INF/MSME/R/42  
 
6 February 2024  
(24-0938) Page: 1/6 
  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES1 
2023 ANNUAL REPORT  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  On 13 December 2017, at the 11th Ministerial Conference (MC11), 88 WTO Members 
representing all major regions and levels of development established the Informal Working Group 
on MSMEs ( WT/MIN(17)/58/Rev.1 ). In their Joint  Ministerial Statement, the "Friends of MSMEs" 
committed to discu ssing and identifying " horizontal a nd non -discriminatory solutions"  to improve 
the participation of MSMEs in international trade while considering the specific needs of developing 
economies . 
1.2.  The following Annual Report describes the activities of the MSME Group in 2023. With approval 
from the Gro up, the  Coordinator's role was transferred on 26 April 2023 to H.E. Mr Matthew Wilson, 
Ambassador of Barbados from H.E. Mr José Lu ís Cancela, Ambassador of Uruguay. F ollowing an 
announcement to join by the United Arab Emirates2, the MSME Group counts 9 8 members .3 
1.3.  A draft Coordinator's Report ( INF/MSME/W/45 ) summarizing the key activities undertaken and 
outcomes achieved by the Group since its establishment in 2017 was issued in advance of MC13. 
Further, a draft compendium on Special Provisions for MSMEs in Authorized Economic Operator 
(AEO) P rograms ( INF/MSME/W/47 ) and a joint compendium with the International Trade Centre 
(ITC) and the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender on Access to Finance for Women -led 
Micro, Small and Medium -sized Enterprises (MSMEs) ( INF/MSME/W/46 -INF/TGE/W/7 ) were also 
issued by the Group.  
2  OPEN -ENDED MEETINGS HELD BY THE INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES 
DURING  2023 
2.1.  The MSME Group held five open -ended meetings during 2023, the first on 13 March, followed 
by 26 April, 3 July, 9 October and 7 December.  
2.2.  On 13 Mar ch, the Group held its first open -ended meeting of 2023 to discuss regular work for 
the year ahead ( INF/MSME/CN/20 ). A new work program was proposed focused on five pillars: 
1) promoting MSMEs' access to information , especially through the Tade4MSMEs website ; 
2) building capacity to promote MSME trade inclusion  by compiling information in handbooks, such 
as the Trade4MSMEs guides, or in a compendium of good practices ; 3) providing policy guidance  on 
 
1 Previous Annual Reports include  JOB/GC/207  dated 3 December 2018 ; INF/MSME/R/13/Rev.1  dated 
9 December 2019; INF/MSME/R/21  dated 15 December 2020; INF/MSME/R/30  dated 11 February 2022 and 
INF/MSME/R/35  dated 15 March 2023.  
2 The announcement was received on 28 March 2023.  
3 Members of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs are: Afghanistan; Albania; Antigua and Barbuda; 
Argentina; Armenia; Australia; Bahrain, Kingdom of; Barbados; Belize; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; 
Chile; China; Colombia; Costa Rica; Côte d'Ivoire; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; 
European Union and its 27 Member States; The Gambia; Georgia; Grenada; Guatemala; Guyana; Honduras; 
Hong Kong,  China; Iceland; Israel; Japan; Kazakhstan; Keny a; Korea, Republic of; Kyrgyz Republic; 
Lao People's Democratic Republic; Liechtenstein; Macao, China; Malaysia; Mexico; Moldova, Republic of; 
Mongolia; Montenegro; Myanmar; New Zealand; Nicaragua; Nigeria; North Macedonia; Norway; Pakistan; 
Paraguay; Peru ; Philippines; Qatar; Russian Federation; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint  Vincent and 
the Grenadines; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; Switzerland; Chinese Taipei; Tajikistan; Türkiye; 
Ukraine; United Arab Emirates; United Kingdom; United Sta tes of America; Uruguay and Viet Nam.  INF/MSME/R/42  
 
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  topics of interest to the Group ; 4) implement ing the December 2020 MSME Package; and 
5) strengthening engagement with the private sector  and other stakeholders through the Group's 
Newsletter and annual meetings with the private sector . Members were supportive of this proposed 
Work Programme.  The two winners of the 2022 Small Business Champions  competition , Association 
Professionnelle Accompagnements Valeurs Expertises Conseils (A.V.E.C .) (Benin) and the Tanzania 
Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) , then presented the progres s of their 
projects. Both representatives noted the importance of winning the International Chamber of 
Commerce (ICC), International Trade Centre (ITC), and WTO MSME Group Small Business 
Champions award for the exposure it provided and the way it allowed a dditional networking and 
identification of resources. The Group also received three presentations. The first was from the ITC 
regarding India's presidency of the G20 for which the ITC was invited to serve as a knowledge 
partner. For the second, the ITC pre sented on its most recent SME Competitiveness report titled 
"Connected Services, Competitive Business". And lastly for the third, the ICC presented their recent 
SME Climate Impact Report in which they identify policy levers that can help MSMEs take more 
climate action. The Coordinator also announced that the third edition of the ICC -ITC-WTO MSME 
Group Small Business Champions would be released on 16  March via social media. Separately, the 
Group agreed to issue a call for research papers on the impact of MSM E provisions in regional trade 
agreements, with papers due in August. Finally, Ambassador José Luís Cancela , who has been 
coordinator of the MSME Group since 2018, announced his impending departure from Geneva and 
invited delegations interested in coordina ting the activities of the Group to make their position 
known. Ambassador Matthew Wilson from Barbados expressed an interest in taking on the roll. A 
full summary of the meeting and of presentations received is available in document INF/MSME/R/36 . 
