SME Competitiveness, Trade and Development

Thursday, 26 March 2015, 15:00-18:15 and Friday, 27 March 2015, 09:00-12:30 – Library, ITC, Geneva

At this one day seminar academic experts presented key findings of the background papers they have prepared for ITC’s forthcoming flagship publication SME Competitiveness Outlook 2015.

March 26

Introduction
- Marion Jansen (ITC) and Marcos Vaena (ITC)
Session 1: Regional experiences
- Trade, SMEs and Development in South America, Carlo Pietrobelli (IADB and Roma Tre University)
- Trade, SMEs and Development in Africa, Dorothy McCormick (University of Nairobi)
Session 2: Regional experiences
- Trade, SMEs and Development in South-east Asia, Charles Harvie (University of Wollongong)
- Trade, SMEs and Development in the GCC countries, Ashraf Ali Mahate (Handam bin Mohammed Smart University, Dubai)
March 27

Session 3: Country experiences
- Trade, SMEs and Development in Ukraine, Jaroslav Zhalilo (Institute for Economics and Forecasting, Kiev)
- Trade, SMEs and Development in China, Lei Zhang (Shanghai University of International Business and Economics)
Session 4: Trade and SME performance
- SME Finance and Credit Ratings of SMEs, Naoyuki Yoshino (Asian Development Bank Institute)
- Trade, SMEs and Development in Tunisia, Leila Baghdadi (Tunis Business School)
- SME Competitiveness, Business Environment and Export Performance, Virginie Trachsel (UNIGE) and Marion Jansen (ITC)
- Concluding Remarks, Marion Jansen (ITC)
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Previous editions

The SME Competitiveness Outlook is ITC's flagship report, published annually since 2015. Each report provides an in-depth analysis on a particular topic related to the competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - from their contribution to inclusive growth to their participation in regional value chains. The reports combine data analysis, academic insights, thought leader opinions, and case studies to provide guidance for policymakers, business managers, and trade and investment support institutions. In addition, the reports contain country profiles for over 80 countries with statistics on the competitiveness of SMEs.