The Ministerial Conference on Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) will offer a crucial platform for addressing how governments can provide SMEs with the right conditions to maximise their contributions to productivity growth and social inclusion. It will facilitate a high-level dialogue among Ministers to catalyse a global effort to refine and strengthen SME and entrepreneurship policy.
Programme
The meeting will consist of three main sessions:
Enabling SMEs to scale up
Enhancing SME access to diversified financing instruments.
Fostering greater SME participation in a globally integrated and digital economy.
Background information
Many governments are facing the challenges of depressed productivity growth and rising or persistently high inequality. SMEs and entrepreneurship can play a major role in delivering more inclusive growth. They are key players in the economy and wider ecosystems of firms. Aggregate productivity growth is stimulated by innovative new firm entrants, radical innovators among small firms, incremental innovation among the bulk of established SMEs, and the flexibility and specialisation of SMEs within large firm supply chains. At the same time, SMEs and entrepreneurship contribute strongly to social inclusion, by providing the majority of business employment and providing opportunities for under-represented population groups.
22-23 February 2018 
Mexico City