Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are the engines of growth and innovation in the APEC region. They account for over 97 percent of all business and employ over half of the workforce across APEC economies. They contribute significantly to economic growth, with their share of GDP ranging from 40 percent to 60 percent in most APEC economies. However, they only account for 35 percent or less of direct exports. APEC’s Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group works to encourage the development of SMEs and to build their capacity to engage in international trade.

First established in February 1995 as the Ad Hoc Policy Level Group on SMEs (PLGSME), the group was renamed the Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) in 2000. The SME Working Group (SMEWG) is the champion within APEC for the inclusive development of sustainable, resilient and innovative SMEs. It is the main fora where APEC economies exchange information, views, best practices and analysis concerning SMEs in the APEC region.

The SMEWG is the champion within APEC for the inclusive development of sustainable SMEs that are well prepared to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The APEC SME Ministerial Meetings, held annually since 1994, set out the direction for the working group. In September 2020 SME Ministers endorsed the SMEWG Strategic Plan for 2021–2024, which provided a roadmap to address critical issues pertaining to the growth of SMEs and microenterprises in the APEC region.
These priorities are the following:

• Entrepreneurship, innovation, and start-ups;
• SME access to international markets and global value chains (GVCs);
• Inclusive capability development towards digitalization;
• Access to finance and alternative financial solutions;
• Government to business interaction.

Last page update: January 2021

On 21–22 October 2020, the SMEWG had its first virtual meeting to exchange information regarding best practices and COVID-19 measures, among other SMEs related topics.

The 26^th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting was also held virtually on 23 October 2020. In that opportunity, APEC SME Ministers approved the Ministerial Statement “Navigating the New Normal: Restarting and Reviving MSMEs through Digitalisation, Innovation and Technology”

The current active APEC-funded SMEWG projects are the following:

• SME 01 2019 – Workshop for SMEs in APEC: Embracing 4.0 Industrial Revolution in Boosting Economic Performance of Export-Oriented SMEs
• SME 02 2019A – APEC Workshop on Opportunities and Challenges for Retail SMEs in the Internet and Digital Economy
• SME 06 2019A – APEC Policy Dialogue on SMEs and Entrepreneurship Framework: Let's be Coherent and Cohesive
• SME 08 2019A – APEC Startup Funding Forum: Building a Holistic Startup Funding Landscape to Boost Economic Growth
• SME 09 2019A – Public Policy, Fintech and SMEs: Recommendations for Promoting a New Financing Ecosystem
• SME 10 2019A – Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Addressing Impediments for MSMEs' Integration into Global Value Chains in Agriculture and Food Sector
• SME 11 2019A – Towards MSMEs Internationalisation: Study on the Final Review of the Boracay Action Agenda and Forum on Building Global MSMEs
• SME 12 2019A – APEC Workshop: Strengthening Women Empowerment in Industry 4.0 through Digital Entrepreneurship Training
• SME 13 2019A – APEC Women-Led Start-Up Accelerator Initiative
• SME 14 2019A – From Platforms to Payments: Promoting Growth and Innovation for Women Entrepreneurs through E-Commerce
• SME 01 2020A -2021 Business Ethics for APEC SMEs Forum: Updating APEC Principles to Strengthen the Medical Device and Biopharmaceutical Sectors
• SME 02 2020A - APEC Symposium and Workshop on Technology Roadmaps (TR) to Promote Industry 4.0 in Developing APEC Economies
• SME 04 2020A -APEC Cross-Domain Innovation Ecosystem Initiative: Facilitate the Inclusive Growth of SMEs through the Digital Platform across the APEC Region
• SME 05 2020A - APEC Workshop on Promoting Social Enterprises for Inclusive Growth
• SME 06 2020A - Fostering an Innovation ecosystem: APEC Pavilion at SFF x SWITCH 2021 and Startup competition SLINGSHOT 2021
• SME 07 2020A - 2021 APEC Workshop on Business Continuity Planning with Crisis Management for SMEs/MSMEs
• SME 08 2020A - What comes after SME digital transformation? – Measuring effectiveness of public policy and identifying trends for the post-digital era 
• SME 09 2020A - APEC Workshop on Inclusive Business: Charting the Path for Shared Prosperity through Inclusivity

In 2020 SMEWG endorsed the following self-funded projects:

• SME 01 2020S – APEC Cross-Sector Innovation Ecosystem Conference: Strengthening Networks of SMEs Co-Innovation for Better Future
• SME 02 2020S – Enhancing Green MSMEs’ Competitiveness for a Sustainable and Inclusive Asia-Pacific Phase II – Food Sector Waste Reduction in Food Supply Chain
• SME 03 2020S – Supporting Women's Access to Global Markets: Interview Series
• SME 04 2020S – Supporting Women's Access to Global Markets: Online Course for the APEC Business Community
• SME 05 2020S – APEC SME Business Forum – Promoting Resilience and Sustainability of SMEs (2020-2021)
• SME 06 2020S - 2020 APEC SME Cyber Security Forum
• SME 07 2020S - 2020 APEC SMEs Smart Factory Forum