On 27 June 2023, the OECD published its latest edition of the SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook. 

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from Russia’s large-scale aggression against Ukraine, putting millions of jobs and businesses at risk. While most SMEs have little direct exposure to Russia and Ukraine, they have been affected by rising geo-political tensions, high inflation, tighter monetary and fiscal policy, and supply-chain disruptions. Since the start of the war, firm entries have also been growing at a much slower pace. At the same time, firm exits have risen substantially, as firms had to cope with the ensuing energy crisis and the withdrawal of fiscal support.

Against this background, the OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook 2023 provides new evidence on recent trends in SME performance, changing business conditions, and policy implications. The focus is on how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) can be integrated into different networks, such as global production and supply chains. It also emphasizes the significance of women-led businesses in international trade, knowledge exchange, innovation networks, and skill development systems. Moreover, it highlights the key policies implemented to facilitate SME integration into these networks and enable them to capitalize on the ongoing transformations they experience.The report also contains statistical country profiles that benchmark the 38 OECD across a set of indicators.

For more information here.