretec Women in Business: Building purpose-driven enterprises amid crises
- Empretec Women in Business Awards
- Sustainable Manufacturing and Environmental Pollution (SMEP)
- Riding the circular wave: Entrepreneurs tackle the waste crisis, redefine economies
- Advancing shared prosperity through biodiversity-friendly trade
International Trade Centre (ITC)
- All publications
- SME Competitiveness Outlook 2025 - Executive Summary - A digital transformation roadmap
- SME Competitiveness Outlook 2023: Small Businesses in Fragility: From Survival to Growth
- SME Competitiveness Outlook 2022: Connected Services, Competitive Businesses
International Council for Small Businesses (ICSB)*
- The Human-Centered Entrepreneurship Index
- ICSB Annual Global Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Report 2026
- ICSB Annual Global Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Report 2025
- ICSB Annual Global Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Report 2024
- ICSB Annual Global Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Report 2023
Academic Journals*
Journal of Small Business Management
Publishes international research on small business management and entrepreneurship, including small business finance, organization, strategy, and finance.
Journal of the International Council for Small Business
Publishes articles on the growth and sustainability of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, including Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and policy.
Journal of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review
Global mission to nurture the growth and advancement of small businesses on a global scale, the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review focuses on dynamic and emerging intersections within the field of entrepreneurship.
* The UN is not responsible for the content of external websites.
International Labour Organization (ILO)
- A double transition: formalization and the shift to environmental sustainability with decent work
- New frontier or the latest buzzword? Evidence and best practice in entrepreneurship ecosystem development
- Map of ILO interventions on Enterprise Formalization
- Greening SMEs
- Small goes digital report
- Building sustainable enterprises through productivity ecosystems for Decent Work in the BRICS countries
United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
- Empowering SMEs through 4IR Technologies
- Due Diligence Legislation for Sustainability Standards Adoption
- Standards for Sustainability: UNIDO's Contribution to Voluntary Sustainability Standards
- Mainstreaming Gender in cluster development
World Trade Organization (WTO)
- Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs)
- Trade4MSMEs - Your gateway to trade information
- The Trade Game (a learning tool to simulate the challenges of a small international exporter)
Other websites
2026 Global MSMEs Report: The Age of Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
This year's report explores the emergence of a new entrepreneurial era. For decades, entrepreneurship was defined by growth, scale, and innovation. Today, MSMEs face a larger challenge: creating economic opportunity while advancing human well-being. As artificial intelligence transforms industries and societies, entrepreneurs are increasingly called upon to build businesses that are not only profitable, but also purposeful, inclusive, resilient, and human-centered. The 2026 Global MSMEs Report examines how this transformation is unfolding across regions, sectors, and communities worldwide.