SMEs’ challenges and business environment_news from Eurobarometer 559
In July 2025, a survey conducted by Ipsos European Public Affairs at the request of the European Commission was published. It gathers insights from over 17,000 companies, including 13,000 in the EU-27 (of these, 5% identified as start-ups and 18% as scale...
Three takeaways for businesses from the International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4)
As the global financial sector wrapped up the International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, Spain, earlier this month, the stakes and the opportunities have never been higher. From mounting global crises to an ever-widening SDG ...
MSMEs Day 2025: Enhancing the role of Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) as drivers of Sustainable Growth and Innovation
MSME Day 2025 comes at a pivotal moment—just ahead of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Sevilla and the Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha—amid shifts in the global trading landscape. It off...
SME Performance Review: the Annual Report on European SMEs 2024/2025
Despite ongoing economic headwinds and geopolitical uncertainties, Europe’s 26.1 million SMEs continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience and adaptability. While SME real value added declined slightly in 2024 by -0.2%, the outlook for 2025 is notably ...
How small businesses can navigate global trade in an era of polycrisis
Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises represent the vast majority of businesses worldwide and are vital to global employment, yet they face significant barriers to participating in international trade. These include limited access to finance, burdens...
Equipping SMEs with the skills to navigate the twin transition
SMEs and entrepreneurs heavily depend on skills to stay competitive and face greater challenges than larger firms in accessing and retaining skilled labour. Against the background of tight labour markets, skills gaps for SMEs are being exacerbated by the ...
The future of entrepreneurship with AI
AI-native startups are redefining the nature of entrepreneurship through accelerated scaling. With leaner teams, evolving funding dynamics, and intense competition for talent, the global startup ecosystem has reached an inflexion point. Policy-makers, inv...
Micro and small businesses can act as peace builders
In an international context where conflicts have reached their highest level since the Second World War, what role can micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) play in fragile and conflict-affected settings? Two sessions at the fourth edition of...
Celebrating Women Entrepreneurs: Key Insights from GEM Research
According to the GEM 2024/2025 Global Report entitled Entrepreneurship Reality Check, far too many women entrepreneurs are still seen by national experts as not getting equal access to resources essential to entrepreneurial success. Women’s relative acc...
SME Digitalisation to manage shocks and transitions
Although uptake of digital practices by SMEs continues to increase, so too has the “digital gap” with larger firms. Understanding the drivers and persisting bottlenecks of SME digitalisation as well as gaining a deeper understanding of their practices...
