In 2021, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC), the International Trade Centre (ITC) – which was established by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the United Nations (UN) through the UN Conference on Trade and Development – and the WTO Informal Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), launched the Small Business Champions Competition.

This yearly competition is designed to provide businesses, industry associations, chambers of commerce and industry and nongovernmental organisations (NGOs) with the opportunity to propose innovative and practical ways of helping small businesses play a more active role in world trade.

Although MSMEs account for the majority of global businesses, theirs is a relatively small share of international trade. A lack of resources and access to relevant information are among the barriers that restrict MSME participation in world trade. Helping MSMEs to trade internationally can increase business productivity and competitiveness, as well as support inclusivity.

The first competition focused on helping MSMEs to go digital and increase their participation in international trade. The second, launched on June 27, aims to find ways of helping MSMEs to reduce their carbon footprint and benefit from sustainability innovations. As the need to address climate change becomes more urgent, innovation by businesses of all sizes will be critical to achieving UN sustainability targets. Domestic and international supply chains represent an estimated 90% of corporate emissions, according to the World Economic Forum, with small businesses contributing to this figure.

The initiative aims to raise awareness among businesses and policymakers about the difficulties MSMEs encounter with respect to decarbonisation, be it through a lack of financial resources or limited awareness; highlight best practices that are helping small businesses decarbonise their production and become more sustainable; and increase MSMEs’ participation in international trade with a view to addressing climate change and business resilience.

The ICC-ITC-WTO-MSME Group is essentially looking for roposals focusing on awareness-raising campaigns, competitions, capacity building, training and mentoring programmes; proposals that have a target completion date of within one year from initiation; and proposals that are designed to be delivered by the entity making the proposal and should not focus on WTO negotiations, or proposed changes to WTO rules. The ICC-ITC-WTO-MSME Group will use their networks to support and promote successful proposals.

The proposals should detail the concept, aims, timelines and any other relevant information, and must not be longer than three pages. They must be emailied to smallbusinesschampions@wto.org in a MS Word or PDF format by August 15.

The following must be included in the proposal: the name of the organisation; the contact person’s name, telephone and email; a short description of the organisation; short biopieces of the persons implementing the project; the name of the proposed project; the timeline for the project (not exceeding 12 months); the challenge faced or issue to be addressed; a short description of the project, including activities to be organised; the aims of the project, including its specific outcomes; and how promotion by the ICC-ITC-WTO-MSME Informal Working Group would support the proposal.

The selection of proposals will be undertaken by members of the ICC-ITC-WTO-MSME Group. The winning proposals will be announced during Building Bridges, a joint initiative to foster collaboration on sustainability issues that will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from October 3 to 6. The winners will receive a certificate from the ICC-ITC-WTO-MSME Group.

This is an ideal opportunity for South African MSMEs to participate in a prestigious international competition.