The future of MSMEs will not be determined by technology alone
Now in its ninth edition, the report arrives as the global community approaches the tenth anniversary of MSMEs Day in 2027. It will be shaped by the ecosystems, institutions, communities, and human-centered approaches that enable entrepreneurs to create sustainable economic and social value.
Micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises remain the foundation of economic activity worldwide, accounting for the overwhelming majority of businesses and the livelihoods of billions.
Yet the environment they operate in is changing fast. Artificial intelligence, digital transformation, geopolitical uncertainty, supply chain disruption, demographic shifts, and rising demands for sustainability are reshaping the opportunities and challenges entrepreneurs face. This edition brings together vantage points from Francophone Africa, Nigeria, and Egypt; India and Nepal; Oman and the wider Gulf; Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Serbia, Poland, and Ukraine; Ireland; the United States and its border with Mexico; Argentina; and Armenia and the South Caucasus.
What the volume is about
Articles & chapters
Twenty-four contributions spanning digital transformation, trade, women's entrepreneurship, resilience, and ecosystem policy. Filter by theme or region, or search by title and author.
The Top 10 MSME Trends for 2026
As the world enters 2026, MSMEs stand at the center of a profound economic and social transformation. From the rise of solo entrepreneurs to micro-multinationals, from the resurgence of human touch to the evolution of humanized AI, small businesses are rewriting the rules of entrepreneurship. Counting down from ten.
Regional & focused trend reports
Beyond the global list, ICSB convenes regional and thematic trend panels. Each names the ten forces shaping its own ecosystem.
The Human-Centered Entrepreneurship Index
Most rankings ask one question: how entrepreneurial is an economy? This Index asks a second one alongside it: how well does that economy treat the people inside its enterprises? It scores 43 economies on both, so you can see not only who creates the most business activity, but who does it in a way that lets people thrive.
Each economy is scored across six indicators on a common scale, drawn from international data. Three of them measure the human side of enterprise, the Three E's below, and combine into a Human Flourishing score. The other three, innovation, risk-taking, and pro-activeness, combine into an Entrepreneurial Dynamism score. The two are averaged into a single Human-Centered Entrepreneurship rating, and because they are reported separately, you can see exactly what is driving a high or low result.
Empathy
Whether enterprises understand and respond to the people they affect, employees, customers, and communities, and keep those relationships at the center rather than treating people as inputs.
Enablement
Whether people have what they need to act: skills, finance, infrastructure, and institutions that support entrepreneurship instead of obstructing it.
Empowerment
Whether people have real agency and ownership over their work and decisions, with the freedom to shape outcomes and grow.
The most revealing cases are the mismatches, where an economy's drive to start businesses and its capacity to support people pull in different directions.
An economy can be a dynamo of new-venture activity yet score lower on whether its people are genuinely supported and empowered, or the reverse, and those gaps are where policy has the most work to do. Finland leads the Human Flourishing side, with top marks on Empathy and Empowerment, and the Nordic and Western European economies cluster at the top. At the other end sit economies under acute stress, such as Egypt and South Africa, alongside others held back on a single dimension, like Türkiye on Empowerment or India on Empathy and Enablement.
The interactive dashboard carries the full ranking, a profile for each of the 43 economies, and comparisons within regions and size groups. The Index was peer-reviewed and published in the Journal of the International Council for Small Business (JICSB), Taylor & Francis.
DOI: 10.1080/26437015.2026.2683549
The report of record
The Global MSMEs Report is published annually by the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), the oldest international membership organization devoted to the growth and development of small business worldwide, founded in 1955.
Since the United Nations General Assembly established MSMEs Day in 2017 through Resolution A/RES/71/279, the report has served as a platform for sharing evidence, ideas, and policy insights from around the world. This ninth edition opens with the story of how the world's smallest enterprises earned a voice at the UN, and closes looking toward the tenth anniversary of MSMEs Day in 2027.
It is more than a collection of chapters. It reflects a broader movement that recognizes entrepreneurship as a force for economic opportunity, social progress, and human-centered development.
Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy
Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy is President and CEO of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and a Teaching Professor of Management at the George Washington University School of Business. A global leader in entrepreneurship education, policy, and research, he co-founded the Human-Centered Entrepreneurship framework, built on the principles of Empathy, Enablement, and Empowerment, and helped lead the international effort that established the United Nations MSMEs Day in 2017.
Named GW's Most Influential Faculty Member in 2019, Dr. ElTarabishy was also recognized in 2026 with both the Outstanding Accelerated Master of Business Administration Teaching Award and the Outstanding Master of Science in Management Teaching Award for his dedication to student success and academic excellence. He pioneered courses in entrepreneurship, innovation, creativity, and social entrepreneurship at GW and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Small Business Management (JSBM), one of the world's leading journals in the field.
Through his leadership at ICSB and GW, Dr. ElTarabishy continues to advance entrepreneurship as a force for economic empowerment, human development, and global impact. He also leads the annual Global MSMEs Report, which examines emerging trends shaping the future of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises worldwide.