1. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 1 Employers’ organizations and the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises Practical experiences from seven countries

2. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 2 Importance of SMEs Small enterprises account for the vast majority of new jobs in all countries. ILO Recommendation: 189 General Conditions to Stimulate Job Creation in Small and Medium Enterprises. recognises SMEs as a critical factor in economic growth and development, increasingly responsible for the creation of the majority of jobs throughout the world; and can help create an environment for innovation and entrepreneurship.

3. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 3 Role of Employers’ Organizations EOs are uniquely positioned to support the emergence and development of SMEs since: already part of private sector networks understand enterprise culture and needs, access to policy-makers and other social partners. ILO Rec. 189 recommends that EOs widen their membership base to include SMEs and list actions that they can undertake to contribute to the development of the sector

4. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 4 The practice EOs widely recognise the important contribution of the SME sector to their nation’s social and economic development Many EOs have tried to support the development of SME sector from which we can learn:  Thus this study of experiences from: Asia: the Philippines and Singapore. Africa: Ghana, Senegal and Mauritania. Europe: Ireland and Croatia.

5. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 5 Roles that EOs can adopt An employers’ organization can: Represent SMEs Advocate on behalf of SMEs Provide services directly Indirectly, as a broker or linker to other service providers Commonly EOs adopts a combination of roles, however, experiences show that it is important that they carefully analyze the costs and benefits of different options. Too often EOs adopt roles that they can not sustain!

6. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 6 Success factors Internal factors A clear strategy to support SMEs – what role? Structure of representation applicable to SME Direct membership – with or without special conditions Membership through affiliates Staff assigned Financing External factors Partnerships Government Other business agencies Other advocacy and representation organizations

7. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 7 Deciding to consider broadening support to the SME sector Assess Implement and communicate Needs of the SME sector Your organizations capacity Other organizations supporting the sector Develop a strategy Role/s Membership structure Work plan Staffing Budget Communicate Monitor and evaluate

8. Employers’ organizations and the promotion of SMEs 8 Future support Together, IOE, and the ILO’s ACT/EMP and EMP/ENT are intensifying their collaboration so as to providing improved guidance and support to EOs in the promotion of SMEs A key component will be a tool-kit that “guides” EOs through the process of developing and implementing a SME promotion strategy.