Research Methodology

The new OECD SME and Entrepreneurship Outlook presents the latest trends in performance of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and provides a comprehensive overview of business conditions and policy frameworks for SMEs and entrepreneurs. This year’s edition provides comparative evidence on business dynamism, productivity growth, wage gaps and export trends by firm size across OECD countries and emerging economies.

The Future of Business survey is a collaboration between Facebook, the OECD and the World Bank to provide timely insights on the perceptions, challenges, and outlook of online Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The Future of Business survey was first launched as a monthly survey in 17 countries in February 2016 and expanded to 42 countries in 2018. In 2019, the Future of Business survey increased coverage to 97 countries and moved to a bi-annual cadence.

The 2019 edition of the OECD Scoreboard on Financing SMEs and Entrepreneurs was launched in Washington D.C. by Angel Gurría, OECD Secretary-General and Mario Marcel Cullell, Governor of the Central Bank of Chile.

The Mastercard Foundation in partnership with BFA released Digital Commerce and Youth Employment in Africa, new research that shows 80 million young people will benefit from the rise of digital commerce in Africa by 2030. These findings indicate that the digital commerce sector has the potential of disrupting the future of work on the continent.

Having sufficient access to finance is an important determinant for the development of an enterprise. It is a well-known phenomenon that SMEs face different challenges when accessing finance than large scale enterprises (LSEs). LSE’s for instance, have direct access to capital markets whereas for SMEs this holds to a lesser extent or they have no access at all. Ultimately, the specific financing needs of SMEs warrant specific policy attention.

There are two views of the EGM. The first view ‘Digital Finance Studies’ shows the total number of studies that were conducted on a particular product, plotted against the client outcomes which were tested. The objective with this view is to give the user an overview of the impact literature on digital finance and highlight which digital finance products were examined, against what outcomes and how frequently.

The report is a benchmarking index that assesses the enabling environment for financial access in 55 countries. The research underscores the evolving landscape of financial inclusion itself. This year’s index was completely revised to take a forward-looking focus on digital financial services, and to address the critical role of financial inclusion envisioned in the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Sixteenth in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 190 economies, Doing Business 2019 measures aspects of regulation affecting 10 areas of everyday business activity:

As of 2018, the number of countries publicly committed to promoting financial inclusion tops 90 and continues to grow. Many of these countries’ financial regulators and supervisors are explicitly tasked with implementing policies and strategies on financial inclusion (I) alongside their core responsibilities for promoting micro- and macroprudential stability (S), financial integrity (I), and protecting financial consumers (P), collectively referred to as I-SIP.

The ease with which customers access digital financial services (DFS) can make such implementations appear deceptively simple – with just a click on a mobile phone and a customer will be able to make payments, save money, access credit, and even become insured. Launching a digital channel is not a simple endeavor however. It requires a relevant strategy, the right technology solution, the operational know-how, and a very good understanding of customers.