RESTRICTED  
  
WT/COMTD/SE/M/41/Corr.1  
 
11 August  2021 
(21-6185) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Trade and Development  
Forty -First Dedicated Session    
 
NOTE ON THE MEETING OF 6 JULY 2021 
Chairman : H.E. Dr Muhammad Mujtaba Piracha (Pakistan)  
Corrigendum * 
Page s 3 and  4, paragraph s 9 and 10, should read as follows:  
9. In order to  support the resilience and recovery of SMEs, governments could promote 
innovation through providing access to skills and technology. For example, they could improve 
access to the information and communications technology that provided SMEs with intelligence on 
approaching storms, and what might be the impact on their businesses. Governments could also 
facilitate access to climate resilience technologies for farmers, small manufacturers and service 
providers. Green finance was particularly crucial when it came to facilitating SME investments to 
promote their resil ience. The ITC was additionally calling for governments to think small first when 
designing and implementing regulations. What that meant in practice was to think about how a 
country's comparative advantage would be affected by disasters, and therefore to look at how 
incentives could be created to help SMEs transition towards more climate -resilient industries. In 
addition, funding for business support organizations was important, because these organizations 
could create networks to share knowledge amongst s mall companies. Shared knowledge could be 
particularly useful in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters, so as to help companies in their 
recovery.   
10. She indicated that she would move on to discuss climate change mitigation measures and 
SVEs, and how international cooperation could help. She noted that small businesses in SVEs were 
already making efforts to reduce their environmental footprint. About 42% of the companies that 
the ITC had interviewed in Africa had indicated that they were investing in order to have their 
environmental footprint reduced. SMEs that went green not only helped to tackle climate change, 
but were also able to improve their performance and competitiveness, while securing finance for 
future innovation. She noted that 59% of African companies interviewed by the ITC that had invested 
in greening their enterprises saw new business opportunities arising, including through improved 
product quality, higher productivity, or access to new markets. The ITC had also seen real benefits 
arising from its resource -efficiency projects, including in terms of reductions in greenhouse gas 
emissions and cash savings per year. She believed that international cooperation had a role to play 
in supporting climate change mitigation by SMEs. In partic ular, international organizations could 
provide a platform for sharing information and best practices, and ensuring that the voices of SMEs 
were heard. She also believed that innovative financial solutions were needed to bring green finance 
to SMEs in SVEs . This could include the development of harmonized standards for financial 
instruments that increased transparency, thereby making it easier for SMEs to access funds for 
investment and resilience. In closing, she said that the ITC's 20 -point Green Recovery  Plan proposed 
policies and actions for business support organizations, governments, lead firms in value chains, and 
international organizations. It also provided suggestions as to what could be done to support SMEs' 
resilience to natural disasters. Delega tions were invited to consult the ITC's 2021 SME 
Competitiveness Ou tlook for details on the Green Recovery Plan.  
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* In English only.