Census data from 2016 revealed that of the nearly 6 million businesses employing Americans in the U.S., 99.7 percent were small to medium enterprises (SMEs).  Many economies think that there is a secret to the U.S. success story–and granted, without the boost of American Chattel slavery the nation likely could not have advanced at such a rate.  However, the key to its success today continues to be the strength of its medium and small enterprises (companies with 500 or less employees).

Many developing nations do not realize the full potential of small and medium enterprises because of the preoccupation with foreign investment, legacy businesses and government to government arrangements. Many developing nations that boast of larger economies, neglect to identify how that much of the wealth is not reaching the largest portion of its population.  Without empowering small and medium businesses, developing economies cannot hope to reach the critical mass needed in employment, tax revenue and consumer spending necessary to power a thriving first-world economy.

Many developing nations fall into the trap of only doing business with other governments or large multinationals.  This is fine for some infrastructure projects, but without engaging small and medium enterprises in other markets as investment and business partners for their local industries, it makes growth on the micro-level slow and cumbersome.

Are you a small business in a developing economy in Latin America, Africa or Asia and you’d like to share what your business does or your search for an international partner, connect with me on the contact page.  Let’s change the power dynamic