2.3.  The MSME Gr oup held its second open -ended meeting of the year on 26 April 2023 
(INF/MSME/CN/21 ). Barbados' Ambassador, Matthew Wilson, was formally appointed as the new 
MSME Group Coordinator following the call for volunteers during the first meeting of 2023. T he 
outgoing Coordinator, Ambassador José Luís  Cancela (Uruguay), provided a summary document, 
INF/MSME/R/37 , detailing key outputs and decisions by the MSME Group during his tenure 
from 2018. The Group's meeting opened with an experience sharing sessio n organized by Singapore 
on MSMEs and digitalization policy. The focus was on understanding Digital Economy 
Agreements  (DEA), digital trade facilitation, and UNCITRAL's work. The MSME Group also received 
three presentations from external participants on: 1 ) the current G20 presidency's agenda to support 
MSMEs; 2) WIPO's 2022 report on intangible asset finance; and 3) the ITC's Standards Map and its 
Trade for Sustainable Development (T4SD) Programme. Under other business, the United States 
brought a presenta tion to the MSME Group's attention titled "Who Notices Notifications,"  which was 
held on the margins of the Council on Trade in Goods. It was noted that during the event, panellists 
highlighted the challenge of staying up to date with all the WTO's notifications, especially 
resource -constrained MSMEs. Following the MSME Grou p's meeting, more than 50 people 
participated in the annual meeting with the private sector. A full summary of the meeting and of 
presentations received is available in document INF/MSME/R/38 . 
2.4.  The third MSME Group meeting was held on 3 July 2023 ( INF/MSME/CN/22 ) and was the first 
meeting chaired by the new Coordinator. The meeting had five presentations by external speakers 
and active discussion and experience -sharing by members on MSME trade -related subjects in 
advance of MC13. The Secretariat ki cked off the meeting with a presentation of the revamped version 
of the Trade4MSMEs website and The Trade Game, which was launched on 27 June for MSME Day. 
The United Kingdom submitted a communication for discussion titled "Supporting Women -Owned 
MSMEs" ( INF/MSME/W/43 ). The document describes the challenges women -owned businesses face 
to access finance and includes recommendations for actions. The Coordinator suggested that given 
the interest in further exploring programmes for supporting women -owned and  led businesses to 
access finance, there was merit in the MSME Group collating country experiences into a compendium. 
