Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2023: How Small Firms Can Contribute to Resilient Growth in the Pacific Post COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Focusing on Pacific economies, this 2023 edition shows how micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) helped spur a robust recovery from the pandemic and why supporting their development is key to driving sustainable, inclusive growth. It tackles the challenges of registering informal businesses and ensuring skilled labor for domestic business in response to the issue of brain drain, and addresses the importance of more business diversity in the climate-vulnerable region. It also highlights why the Pacific needs to boost its digital infrastructure to help businesses digitalize, and explains the need for broadening access to financing as vital for the growth of vibrant MSMEs in the region.