Micro, Small & Medium-Sized Enterprises for Sustainable Development Goals

Share This Post

Facebook
Twitter
Email

Background

The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were developed in response to the need to continue on the path set by the Millennium Development Goals. Created by two revolutionary women, the founders believed that the blueprint put forwards by the SDGs would correct some of the failures of the business world by offering resources and opportunities to atypical actors in an attempt to adhere to evolving sustainability requirements and eco-friendly innovation. Since their creation in 2015, SDGs have operated as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and create opportunities for advancement and prosperity by 2030.

What are the SDGs?

Goal 1: No Poverty. We must challenge the idea that poverty is inevitable and empower entrepreneurs and small businesses to lead the way in eliminating it. This SDG pushes for the elimination of extreme poverty and the implementation of social protection systems.

 

Goal 2: Zero Hunger. This SDG targets food insecurity and malnourishment, recognizing that they play a pivotal role in maintaining inequality and underdevelopment. We must invest in better nutrition and more sustainable food production and distribution systems. 

 

Goal 3: Good Health and Well-Being. Prioritizing the health and well-being of everyone of all ages is the main goal of this SDG. This includes universal healthcare and addressing maternal mortality and preventable deaths.

 

Goal 4: Quality Education. Ensuring inclusive educational options and lifelong learning opportunities is a primary goal of the SDGs, and some of the most effective measures include working towards universal literacy and expanded primary school access.

 

Goal 5: Gender Equality. One of the easiest ways to see a dramatic improvement in production and consumption is to remove the barriers that female employees face. Half of the labor force has been underappreciated and underutilized for decades, so fostering a culture that empowers women has had dramatically successful results. 

 

Goal 6: Clean Water & Sanitation. On top of the moral need for businesses to meet the basic human needs of their employees and customers, as we have seen throughout 2020, access to clean water and sanitation is a crucial public health right for the basic functionality of the business world. It also exacerbates racial and gendered inequalities, and therefore, in overcoming this inaccess we can concurrently heal these connected inequities.

 

Goal 7: Affordable & Clean Energy. One of the most disruptive and consequential changes in production and consumption will be the transition from fossil fuels to renewables. Investing in affordable, clean energy will soon become a basic pre-requisite for any aspiring small business or entrepreneur.

 

Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth. The challenges we face and the solutions necessary to combat them will require massive investments and enormous human labor power. Ensuring that we create safe, sustainable working conditions that drive sustainable economic growth is the only way to ensure long term success.

 

Goal 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure. There will be a dire need for investment and advancement in all sectors, but industry and infrastructure are some of the most important. Sustainable methods of production and transportation will be critical foundations for building the rest of a sustainable, just economy.

 

Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. Inequalities impact every facet of our economy. Reducing them will increase productivity, wealth, and overall happiness. Lifting those who have traditionally been trodden upon is a necessary part of our transformation into a modern and sustainable economy

 

Goal 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities. Creating sustainable cities and communities will make it easier for the rest of the economy tp transition as well. Investing in sustainable homes and forms of education and socialization will create a more seamless transition from sustainable citizen to sustainable entrepreneur.

 

Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production. Another way to create a self-reinforcing, sustainable ecosystem is to encourage responsible consumption and production.

 

Goal 13: Climate Action. This goal is to strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related disasters while building up mechanisms to raise capacity for planning and management.

 

Goal 14: Life Below Water. Created to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas, and marine resources for sustainable development. One of the most urgent targets for this SDG is ending overfishing and establishing sustainable fishing practices.

 

Goal 15: Life on Land. The main target for this SDG is the sustainable management of forests. Combat desertification and halt biodiversity loss.

 

Goal 16: Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions. This SDG recognizes the pivotal role that peaceful societies and strong institutions have on the economy and the people’s success and prosperity. Investing in sustainable institutions that will maintain this stability is paramount.

 

Goal 17: Partnerships. None of these goals can be established without a robust, global partnership. We must invest and cultivate a trusting, sustainable relationship with each other in order to succeed.

The Global Transition

The future of business is truly global. We have journeyed too far and forged too many connections to turn back now. There is so much potential for truly transformative change, and we must be ambitious in meeting the moment. These goals put forwards by the SDGs are not small, and the problems we face aren’t either. Because of this, solutions must come from the largest and most promising sectors of the business world. MSMEs represent the best of these sectors. They mirror both the foundations of society and are represented by a group of entrepreneurs that have sprung from a foundation of resilience and adaptability. By empowering and capturing this community, which means over 70% of the global economy, we will be able to generate sustainable solutions while laying the foundation for a long-term, equitable and just society.

