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ITC, World SME Forum to collaborate on helping small businesses drive growth and job creation

20 October 2015
ITC News
New partnership will inform Group of 20 work on SMEs

The International Trade Centre and the World SME Forum have pledged to work together to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) increase their competitiveness and contribute more to global economic growth, development, and job creation.

ITC Executive Director Arancha González and Tunç Uyanik, CEO and Board Member of the World SME Forum, formalized the partnership by signing a Memorandum of Understanding today in Doha, Qatar, on the sidelines of ITC’s World Export Development Forum.

Under the terms of the MoU, ITC and the World SME Forum will collaborate on preparatory work for SME-related meetings of the Group of 20 leading economies and the associated B-20 coalition of business groups. They will also work together on research, policy development, technical assistance, and conferences related to global SME issues. In addition, the two organizations committed to working together to disseminate information and draw in new partners in support of work to strengthen SMEs. The MoU, which is valid for two years, involves no financial flows from one partner to the other.

The Turkish government has made SMEs a priority of its term holding the G-20’s rotating presidency, on the grounds that smaller firms contribute to spreading the benefits of growth and prosperity across all segments of society. It views SMEs as critical for achieving gender equality in employment and tackling joblessness among young people. The World SME Forum was set up in Istanbul in May this year, after its establishment was endorsed by G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors the month before.

“ITC and the World SME Forum share a common objective: more competitive SMEs better able to use international trade and investment to generate sustainable and inclusive growth,” said Ms. González. “This partnership will enhance the collective reach and impact of our work, and ensure that SMEs continue to feature prominently on the G-20 agenda.

"This MoU will strengthen synergies between ITC and the World SME Forum in pursuit of our shared agenda: empowering SMEs to drive sustainable and inclusive growth, " said Mr. Uyanik.