Members endorsed this suggestion. MSME Group members also gave a mandate to the Coordinator 
to prepare a draft MC13 outcome document under  his responsibility that would reiterate the 
importance of facilitating MSME trade and include some high -level commitments discussed within 
the MSME Group.  Discussion throughout the meeting returned to concrete deliverables for MC13 and 
the Group decided t o work on compendiums of good practices on : 1) AEO programs and MSMEs; 
and 2)  financial inclusion of women -owned MSMEs following the UK proposal, to be developed jointly 
with the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender.  Five presentations were received from:  
1) the World Customs Organization (WCO) on their AEO SAFE Framework and the WCO's efforts to 
support MSME inclusion; 2) The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) on their Digital Standards 
Initiative which aims to create an enabling regulatory envi ronment and promote the use and 
alignment of global standards to promote paperless trade; 3) the International Federation of Freight INF/MSME/R/42  
 
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  Forwarders Associations (FIATA) on the value of digitizing trade documents, especially for MSMEs, 
and their ability to cut costs and time and facilitate access to finance; 4) the World Trade Board on 
their recent Financial Inclusion in Trade Roadmap and five action points to align regulatory 
infrastructure and increase MSME access to trade finance; and 5) the International Tra de Centre 
(ITC) on their Alliances for Action program to support sustainable agriculture by smallholder farmers 
through market development, south -south collaboration between farmer organizations, and access 
to finance. Uruguayan officials from capital also  joined the meeting to share their experience of 
integrating MSMEs within their national AEO program. Separately, two of the three 
2023 ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions , COPROGENY from Cameroon and 
Divasity.com from Nigeria, were able to joi n the MSME Group meeting to present their winning 
proposals to the members. And lastly, the Coordinator informed the Group that he had discussed 
the idea of a joint workshop and solutions lab on the circular economy, women -led MSMEs and trade 
with the co -conveners of the Informal Working Group on Trade and Gender and Trade and 
Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD). It was noted the event would take 
place in September. The ITC provided an update on the new information available in the G lobal 
Trade Helpdesk related to digital payments, de minimis  thresholds, online marketplaces and online 
payment solutions. The ITC also briefed the Group on the G20 Jaipur Call for Action, which calls 
upon the ITC to work on a detailed implementation plan in consultation with UNCTAD and the WTO 
for upgrading the GTH to address information gaps faced by MSMEs. A full summary of the meeting 
and of presentations received is available in document INF/MSME/R/39  and INF/MSME/R/39/Corr.1 . 
2.5.  On 9 October 2023, the MSME Group held its fourth open -ended meeting ( INF/MSME/CN/23 ). 
The Group discussed preparations for MC13 and welcomed the draft Coordinator's Report 
(INF/MSME/W/45 ), which summarizes the work accomplished since the Group's establishment in 
December 2017 including the December 2020 MSME P ackage of six recommendations and 
declarations ( INF/MSME/4/Rev.2 ); the Trade4MSMEs website; the databases o f MSME provisions in 
regional trade agreements and trade policy reviews; the Trade4MSMEs Network; The Trade Game; 
and the ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions  initiative. The Report also recaps 
discussions that the Group has had over the past tw o years and highlights key ideas that have 
emerged from these discussions to help structure work after MC13. Members were supportive of the 
text. The draft compendium on Access to Finance for Women -led MSMEs 
(INF/MSME/W/46 -INF/TGE/W/7 ), a joint document  with the Informal Working Group on Trade and 
Gender and supported by the ITC, was reviewed. The Coordinator noted that the draft compendium 
on Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs with a MSME dimension was being prepared and 
would be sent to member s for review. The World Bank Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative 
(We-Fi) delivered a presentation to the Group. The initiative encourages voluntary commitments by 
signatories to promote access to finance for women entrepreneurs, particularly through dat a tracking 
and improved data quality. The OECD briefed the Group on their Ministerial Meeting from June 2023 
under the theme Managing Shocks and Transitions  – Future Proofing SMEs and Entrepreneurship 
Policies. The OECD underscored that there would be no n et zero global emissions without MSME 
inclusion and that there was a need to embed a MSME lens in broader policies. The Aid -for-Trade 
Secretariat briefed the Group on the biannual Global Trade Review that will take place from 
26-28 June 2024. As the review  will coincide with MSME Day (27  June), the Coordinator suggested 
organizing an event at the Aid -for-Trade Review to celebrate the occasion. The third 2023 
ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions  winner, Hey Success!, from the Philippines, 
provided  an overview  of their Agripreneurship project and progress made so far.  A full summary of 
the meeting and of presentations received is available in document INF/MSME/R/40 . 
2.6.  The Group held its last meeting of the year on 7 December 2023 ( INF/MSME/CN/24 ). The 
Group reviewed the expected outputs for MC13 including: 1) a joint compendium on Access to 
Finance for Women -led MSMEs (INF/MSME/W/46 -INF/TGE/W/7 ) with the IWG on Trade and Gender 
and the ITC; 2) a compendium on Special Provisions for MSMEs in Authorized Economic Operator 
(AEO) Programs ( INF/MSME/W/47 ); and 3) business and policymaker handbooks compiling the 
guides of the Trade4MSMEs website. Separately, m embers updated the Group on their work to 
implement the December 2020 MSME Package of Recommendations and Declarations. The EU 
commented on their work to develop MSME -related trade policies and Hong Kong, China reporte d 
on the inclusion of information on MSME -related statistics and programmes in their trade policy 
review.  Presentations of research received in relation to the Group's March 2023 call for papers on 
"MSME Provisions in Regional Trade Agreements: Objectives and Observed Outcomes" were then 
made. Two papers were provided by the delegation of the Philippines titled "The Impact of FTA 
Import Utilization on Firm Performance: An Assessment of Philippine Manufacturing MSMEs" and 
"Survey on MSME/MSME -Related Provisi ons in APEC Economies' FTAs/RTAs". The UN Economic INF/MSME/R/42  
 
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  Commission for Africa (UNECA) provided a third presentation  titled "What is the positioning of SMES 
in the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Key findings based on the AfCFTA Country 
Business In dex". The Group also received three external presentations , including from the delegation 
of Chile  to the WTO  on their support for industrial  cooperatives and the inclusion of MSME -related 
language in RTAs ; the ITC on their recently released SME Competitiv eness Outlook (SMECO) on 
Small Businesses in Fragility ; and  the Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) on their work to 
support digital entrepreneurs through the STRIDE Association and women entrepreneurs through 
Elevate  50. The first "MSME Spotlight" occurred and featured a woman -led candle business from 
Barbados. Tamara Gibson, the chief chandler, joined online to describe her business, the importance 
of e-commerce through her own website, and the challenges she encounters to trade internationally. 
