INF/MSME/R/40  
 
17 October  2023 
(23-6979) Page: 1/3 
  Original: English  
 
INFORMAL WORKING GROUP ON MSMES  
OPEN -ENDED MEETING OF 9 OCTOBER  2023 
Summary of discussions  
The following communication, dated 17 October  2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
Coordinator of the Informal Working Group on MSMEs, Ambassador Matthew Wilson (Barbados).  
 
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1.1.  The MSME Informal Working Group (MSME Group) met for its fourth open -ended meeting of 
the year on 9 October 2023. A total of 50 delegations1 attended the hybrid meeting, including 
seven  non-Working Group members (Angola; Cambodia; Chad; Fiji; Ghana; Panama; and Thailand).  
1.2.  The Group discussed preparations for MC13 and welcomed the draft Coordinator's R eport 
(INF/MSME/W/45 ) which summarizes the work accomplished since the Group's establishment in 
December 2017 i ncluding the December 2020 package of six recommendations and declarations 
(INF/MSME/4/Rev.2 ); the Trade4MSMEs website; the databases of MSME provisions in regional trade 
agreements and trade policy reviews; the Trade4MSMEs Network; The Trade Game; and the Smal l 
Business Champions initiative. The Report also recaps discussions that the Group has had over the 
past two years and highlights key ideas that have emerged from these discussions to help structure 
work after MC13. Members were supportive of the text. Sev eral members emphasized the 
importance for the Group to remain pragmatic and flexible in the choice of topics for discussion. It 
was suggested to continue to focus on compilations of more "good practices", handbooks and 
guidelines  and showcase opportunitie s and challenges of MSMEs in meeting their goals . The 
Coordinator invited the Group to share any ideas for what the MSME Group could showcase at  MC13 . 
Initial ideas included whether a meeting at ministerial level should be organized  to launch the 
compendia on access to finance  for women -led MSMEs and Authorized Economic Operator s, and/or 
whether a session could be organized during the business forum that takes place on the margins of 
the Ministerial Conference , including with other WTO Working Groups such as the Informal Working 
Group on Trade and Gender, and with other organisations such as the International Trade Centre 
(ITC). 
1.3.  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 discussed. The Coordinator called on member s to review the 
document including through suggesting additional programmes to be featured. The  intention is for 
this to be a living document with regular updates. The Coordinator noted that the compendium on 
Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) programs wit h a MSME dimension was being prepared and 
would be sent to members for review. The plan is to issue both documents by MC13.  
 
1 Angola ; Argentina; Austria; Barbados; Brazil; Brunei Darussalam; Cambodia ; Canada; Chad; Chile; 
China; Costa  Rica; Côte  d'Ivoire; Czech Republic; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; European Union; 
Fiji; Finland; France; Germany; Ghana ; Hong Kong, China; Ireland; Japan; Korea,  Republic of; Macao, China; 
Mexico; Moldova,  Republic  of; My anmar; Netherlands; New Zealand; Panama ; Peru; Philippines; Romania; 
Russian  Federation; Saudi Arabia, Kingdom of; Singapore; Spain; Switzerland; Chinese  Taipei; Thailand ; 
Türkiye; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States of America; Uruguay; and Viet  Nam (n on-MSME Group 
members are in italics).  INF/MSME/R/40  
 
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  1.4.  The ITC provided an update on the new information available in the Global 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. The Group agreed to work closely with the 
ITC on these efforts. The Coordinator further noted that although Trade4MSMEs was not included in 
the Jaipur Call for Action, he expected the Trade4MSMEs platform to be par t of the scope of the 
upgrading work as the two platforms are complementary. He further requested the ITC to provide 
regular updates to the MSME Group on progress made. The Coordinator invited members of the 
Group to consider contributing to the long -term sustainability of the Trade4MSMEs platform, 
including through financial support for further improvements and translation into other languages . 
The Coordinator further asked the ITC to consider how it could support developing country MSME 
Group members to report under the MSMEs December 2020 package . 
1.5.  Following the Coordinator's suggestion from the 3 July meeting, 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 data tracking and improved data quality. MSME Group members 
underscored this need for improved data collection more generally in terms of trade, finance and 
MSMEs and encouraged the Group to consider efforts i n this regard.  
1.6.  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 
Ministerial had a number of deliverables including a Declaration  on Enhancing SMEs and 
Entrepreneurship Policies for Greater Resilience and Successful Green and Digital Transitions as well 
as a key issues paper and 2023 Recommendations on SME Financing. The OECD underscored that 
there would be no net zero global emissi ons without MSME inclusion and that there was a need to 
embed a MSME lens in broader policies.  
1.7.  The Aid -for-Trade Secretariat briefed the Group on the biannual Global Trade Review that will 
take place from 26 -28 June 2024. Part of this review includes a qu estionnaire to beneficiaries with 
MSME -related questions that may be of interest to the Group. 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.  
1.8.  The th ird 2023 ICC -ITC-MSME Group Small Business Champions winner, Hey Success! , from 
the Philippines,  provide d an overview  of their agripreneurship project and progress made so far.  
1.9.  The year -end meeting of the MSME Group is planned for 7 December 2023 . 
 
