ABSTRACT
SMEs contribute to economic development through various channels, such as employment creation, economic growth and poverty reduction which are key elements of Sustainable Development Goals. In developing countries, such as African countries, SMEs that generate jobs and are involved in value addition provide a channel for inclusion and poverty reduction. In order to break this barrier, experience in OECD has shown that downstream and upstream linkages with larger companies can SMEs break into foreign markets. This is particularly so because the quality and responsiveness of specialised suppliers mainly from the SMEs are crucial for the competitiveness of entire supply chains, at both local and global levels, and of larger firms that are directly engaged in fierce global competition. Digitalisation and the use of big data are associated with product or service innovation and improved production processes which are key in fostering the competitiveness of SMEs in both local and global markets.
