International conference: WTO Public Forum on Inclusive Trade

South Africa - 21 November 2017

Title: Service sector SMEs in LDCs and LICs
Author(s): Grater, S., Parry A. & Viviers, W.

Abstract:
The development of services sectors in least-developed countries (LDCs) and low-income countries (LICs) has the potential to stimulate economic growth, raise incomes and reduce poverty rates. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) play a key role in this regard given their ability to react quickly to changing market conditions and to disperse economic gains more widely throughout the domestic economy than their larger counterparts. This paper examines the critical role that SMEs play in the services sector, investigates the primary supply-side constraints that limit their increased participation in the economies of LDCs and LICs, and proposes a set of policy options that could boost SME participation, productivity and competitiveness in the services sectors of the world’s most vulnerable economies.

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