PHOTO CREDIT: LAND O' LAKES
Small and growing businesses (SGBs) have the potential to be global engines of shared prosperity: to drive growth, promote sustainability, and support equity around the world.
Private and public sector organizations can partner with SGBs as agents of social change. In turn, SGBs can help larger companies build reliable supply chains and introduce new products into local and global markets. With the right support, SGBs can create quality jobs in emerging markets, as well as produce goods and services that markedly improve the lives of the poor.
PHOTO CREDIT: THE LEMELSON FOUNDATION
Small and Growing Businesses are commercially viable businesses with 5 to 250 employees. Unlike microenterprises, which typically start small and stay that way, SGBs are designed to grow. They may launch with only a few employees, but with the right support they can scale to employ hundreds and deliver critical goods and services to needy communities.
Ways to Get involved
PHOTO CREDIT: TECHNOSERVE
Various organizations are already working with SGBs to help them grow and develop. From corporations bringing SGBs into their supply chain, to financial institutions developing innovative credit products, different institutions will have a distinct role to play.
PHOTO CREDIT: LOW CARBON ENTERPRISE FUND
No SGB operates alone. Entrepreneurs are embedded within an entrepreneurial ecosystem that provides them with access to talent, mentorship, skills, finance, and markets that they need to grow their businesses.