Finally, under "Other Business" the United States briefly alerted the MSME Group to their recently 
held webinar on the digital frontier for agriculture in developing economies  and the Coordinator 
informed the Group that the proposed theme of the 2024 edition of the ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group 
Small Business Champions  competition w ould be  "Supporting Trade by Indigenous Peoples".  A full 
summary of the meeting and of presentations received is available in document INF/MSME/R/ 41. 
3  IMPLEMENTATION OF THE DECEMBER 2020 MSME PACKAGE  
3.1.  Members continued to implement the December 2020 MSME Package ( INF/MSME/4/Rev.2 ). 
3.1  Annex 1  
3.2.  The Secretariat updated its database of MSME references in TPRs through mid-year 202 3, 
including new entries from 1996 and 1997. Additionally, Brazil, Chile, the European Union, 
Hong Kong, China, Japan, Chinese Taipei and Türkiye included MSME information or  dedicated 
sections in their reports.  
3.2  Annex 2  
3.3.  The ITC presented to  the MSME Group regularly throughout 2023 on updates made to the 
Global Trade Helpdesk. Over the year, the Global Trade Helpdesk platform was expanded to include 
a new Go Digital section fea turing information on de minimis  values from the Global Express 
Association; e -commerce transactional marketplaces across economies; as well as digital payment 
coverage and payment solutions. The platform also now includes WTO notifications on Quantitative  
Restrictions, compl ementing the coverage for other non -tariff measures. The Global Trade Helpdesk 
was presented to over 1,300 businesses and business support organizations at events including the 
ICC World Chambers Congress , UN Arab SME Summit, ASEAN Busi ness Summit as part of the Digital 
Export Enablement programme across ASEAN markets, and in open webinars with the Trade4MSMEs 
platform. The platform was recognized by Trade and Investment Ministers at the G20 in India as a 
veritable and inclusive source o f trade information for MSMEs and nominated for technological 
enhancement as part of the Jaipur Call for Action.  
3.4.  MSME Group members were also called on to continue their review of the information, with a 
total of 43 members having completed the exercise.  
4  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
4.1  Other  
4.1.  The Group met virtually with the private sector in April 2023 in the afternoon of the second 
open-ended meeting of the year. More than 50 people participated in the annual meeting and 
participants stressed the importance of unifying regulation and standards to reduce compliance costs 
for MSMEs as well as the need for more training to raise awareness and build capacity. Cooperation 
with the ICC and the ITC was welcomed and further encouraged. It was noted that consideration 
should be g iven to developing compendiums of good practices on issues such as trade facilitation – 
an approach that the Group also discussed at their first meeting in 2023.  
4.2.  The WTO MSME Group celebrated international MSME Day on 27 June 2023 with the launch of 
a comp letely revamped version of the Trade4MSMEs website, made possible through the financial 
support and strategic partnership of the UK Institute of Export and International Trade (IOE&IT). 
The updated Trade4MSMEs website is meant to be a first stop for goods and services traders as well INF/MSME/R/42  
 
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  as trade policymakers, with guides on each of the main considerations that exporters and importers 
need to review as well as guides on key topics for trade officials. The site now features new 
navigation tools; a separate secti on for MSMEs that trade services; more than 40 MSME guides; over 
600 resources in the library; and new national pages with country -specific tools and links for MSME 
traders. In tandem with the overhaul of the Trade4MSMEs website, IOE&IT and the WTO MSME 
Group Secretariat created The Trade Game, which was also launched on MSME Day. This "choose 
your own adventure" online game brings players through some of the decisions and challenges of 
exporting as a micro enterprise.  