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  INF/MSME/R/40  
 
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  ANNEX  
PRESENTATION SUMMARIES  
1  WE FINANCE CODE , UNLEASHING FINANCE FOR WOMEN ENTERPRISES , WORLD BANK  
1.1.  The World Bank joined the MSME Group meeting to present the Women Entrepreneurs Finance 
Initiative (We -Fi). Although 400 million women globally have unmet financing needs representing a 
USD 1.7 trillion financial services growth opportunity, the lack of gender -disaggregated data makes 
it challenging to know who precisely is excluded, which financial products they  use, how women's 
financial needs differ from men's and how products should be adapted. The WE Finance code from 
the We -Fi initiative is a multistakeholder effort to close financing and data gaps for women -led 
MSMEs . The code , which is based on the UK code  on access to finance by women -owned 
entrepreneurs,  encourages voluntary commitments by signatories in three areas, namely 
leadership  by designating a senior member to champion women entrepreneurs' access to finance ; 
data through expanding the quantity and  detail of reported data on women -led firms ; and activities  
that will promote women entrepreneurs ' access to tools and resources. We-Fi encourages national 
codes through a public declaration of intent to introduce a code that conforms to the minimum 
guidel ines, maintaining a national coalition to oversee the adoption of the code with a designated 
coordinator, and developing a mechanism to aggregate data with integrity. Progress of national 
efforts and related work by multilateral development banks, NGOs, an d others will be tracked 
through an annual global report. The We -Fi secretariat is working globally with the Financial Alliance 
for Women and OECD to accelerate implementation and learning through WE Finance code guidance, 
training, advocacy and ecosystem management. Country Code launches will take place from 
October  2023-March  2024 with key champions announced on international women's day. Country 
rollouts  of the code are planned to continue through April 2026.  
2  MEETING OF THE OECD COMMITTEE ON SMES AND ENT REPRENEURSHIP AT THE 
MINISTERIAL LEVEL , OECD  
2.1.  The OECD presented the highlights from their Ministerial Meeting under the theme Managing 
Shock and Transitions – Future Proofing SME and Entrepreneurship Policies. Coinciding with MSME 
Day 2023, the meeting had  an outcome Declaration on Enhancing SMEs and Entrepreneurship 
Policies for Greater Resilience and Successful Green and Digital Transitions  and also launched the 
SME & Entrepreneurship Outlook  and Implementation Toolkit  from the 2022 recommendation.  The 
declaration was adopted by all 38 OECD member economies plus Bulgaria, Croatia, Peru, Romania 
and Ukraine.  The OECD noted that recent cris es have spotlighted the importance of MSMEs in the 
global economy. One positive result of  the Covid pandemic was that it spurred MSME digitalization, 
which the OECD has in turn shown can support the green transition through greater efficiencies and 
eco-innovation. This is especially important given the sheer number of MSMEs globally and the  fact, 
as the  OECD underscored , that there can be no -Net Zero Global Emissions without these  businesses' 
inclusion . However, MSMEs face a number of challenges as they are especially vulnerable to digital 
security threats, they may lack awareness and capacity, and they struggle with regulatory 
complexities. A stakeholder event with Business at OECD (BIAC) was held directly before the 
Ministerial with 150 participants from MS ME associations, companies, banks and government officials 
who called for reductions in red tape, more consistent incentives for digital and green transitions, 
and more support for the well -being of entrepreneurs. Key takeaways from the Ministerial and the  
side events were the need for more targeted MSME approaches ; applying a MSME lens to policy; 
reducing barriers to trade; building MSME capacity to access new digital technology; strengthening 
monitoring and evaluation; and advanc ing the data agenda throug h new indicators of MSME 
greening, costs of regulation and gender  disaggregation . 
 
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