Celebrating MSMEs Worldwide on MSMEs Day 2025: A Tribute to Their Resilience
On behalf of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), we are proud to celebrate Micro-, Small, and Medium-Sized Enterprises MSMEs Day 2025, a day dedicated to honoring the incredible resilience, creativity, and impact of MSMEs around the world. From corner shops and local manufacturers to digital startups and family-run farms, MSMEs are the backbone of communities and the driving force behind inclusive economic growth.
This year’s global theme, “Resilience,” highlights the extraordinary ability of MSMEs to withstand and adapt to an era of unrelenting change. Whether facing global pandemics, economic uncertainty, climate disruptions, or rapid technological transformation, MSMEs continue to stand strong, pivoting quickly, innovating with limited resources, and remaining deeply rooted in purpose.
To mark this important day, ICSB is honored to present the 2025 ICSB Global MSME Report, posted on the United Nations MSMEs Day website (click to download the report), centered on the concept of “Navigating Permanent White Water.” This theme reflects the constant turbulence MSMEs now face and the skills required to thrive in such conditions: agility, adaptability, community connection, and bold vision.
Let us come together to celebrate MSMEs, not only for surviving in challenging times, but for leading the way forward with heart, courage, and resilience.
Among the standout contributions to our 2025 Global MSMEs Report are the following:
- The Future of SMEs (Rico J. Baldegger) examines the critical trends shaping the success of SMEs, including digital transformation, sustainability, workforce shifts, and financing gaps.
- Digital Transformation & Competitiveness (ITC) introduces the e-DTI index, highlighting how expert users of digital tools outperform others in terms of productivity, cost reduction, and innovation.
- WTO MSME Group Update (WTO) reviews global efforts to integrate MSMEs into trade, including digitalization, AEO programs, and the Trade4MSMEs platform.
- Financial Inclusion of Entrepreneurs (Andrea Minetti et al.) examines the persistent barriers SMEs face in accessing credit, and how trust, asymmetry, and policy gaps play a role.
- Elizabeth Ann Seton as Entrepreneurial Pioneer examines how spirituality, resilience, and purpose-driven leadership shaped Seton into a model for mission-based entrepreneurship. (Katia Passerini, Arturo Pagan, and Ayman ElTarabishy.)
- High-Tech MSMEs & Industrial Policy (Nicolas Durand) argues for targeted support to help high-tech start-ups scale domestically and avoid premature foreign acquisition.
- Innovation Districts and Urban Renaissance (Ahmed Osman) demonstrates how historic cities can foster sustainable growth by integrating research, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.
- Uncertainty as the New Normal (Alina Landowska) discusses the structural constraints undermining MSME resilience and how agile policy can improve productivity.
- Entrepreneurial Ecosystems (Norris Krueger) outlines a bottom-up, data-driven framework for fostering local ecosystems that empower diverse and resilient entrepreneurs.
- Risk Behavior in Indonesian SMEs (Margaretha Banowati Talim) utilizes GEM data to examine gender differences and cultural norms that influence SME risk appetite.
- Impact Investing in Africa (Gilbert Kofi Adarkwah & Margaret Fong) emphasizes how blended finance and ecosystem support can bridge the MSME funding gap and promote inclusive growth.
Each chapter is a testament to the resilience, creativity, and leadership of micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) worldwide. As you read this report, we invite you to reflect on how your work can align with these insights—and how, together, we can champion the future of humane, innovative, and sustainable entrepreneurship.
With purpose and partnership,
Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy, President & CEO, International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
Founder of MSMEs Day
Deputy Chair, Department of Management
The George Washington University School of Business