Where We Go From Here

By creating a global set of development goals, the hope is those small businesses, entrepreneurs, and investors use the outline put forwards by the SDGs to empower individuals, communities, and ideas that have traditionally been left behind by the market. This can be accomplished by eliminating traditional barriers like racial and gender inequality to investments in renewable and sustainable infrastructure, production, and consumption. The SDGs purpose is not to lay out a rigid plan of change that must be followed precisely. Instead, the SDGs are meant to empower small businesses and entrepreneurs with a blueprint to apply to their contexts. Small and medium enterprises’ growth is the only way to achieve these solutions at the scale required to change things. We believe that creating and sharing resources centered around sustainable business investment and entrepreneurship as we do here at ICSB, is crucial for the successful development and implementation of business practices and norms that will succeed and thrive in an ever-changing world.

Check out Our Webinar:
Entrepreneurs & MSMEs as powerful agents to Achieve the SDG

More To Explore

News

UNMSMEsDayMessage

Human-Centered Entrepreneurship:  Empowering MSMEs to Achieve the SDGs To dissect the story of entrepreneurship is to describe a

Sonia Krimi

French politician of La République en Marche (LREM)

Bio:

French politician of La République en Marche (LREM), serving as a member of the French National Assembly since 2017

Nizar Damane

General Manager at La Posts Services for Equity

Bio:

General Manager at La Posts Services for Equity

Morad Attik

CEO of Evolukid

Bio:

French Businessmann. He is the CEO of a French StartUp, Evolukid. It offers scientific discovery workshops, initiation to computer programming and robotics for children and adults.

Monica Michel

French politician of La République en Marche, Deputy and Member of French National Assembly

Bio:

Monica Michel (born 16 April 1955) is a French politician of La République En Marche! (LREM). Since 18 June 2017, she has served as the member of the National Assembly for the 16th district of Bouches-du-Rhône.

Laurence Le Ny

VP StartUp at Orange

Bio:

VP Music & Culture at Orange.

 

Based in Paris, in charge of strategy , marketing offers and partnerships for Europe and Middle East & Africa Orange’s affiliates.

 

Member of the French Digital Council (Conseil national du Numérique), Board member of The Orchestre de Paris, Member of the Steering Board CNV (Centre national des Variétés).

 

Previously, she had different positions in the music industry in France as Managing director at Warner Music and Sony’ Epic label. Starting her career in Promotion departments of CBS, Polydor and then at BMG.

Jean-François Copé

Mayor of Meaux

Bio:

Mayor of Meaux, President of CAPM, Former Minster of France, Former Deputy

Jean Charroin

Managing Director of ESSCA Group

Bio:

Jean Charroin is the Managing Director of ESSCA Group.

Guillaume Bigot

Dean of IPAG

Bio:

Guillaume Bigot has been the General Director of Ipag Business School since July 2008. 

Damien Regnard

French Entrepreneur and Politician.

Bio:

French entrepreneur and politician. He is a Senator representing French people living outside France sinceJuly 2018. 

Jordyn Murphy

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled

Jordyn Murphy

Fanny Nusbaum

Author, The Secret of Performers

Bio:

Author of The Secret of Performers

Performers are those people who succeed in whatever they do by catching the light and making their mark. They seem to have something bigger thatmakes them exceptional. Something thatputs them powerfully in the service ofaction and life.

Jeff Alves

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Managing Editor, Journal of the International Council for Small Business (JICSB) and ICSB Board member.

Ricardo Alvarez

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

A seasoned entrepreneur, advertising and marketing professional, Dr. Ricardo Alvarez has more than 35 years of professional experience working in different industries, from advertising agencies to retail marketing to banking and health services. He holds a BS in Advertising and an MBA and DBA from USIU/CETYS University. He is a founding partner of Simó-Bosch Consulting, a business development and strategic services firm. Currently, he is a full-time entrepreneurship professor and researcher at CETYS University Graduate School of Business. Dr. Alvarez has been mentor in several incubators, like MindHub and Endeavor. He is the president of the Mexican chapter of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), where he also serves as a voting board member. His academic research is focused on business innovation, experiential learning, organizational development, change management and entrepreneurship finance.

Amr AbouElazm

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Mr. Abouelazm is the Chairman of Tamweely Micro Finance company. Board member of ICSB and President of ICSB Egypt.

Previously Mr. Aboelazm was the vice Chairman, CEO and co-founder of Tanmeyah Micro Enterprise Services before he divested his interest as the company was acquired by EFG-Hermes in a historical transaction that witnessed the highest value of a MF company in Egypt.


Mr. Abouelazm has accumulated 25 years of experience in banking, finance, economic development and investment finance. Mr. Abouelazm was earlier the Deputy Director of the German Development Bank (KFW) in Egypt.


Mr. Abouelazm is recognized as one of the main resource executives in Egypt in the field of management of financial service companies, policy structuring, operational management and corporate structuring.

