On 22-23 February 2018, the OECD convened a Ministerial Conference on “Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth”, hosted by Mexico and under the guidance of the Chair, Minister Ildefonso Guajardo Villarreal (Mexico) and the Vice-Chairs, Minister Stuart Nash (New Zealand), State Secretary Marie-Gabrielle Ineichen-Fleisch (Switzerland) and Vice-Minister Hasan Ali Çelik (Turkey).
The meeting took place at a time when governments are seeking innovative solutions to address low productivity growth, concerns about international trade and rising or persistently high inequality. Small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) and entrepreneurship policies have a crucial role to play in delivering these solutions and in enabling SMEs and entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and mitigate risks that emerge from major shifts in the economy and society, such as increased globalisation, digitalisation, the new industrial revolution, the changing nature of work, demographic changes, the circular economy and the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The Ministerial Conference was the third Ministerial Conference held in the context of the OECD Bologna Process on SME and Entrepreneurship Policies, a dynamic political mechanism involving more than 80 economies around the world at different levels of development, and a large number of international organisations, institutions and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). It seeks to strengthen dialogue and co-operation to foster the entrepreneurship agenda and SME competitiveness at the global level, and encourages increasing co-operation in this area. The Bologna Process was launched at the first OECD Ministerial Conference on SMEs, held in Bologna, Italy, in June 2000, which produced the Bologna Charter on SME Policies. The second Ministerial Conference on SMEs was held in Istanbul, Turkey, in June 2004, and led to the Istanbul Ministerial Declaration on Fostering the Growth of Innovative and Internationally Competitive SMEs.
The Ministerial Declaration on Strengthening SMEs and Entrepreneurship for Productivity and Inclusive Growth was adopted at the Mexico City Conference by 55 countries, including all OECD Members and 20 non-Members, as well as the European Union.
The Conference brought together Ministers, Vice-Ministers, State Secretaries, senior government officials, and high-level representatives from international organisations and associations from 68 Delegations, including 33 OECD Members, 22 non-Members, the European Union, and 12 other organisations and stakeholders.
In the opening session of the Conference, the Secretary-General of the OECD, Mr Angel Gurría, highlighted the role of SMEs and entrepreneurship in economies and societies as a source of employment, added value, innovation, and social inclusion. He underlined the considerable economic and social benefits that can be achieved by enabling SMEs to scale up and innovate and of broadening entrepreneurial opportunities to all social groups. He pointed to the large heterogeneity of the SME population and the widening productivity gap between smaller SMEs and larger firms. He stressed the new opportunities for SMEs and entrepreneurship brought about by digitalisation and globalisation, but noted that more efforts were needed to ensure that more small businesses can benefit from them.
He highlighted the crucial role of institutional and regulatory settings for SMEs. He indicated that the OECD is prepared to support governments to enable SMEs to overcome longstanding and emerging challenges, harness the digital revolution and play a greater role in the global economy.
The Chair of the Conference, Minister Ildefonso Guajardo, recalled the profound changes in the economic model since the last SME Ministerial Conference in 2004, and stressed the need to continue to find the right foundations to support market openness and entrepreneurship. He shared that in Mexico, SMEs ad entrepreneurship are a high policy priority, leading to the creation of the National Entrepreneur’s Institute (INADEM) in 2013, which has been supporting all aspects of entrepreneurship and SME development, including financing, skills, business development services, innovation and many others. He underlined the importance of stakeholder engagement in policy development for SMEs and entrepreneurship. He invited the OECD to deepen its analysis and dialogue on SMEs, and issued a call to the OECD to increase the visibility and impact of its work on SMEs.
Minister Kris Peeters (Belgium) and Secretary of State Mariano Mayer (Argentina) reported back from a side event with SME stakeholders and Ministers (or their representatives) that examined the views of businesses and social partners on the role of SME and entrepreneurship policy in the context of globalisation, digitalisation, technological change, and the changing nature of work. Stakeholders and participants stressed the importance of regulatory settings for SMEs, highlighting the potential of digital information portals and the need to consult entrepreneurs on the impacts of proposed new legislation. They also underlined the need to reflect the SME perspective in international trade negotiations. They agreed that governments should do more to foster linkages between SMEs and large firms to include SMEs in social dialogue and industrial relations systems. Participants called for governments to engage SME and entrepreneurs in policy making and supported the commitment of the OECD to pursue the dialogue with SME and entrepreneurs associations.
Participants agreed that digitalisation should be understood as a process and stressed the valuable contribution of the OECD to support countries in developing a comprehensive approach. They highlighted priority areas for policy action and public-private dialogue to foster SMEs’ transition to the digital economy, including: developing appropriate regulatory frameworks; improving connectivity, cybersecurity and privacy; addressing SME financing needs; strengthening skills and facilitating upskilling and reskilling; fostering leadership capabilities in SMEs; developing partnerships with platforms and key industry players; using public procurement to foster SME innovation; reducing the administrative burden to foster entrepreneurship; addressing concerns of SMEs that feel threatened by change; and including workers in the digital transformation.