Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) form the backbone of many developing country economies, and promoting their growth and competitiveness can therefore play a key role to foster growth and shared prosperity in low- and middle-income countries. Improving the competitiveness, facilitating the access to credit, as well as simplifying the regulatory framework for SMEs, can all significantly improve the development perspective of a developing country, by exploiting unutilized but available resources.

In this context, creating income opportunities in the private sector can significantly reduce poverty rates in the developing world. In particular, policies aimed at promoting entrepreneurship are of special relevance in this area, offering a means for women, youth and disadvantaged groups to gain access to the labor market thereby lifting entire households from poverty