Distinguished Delegates,Colleagues,Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am honoured and pleased to join you at this first MSME Day Event, very fittingly characterised as “Small Business Big Impact.”
I want to start by commending Argentina for its visionary leadership in facilitating the consultations that culminated in the adoption of the General Assembly resolution designating 27 June as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day.
I also want to thank all the co-sponsors for their strong support and the business stakeholder groups for the professional advice they offered on this initiative.
I am also grateful that ITC is co-organising this event today and we look forward to closer collaboration with ITC and other organisations in advancing MSMEs.
I am delighted to see representatives from Member States, multilateral institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector assembled here to raise awareness of the contribution of MSMEs to sustainable development.
For many years, I have taken a keen interest in MSMEs.
While estimates vary, there is converging evidence that highlights the enormous contributions of MSMEs to job creation, income generation, trade and inclusive growth.
Indeed, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda recognise the important role of MSMEs.
Sustainable Development Goal 8, through target 3, calls for efforts to promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
MSMEs can contribute to nearly all SDGs in one way or another, especially to SDGs on poverty, hunger, health, education, empowerment of women, reducing inequalities, sustainable consumption, institution building and partnerships.
Indeed, in developing and developed countries alike, MSMEs are among the most effective tools to empower youth and women. They are key allies in implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving the SDGs.
Yet, despite these remarkable contributions, the lack of adequate finance for MSMEs often prevents them from reaching their full potential. More than 200 million MSMEs in developing countries lack adequate financing, with the financing gap particularly wide in LDCs.
Access to adequate capital is an important condition for promoting entrepreneurship, enterprise formation, sustained economic growth, job creation and productive investment.
Initiatives to enhance access to finance for MSMEs need to go hand in hand with efforts to enhance skills and know-how across enterprises, to promote research and development and to put in place enabling infrastructure such as telecommunications, roads, power and ports.
MSMEs also need compliance support and management resources to compete globally, to be part of global supply chains, and to grow into stronger enterprises.
Inadequate support for MSMEs often affects youth and women disproportionately, making it more difficult for them to become successful entrepreneurs. For instance, there are significant gender differences in MSME access to finance, in particular in developing countries.
Finally, in our desire to encourage enterprises and entrepreneurship, we must not lose sight of the need for companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Given these challenges, the decision by the General Assembly to designate 27 June as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day is of historic significance.
It promises to usher in a new era for MSMEs. It is set to galvanize local, national, regional and global actions to support MSMEs.
We all have a role to play in this collective enterprise.
Indeed, DESA is proud to support the MSME Day by launching a multi-year project on “enhancing national capacities for unleashing full potentials of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in achieving sustainable development goals in developing countries”.
We thank the Chinese government for providing funding for this initiative, which is well timed to follow up on the General Assembly resolution on MSME Day.In addition, there will be forthcoming collaboration between DESA and other agencies on enhancing access to finance for MSMEs.
As part of these efforts, we intend to organise regional workshops to facilitate exchange of experiences, case studies and capacity building.
In this regard, we hope to work with government entities and business associations to enhance training and capacity building support, including through South-South cooperation.
We invite you to join us in this effort. DESA staff is ready to provide additional details.
Excellencies,
In the just concluded Ocean Conference, many commitments were made in support of small-scale artisanal fishers, who often operate as MSMEs.
These commitments seek to fulfil SDG14 target B, which is to “Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.”
The Ocean Conference revealed to us this simple truth: our individual efforts may be small; but combined, our commitments and actions can have big impact.
I am confident that today’s discussions will contribute to further unlocking the pivotal role of micro, small and medium businesses in stimulating economic growth, creating decent jobs and helping millions of people escape poverty and improve their livelihoods.
In this spirit, let us work together to support Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises!
Thank you.
I am honoured and pleased to join you at this first MSME Day Event, very fittingly characterised as “Small Business Big Impact.”