Mr. Abouelazm has participated in the formulation of the National Micro Finance Strategy for Egypt and is a lecturer on Entrepreneurship development, financial services delivery and Management. He is recognized as a reference in the field by various financial institutions and service-providers. He is also an angel investor in a number of start ups and mentor to a number of entrepreneurs and advisor for Fin tech startups.


Mr. Abouelazm received a B.A in Economics from the American University in Cairo in 1993 and an AUC Masters Degree in Development specializing in Commercialization and Development of Micro Enterprises in 2004.

Mr. Abouelazm is a board member of the International council for small business (ICSB) , President of the Middle East Council for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (MCSBE).

He is a Board Member and Member of the restructuring committee, HR and MF committee of Nasser Social Bank. Mr. Abouelazm is also a board member of the Micro Small and Medium Enterprise Development Authority (SMEDA).

Hermawan Kartajaya

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Hermawan Kartajaya, the President of World Marketing Association, is one of the “50 Gurus Who Have Shaped The Future of Marketing” appointed by The Chartered Institute of Marketing, United Kingdom (CIM-UK).

Alex DeNoble

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled

Alex DeNoble

Ahmed Osman

Board Chair, ICSB

Bio:

Chairman of the Board at International Council for Small Business (ICSB) & CEO CHROME

Ki-Chan Kim

Professor, Chairman at Korea Testing Certification

Bio:

Dr. Ki-Chan Kim is a Professor of Management at the Catholic University of Korea. 

 

Professor Kim envisions a world where SMEs and established companies work in partnership.

Professor Kim teaches various MBA tracks including Humane Entrepreneurship, Platform Strategy, and Korea Management (K-Management). He served as Vice-Chancellor of the University and before that, he served as the Dean of the Business School.

Professor Kim advised numerous startups, SMEs, as well as more established enterprises such as Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Motors. He continues to advise these companies – for them to achieve a sustainable business model and eco-system. He believes with the right humane partnership model, the business will attract the most qualified workers, which will bring longevity to the industry.

More recently, Dr. Kim served as the Chairman of the Innovation Economy Division at the National Economic Advisory Council (NERC) for the President of South Korea, as well as the President of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and much more.

During his presidency at the ICSB, Professor Kim emphasized the happiness of employees in small and medium enterprises. From his extensive research in the automotive production line, he has found an undeniable connection between the worker’s satisfactory level of work and commitment to the product. Hence why Professor Kim estimates Employee’s dedication level as the ultimate asset of the company. With Dr. Kim’s initiatives (along with ICSB colleagues), the United Nations have declared June 27 as the UN MSMEs Day.

Dr. Kim’s most recent publication: “The Joy of Innovation (2019)” has been selected as the National Book Award of South Korea, King Sejong Book Collection 2020. The book highlights how businesses can stay competitive through innovation in a fluctuating market.

Ki-Chan Kim

Winslow Sargeant

Incoming Board Chair, ICSB

Bio:

Winslow Sargeant is the Senior Advisor for Globalization and Head of Capital Markets for Genaesis. In this role, he syndicates opportunities with unaffiliated third-party capital partners – both domestically and internationally – facilitating optimized valuations and deal structures. He is also incoming Chair of the Board with the International Council for Small Business (ICSB).

 

From 2017-2020, Dr. Sargeant served as the President-Elect and Senior Vice President for Development and ICSB Vice President for Partnerships, respectively. During his tenure, he has work to educate government and non-profit organization leaders on what is required to build sustainable ecosystems for small businesses. With ICSB, he worked with select group to nations for the establishment of the Micro-, Small and Medium-Sized (MSMEs) ratified by the United Nations General Assembly on April 6, 2017. Dr. Sargeant help organized the annual Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) forum at the United Nations, held since 2017. From 2010 to 2015, he was the Chief Counsel for Advocacy with the United States (US) Small Business Administration (SBA)Office of Advocacy. Appointed by the President of the United States (POTUS) and later confirmed by the US Senate, the Chief Counsel for Advocacy directs the office. The Chief Counsel advances the views, concerns, and interests of small business before Congress, the White House, federal agencies, federal courts, and state policy makers. Economic research, policy analyses, and small business outreach help identify issues of concern. Regional Advocates and an office in Washington, DC, support the Chief Counsel’s efforts. From 2006 to 2009, he was the managing director at Venture Investors, LLC (VI), and early stage venture capital firm, headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin and $200M under management, VI invested in innovative research from leading universities in the upper Midwest. From 2001 to 2005, he was the program manager for the Small Business Innovations Research (SBIR) program Electronics topic in Industrial Innovation, a new office in the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Engineering Directorate. The SBIR program invests more than $100M per year in seed and early stage technology companies.

Winslow Sargeant

Analia Pastran

Analía Pastran

Bio:

Analia Pastran, Founder and Executive Director of Smartly Social Entrepreneurship on the SDGs, New York and Buenos Aires.


