Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) and their role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals

A report by UN DESA aims to demonstrate the relevance, role and contributions of Micro-, Small- and Medium- Enterprises (MSMEs) to the seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report examines the role of MSMEs to each of the SDGs. The report unpacks the role of MSMEs in economic activity, in creating employment and incomes, particularly for the poor and marginalized groups, as service providers (for example in education, health, water and sanitation) and as energy users/polluters with environmental footprints. Through these lenses,
it is possible to establish direct and indirect linkages between MSMEs and the seventeen goals.
The SDG targets are ambitious and require transformation of public and private activities. This transformation is associated with adapting new business models, bringing in new innovation/technology and doing business differently – more sustainably and more ethically. This process opens up new business opportunities for the private sector in general and particularly for MSMEs. According to the Business and Sustainable Development Commission, sustainable business models could open economic opportunities worth $12 trillion and create 380 million jobs by 2030, with more than 50 per cent1 being located in developing countries. Such opportunities for MSMEs have been identified under each goal. The discussion also focuses on selected business examples and good practice initiatives that support MSMEs and in turn contribute to the achievement of SDGs.

For more info: https://sustainabledevelopment.un.org/content/documents/26073MSMEs_and_SDGs.pdf