MSMEs, which make up over 90% of global businesses, serve as the backbone of economies worldwide. This year, the UN MSMEs Day focuses on the theme of ‘Galvanizing MSMEs worldwide by supporting women and youth entrepreneurship and resilient supply chains’.

UN Marking June 27 as the United Nations’ Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises Day (UN MSMEs Day), we take the opportunity to celebrate and reflect on the tremendous contributions of MSMEs to the global economy, particularly emphasizing on the roles of women and youth entrepreneurship and resilient supply chains.

This MSMEs day will also focus on supporting resilient supply chains to ensure workers and the environment benefit. Supply chains are a critical component of global trade and commerce, and conflicts, disasters, and pandemics can quickly impact their functioning, increasing costs and making transactions more difficult. Therefore, policymakers and businesses must join forces to ensure economically viable, socially, and environmentally sustainable supply chains.

This highlights the importance of investing in female and young entrepreneurs, who bring fresh perspectives and innovative solutions to the business world. Empowering them not only boosts economic growth but also fosters social development.

Furthermore, the resilience of supply chains has proven critical, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. MSMEs, playing key roles in these chains, require support to strengthen their resilience and capacity to withstand future shocks.

UN MSMEs Day is a call to action for governments, policy-makers, and businesses to create a conducive environment for these enterprises to flourish. It’s a day to champion the empowerment of women and youth in business and to strengthen supply chains, fostering a robust and resilient global economy. Let’s galvanize our efforts to support the critical drivers of sustainable development – the MSMEs.