4.3.  The third iteration of the ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions i nitiative with 
the theme  "Helping Smallholder Farmers go Global" was held and three winners were announced on 
MSME Day 2023 by H.E. Mr Matthew Wilson, Ambassador of Barbados and MSME Group Coordinator; 
Ms Pamela  Coke-Hamilton, Executive Director, International Trade Centre; Mr John Denton, 
Secretary General, International Chamber of Commerce; and Dr Ngozi Okonjo -Iweala, 
Director -General, World Trade Organization. The winning proposals included " Capacity Building 
Support for Women Cassava Producers to Improve the Quality and Quantity of Competitive 
Cassava -Derived Products on the International Market " by Coprogeny from Cameroon; 
"Agripreneurship " by Hey Success Virtual Assistance Services in the Philippines; and a "Funding and 
Market Readiness Program for Agribusinesses " by Divasity.com in Nigeria.  A panel discussion was 
also held in connection with the ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions i nitiative on 
the importance of smallholder farmers for trade incl usivity and the challenges these traders face. 
Four panellists from the public and private sector  including the FAO; Brazil's Ministry of Agrarian 
Development and Family Agriculture; CABI Southeast and Pacific Asia; and Avoport, a South African 
agricultura l supply chain integrator , joined together for a moderated discussion by the ICC to discuss 
challenges and public private partnerships that have supported trade by these participants.  
4.4.  The second annual meeting of the Trade4MSMEs Network was held on 28 June  2023. This 
followed from the proposal by the MSME Group Coordinator in early 2022 to organize a regular 
discussion among international institutions that work to support MSME economic participation, with 
the objective of keeping the Trade4MSMEs website up to date and of fostering cooperation among 
the participating organizations. Nine International Organizations joined the MSME Group Coordinator 
and Secretariat  for a virtual discussion.  The discussion was centred around two questions: first, 
"what are the t op 3-5 issues that MSME constituents in your network have flagged over the past 
year?"; and second, "what are solutions your organization has been working on, or considering, to 
address these challenges?". In relation to the first question, interventions w ere made by ADB, 
UNECLAC, UNCTAD, ITC and EIF. One of the primary issues that was raised was access to finance, 
including trade finance and supply chain finance, especially for women -owned businesses. For the 
second question, ADB, ITU, ITC, UNECLAC, UNCTAD  and EIF discussed various activities that have 
been undertaken in the past one to two years to support MSME trade inclusion. Digitalization, digital 
trade and e -commerce received particular attention.  
4.5.  The MSME Group,  together with the IWG on Trade and Gen der and the Trade and 
Environmental Sustainability Structured Discussions (TESSD) held a Joint Solutions Lab on 
28 September 2023 to discuss the intersection of these groups' work, how to bring cohesion to WTO 
efforts, and to listen to women -led MSME trade rs' experience on the ground.  The event featured a 
keynote address by the WTO Director -General and continued with an ambassadors' roundtable that 
called for continued cooperation and cohesion among the WTO initiatives, investment in women 
owned businesses and those led by indigenous communities, supporting all MSMEs to embrace the 
circular economy, and the need to have greater development of more granular economic data on 
women -led MSMEs. This was followed by a business panel that highlighted the increased awareness 
of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) by businesses and the growing consumer 
demand for responsibly produced products. The business panel called for better use of technology 
and technological interoperability as well as training  and improved HS classification for recycled or 
sustainable goods.  
4.6.  As Coordinator of the MSME Group, Ambassador  Matthew Wilson  was invited to participate  in 
various meetings and webinars organized by external stakeholders to raise awareness concerning 
the efforts of the Group. This included  an intervention within the UN MSME Day programme, 
participation in an Informal Dialogue on "Advancing Interests of the Least Developed Countries 
(LDCs) " organized by CUTS as well as a breakfast meeting co -hosted with the  ITC Executive Director 
to brief the African Union Trade Commissioner on the importance of the MSME Group's work.  INF/MSME/R/42  
 
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  4.7.  Additionally, the Coordinator issued three Newsletters over 2023 ( 2023-Spring , 2023-Summer  
and 2023-Fall). Newsletters covered updates on the work of the Group and its initiatives i ncluding 
the Trade4MSMEs web platform; presentations the MSME Group received; and the ICC-ITC-WTO 
MSME Group Small Business Champions.  
5  CONCLUSION  
5.1.  The Informal Working Group adopted the present Annual Report (2023) ad referendum at its 
7 December 2023  open-ended meeting.  
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