Smartly is a social enterprise leading the way in coordinating action to communicate and localize the SDGs within the private and public sectors, in Latin America and beyond. It holds three international awards.


Mentor in the Program, Women in Public Policy of Cornell Institute for Public Affairs, Cornell University, New York. Analia was awarded with the Entrepreneurial Leadership award by International Council for Small Business (ICSB) in Salerno, Italy. Professor of Transnational Policy, Political Communication and Strategy & Geopolitics in the Catholic University of La Plata, Argentina. International Speaker. She worked also as the Director of Communication of the International Council of Small Businesses (ICSB), was a consultant at CIFAL Global Network, the Network of Training Centers affiliated to UNITAR (United Nations Institute for Training and Research).

Analía Pastran

Katia Passerini

Provost and Executive Vice President of Seton Hall University

Bio:

Katia Passerini, Ph.D., a nationally recognized knowledge management scholar with extensive higher education experience, has been appointed Provost and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Seton Hall University. Passerini currently serves as the Lesley H. and William L. Collins Distinguished Chair and Dean of the Lesley H. and William L. Collins College of Professional Studies at St. John’s University.

Katia Passerini

Vicki Stylianou

Board Member, ICSB

Bio:

Vicki Stylianou is the head of advocacy and policy at Institute of Public Accountants, Australia as well as an ICSB Board member.

Vicki Stylianou

Norris Krueger

Sr. Subject Matter Expert for Entrepreneurial Ecosystems & Learning, OECD/EU

Bio:

Scholar, educator, writer, ecosystem builder, entrepreneur. Consultant to entrepreneurship educators globally, to academics globally, and to world’s best entrepreneurial ecosystem builders, Norris Krueger is proudest of championing entrepreneurs and innovators. How do we grow an expert entrepreneurial mindset? How do we grow a bottom-up entrepreneurial ecosystem? (Both often in the face of entrenched interests.)

 

Dr. Krueger has worked for and been honored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and its landmark ESHIP program, the International Council for Small Business, Academy of Management, OECD, EU, ILO, UN, and for cities, states and countries worldwide. Locally, he proudly champions the Idaho Women’s Business Center, VentureCapital.Org, the Idaho Rural Growth Initiative and more. Learn more at www.norriskrueger.com and on social media @entrep_thinking.

Norris Krueger

Skye Blanks

Project Manager

Bio:

Skye Blanks serves as the Junior Project Manager for the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and specifically assists in the Knowledge Hubs (KHubs) project, which are institutions or networks, dedicated to capture, share and exchange development experiences with national and international partners in order to accelerate development for micro-small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). He also specializes in the ICSB’s Entrepreneurship certificate programs . In addition to being a project manager, Skye is pursuing a BA in International Affairs with a concentration in International Development from The George Washington University Elliott School of International Affairs and he is also pursuing a minor in Creativity, Innovation and Entrepreneurship from the GW School of Business. Before dedicating his work towards the ICSB, Skye worked abroad as a Research and Development Intern for the Barcelona based NGO, Asociación Bienestar y Desarrollo.

Skye Blanks

Tammy Nguyen

Event Manager

Bio:

Tammy Nguyen recently graduated from San Diego State University, receiving a degree in Business Management with an emphasis in entrepreneurship. While attending SDSU, she worked with the Lavin Entrepreneurship center as the event coordinator to plan and run the California Entrepreneurship Educators Conference two years in a row. Tammy was also the Program and Mentorship coordinator for the Lavin Entrepreneurship Program that has been geared towards providing students from all over the campus entrepreneurship courses, skills, tools, and a valuable network to help develop future and current entrepreneurs. Outside of school, Tammy is President of Streets of Hope San Diego, a non-profit organization that provides food and resources to the homeless weekly. She also volunteers by running 4-6 business events yearly with Awaken Church’s Pathfinders Team.

Hannah Gilroy

Project Manager

Bio:

Hannah Gilroy is a Project Manager at the International Council for Small Business. She works in collaboration with the rest of the ICSB staff within the realms of Marketing, website design and function, and ICSB’s research journals. Hannah has worked with ICSB since the onset of the 2020 global pandemic.

 

In addition to her work with ICSB, Hannah runs a collaborative writing company, called Writing You, through which her team works with clients on visioning plans using her skills in motivational interviewing, writing, and editing.

Hannah Gilroy

Kyle Lyon

Director of Registration

Bio:

Kyle Lyon is the Junior Project Manager at the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), and primarily oversees membership, registrations, and financial activities for the ICSB. In addition to his duties, Kyle is a junior currently pursuing a B.A. in Marketing with a minor in communications at the George Washington University School of Business. Before dedicating his work towards the ICSB, Kyle served as a Legislative Intern for the Office of Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester.

Kyle Lyon