I want to start by commending Argentina for its visionary leadership in facilitating the consultations that culminated in the adoption of the General Assembly resolution designating 27 June as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day.
I also want to thank all the co-sponsors for their strong support and the business stakeholder groups for the professional advice they offered on this initiative.
I am also grateful that ITC is co-organising this event today and we look forward to closer collaboration with ITC and other organisations in advancing MSMEs.
I am delighted to see representatives from Member States, multilateral institutions, civil society, academia and the private sector assembled here to raise awareness of the contribution of MSMEs to sustainable development.
For many years, I have taken a keen interest in MSMEs.
While estimates vary, there is converging evidence that highlights the enormous contributions of MSMEs to job creation, income generation, trade and inclusive growth.
Indeed, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Addis Ababa Action Agenda recognise the important role of MSMEs.
Sustainable Development Goal 8, through target 3, calls for efforts to promote development-oriented policies that support productive activities, decent job creation, entrepreneurship, creativity and innovation, and encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including through access to financial services.
MSMEs can contribute to nearly all SDGs in one way or another, especially to SDGs on poverty, hunger, health, education, empowerment of women, reducing inequalities, sustainable consumption, institution building and partnerships.
Indeed, in developing and developed countries alike, MSMEs are among the most effective tools to empower youth and women. They are key allies in implementing the 2030 Agenda and achieving the SDGs.
Yet, despite these remarkable contributions, the lack of adequate finance for MSMEs often prevents them from reaching their full potential. More than 200 million MSMEs in developing countries lack adequate financing, with the financing gap particularly wide in LDCs.
Access to adequate capital is an important condition for promoting entrepreneurship, enterprise formation, sustained economic growth, job creation and productive investment.
Initiatives to enhance access to finance for MSMEs need to go hand in hand with efforts to enhance skills and know-how across enterprises, to promote research and development and to put in place enabling infrastructure such as telecommunications, roads, power and ports.
MSMEs also need compliance support and management resources to compete globally, to be part of global supply chains, and to grow into stronger enterprises.
Inadequate support for MSMEs often affects youth and women disproportionately, making it more difficult for them to become successful entrepreneurs. For instance, there are significant gender differences in MSME access to finance, in particular in developing countries.
Finally, in our desire to encourage enterprises and entrepreneurship, we must not lose sight of the need for companies to adopt sustainable practices.
Given these challenges, the decision by the General Assembly to designate 27 June as Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day is of historic significance.
It promises to usher in a new era for MSMEs. It is set to galvanize local, national, regional and global actions to support MSMEs.
We all have a role to play in this collective enterprise.
Indeed, DESA is proud to support the MSME Day by launching a multi-year project on “enhancing national capacities for unleashing full potentials of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises in achieving sustainable development goals in developing countries”.
We thank the Chinese government for providing funding for this initiative, which is well timed to follow up on the General Assembly resolution on MSME Day.In addition, there will be forthcoming collaboration between DESA and other agencies on enhancing access to finance for MSMEs.
As part of these efforts, we intend to organise regional workshops to facilitate exchange of experiences, case studies and capacity building.
In this regard, we hope to work with government entities and business associations to enhance training and capacity building support, including through South-South cooperation.
We invite you to join us in this effort. DESA staff is ready to provide additional details.
Excellencies,
In the just concluded Ocean Conference, many commitments were made in support of small-scale artisanal fishers, who often operate as MSMEs.
These commitments seek to fulfil SDG14 target B, which is to “Provide access for small-scale artisanal fishers to marine resources and markets.”
The Ocean Conference revealed to us this simple truth: our individual efforts may be small; but combined, our commitments and actions can have big impact.
I am confident that today’s discussions will contribute to further unlocking the pivotal role of micro, small and medium businesses in stimulating economic growth, creating decent jobs and helping millions of people escape poverty and improve their livelihoods.
In this spirit, let us work together to support Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises!
Thank you.
File date:
Tuesday, Junio 27, 2017