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ICSB Sunday Times Editor’s note:
Pour yourself a strong coffee; this week’s ICSB Sunday Times is packed with game-changing insights. We kick off with a bold mid-year reality check on our Top 10 MSME Trends for 2025, which ones soared, which surprised us, and what it means for entrepreneurs everywhere. But that’s just the start: discover fresh research on SME decline and turnaround, a dynamic new framework breaking down gender barriers in entrepreneurship, and the inspiring story of Dr. Winslow Sargeant’s return from Boston to Barbados. Add in powerful reflections on entrepreneurship education, the Socratic method in the AI era, and the art of elegant design, and you’ve got a lineup that proves once again why MSMEs are rewriting the rules of the global economy.
— Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy
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Eight Months In: How Our MSME 2025 Predictions Stacked Up
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When we published our Top 10 Trends for MSMEs in January 2025, we made bold predictions about a rapidly evolving business landscape. Eight months later, we’re thrilled with how our predictions performed, with some trends proving even more transformative than anticipated. We are reviewing them now, not to revise or change them, but to hold ourselves accountable and measure how well our foresight aligned with reality. This review enables us to assess which predictions were on target, which exceeded expectations, and which unfolded differently than anticipated. By looking back, we can validate our analysis, celebrate where we were right, and learn from areas where the business landscape surprised us.
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By Ayman ElTarabishy, President & CEO, ICSB
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Editor’s Pick
Accelerating SME Digitalisation
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Perhaps the most significant development in recent years has been the emergence of accessible artificial intelligence tools. Generative AI platforms, such as ChatGPT, Copilot, and Claude, have democratized access to sophisticated AI capabilities that were once the exclusive domain of tech giants. The survey findings are striking: within just one year of public release, 18% of SMEs across France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the United States are already experimenting with generative AI services. More importantly, 57% of these businesses believe the potential benefits outweigh the associated risks.
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CUTTING EDGE RESEARCH
Different strokes for different folks: A review of SME decline and turnaround
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For over 30 years, scholars have studied business turnarounds, but research remains fragmented and often contradictory. New findings reveal that SMEs react to decline differently from large public firms, challenging existing models.
By: Forstner, F. F., Vassolo, R., & Sevil, A. (2025).
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GLOBAL INSIGHTS
A dynamic gender-barriers framework to women’s entrepreneurship: A competency-based perspective
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Women entrepreneurs face barriers that shift and overlap, but breaking them can create powerful ripple effects. When women gain the skills and support they need, entire communities benefit, driving growth, equality, and innovation for everyone.
By: Tatiana Somià
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INSIDE ICSB
From Barbados to Boston
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Meet Dr. Winslow Sargeant – a Barbadian who left his homeland at age seven for Boston, but never left Barbados behind in his heart. After decades abroad, he answered Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s powerful call for 2025’s “Year of Return,” and boy, did he make it count! 🇧🇧 He is also the immediate past Chair of ICSB.
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What Do We Owe Entrepreneurial Learners?
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Entrepreneurship education must move from “instructors and pupils” to true “educators and learners,” where teaching is student-led, deeply connected to ecosystems, and supported by trained educators using rigorous assessment. Every learner deserves the best pedagogy, the best educators, supportive settings, strong ecosystems, and research-driven evaluation that ensures real impact.
by: Norris Krueger, ICSB Board Member
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The Socratic Method in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
The Socratic method, rooted in the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, remains one of the most influential and time-tested approaches to fostering critical thinking and intellectual engagement. Socrates believed knowledge is best acquired through questioning and dialogue rather than passive absorption of information.
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Elegant Design: A Designer’s Guide to Harnessing Aesthetics
Author: Dr. Luca Iandoli
Users want simple designs but crave performance. More performance means more complexity. How can designers, inventors, and product managers handle this trade-off? How can they create designs that are quick to process and meaningful, unique, and memorable in an age characterized by constant information overload? The answer is elegant design.
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ICSB 70th Anniversary – From ICSB History Book
3. Argentina’s Breakthrough and SME Day
Formed in 2009 through the Red Pymes Mercosur network, ICSB Argentina became a turning point for Latin America. Led by Ruben Ascua, Buenos Aires hosted the 2017 World Conference, where the UN launched SME Day, while Argentina’s grassroots efforts expanded ICSB’s regional presence.
2. Singapore’s Revival
Joining ICSB in 1994, Singapore hosted the 1998 World Conference before fading from the scene. In 2011, under Den Huan Hoi, it staged a strong comeback, reaffirming its role in entrepreneurship education and practice.
3. Dubai’s Last-Minute Triumph (2015)
Dubai stepped in at the last minute to deliver the 60th World Conference. The event, remembered for its “verve and grandezza,” turned a near-crisis into a showcase of resilience and global reach.
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We are devoted to the interests and advancement of small business globally
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