ICC-ITC-WTO MSME Group Small Business Champions

Background

Although MSMEs account for the majority of global businesses, they make up a relatively small share of international trade. 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.

2025: Completing the loop: Helping small businesses contribute to the circular economy

Small businesses play a pivotal role in advancing sustainable practices by driving innovation and developing circular economy solutions. This is especially visible in business models based on reuse, material-shift, waste repurposing and waste avoidance. The green economy can create opportunities for small businesses through demand for new products and services that increase production efficiency and lower business costs.

International trade can support circular business practices by providing access to sustainable inputs, technologies and markets for waste recovery. It can also provide the demand needed for innovative businesses to scale up and thrive. This helps make circular operations more economically viable, helping to disseminate innovations across borders and support local economies.

The call for applications for the 2025 Small Business Champions, calling for innovative ideas that help small businesses to participate and contribute to the circular economy, was announced on 24 January 2025. Applications must be submitted by 28 March 2025.

Previous competitions

• In 2024, the initiative focused on leveraging international trade to foster economic development and innovation for indigenous peoples worldwide. Two winners, CLAC (El Salvador) and O'KANATA (Canada), were announced on 27 June 2024. Learn more about the winning projects here and watch the YouTube video of the ceremony. More information on the 2024 Empowering Indigenous Peoples' Economic Development through International Trade initiative is available here.

• In 2023, the Small Business Champion Competition focused on ways to support smallholder farmers to participate in international trade. Three winners, COPROGENY (Philippines), HeySuccess Virtual Assistance Services (Philippines), and Divasity.com (Nigeria), were awarded on 27 June  2023 . Please see here for more information on the winning projects and a YouTube video of the ceremony.
  More information on the 2023 Helping smallholder farmers go global initiative is available here.

• In 2022, the aim of the competition was to find ways of helping small businesses reduce their carbon footprint and benefit from sustainability innovations. Two winners, A.V.E.C (Benin) and TCCIA (Tanzania) and two runners-up, Inclusive Trade Ltd (United Kingdom) and Sidley Austin Emerging Enterprises Pro Bono Program (Global), were awarded on 26 September  2022 . Please see here for more information on the winning projects and a YouTube video of the ceremony.
  More information on the 2022 Helping small businesses transition to a sustainable economy initiative is available here.

• The first Small Business Champions Competition took place in 2021. It focused on helping MSMEs go digital and increase their participation in international trade. Four winners were announced in December 2021: the Economic Chamber of North Macedonia, the Lima Chamber of Commerce (Peru), TAITRA (Chinese Taipei) and TofaraOnline (Zimbabwe). Videos of the four winners are available here.
  More information on the 2021 Digital Champions for Small Business initiative is available here.

• The Small Business Champions initiative was previously co-organized by the WTO and the International Chamber of Commerce. That initiative came to an end in 2018