The importance of the SME sector for growth, employment and trade cannot be emphasised enough. Any conversation to foster sustainability is incomplete without the inclusion of the SME sector. There are several initiatives and schemes to support the SMEs to adopt more sustainable practices. However, sustainable initiatives remain constricted to a small segment of the SME sector. The pandemic has further made it challenging for SMEs to integrate responsible and sustainable practices as they struggle to sustain their operations. It is clear that as economies look to recover from the aftermath of COVID, sustainability will be a centre stone for such a recovery. What is the role that SMEs play in enabling them to build back better and how can SMEs be supported as they themselves look to recover from the brunt of the pandemic?

This session proposes to bring various insights from both the international and national contexts to understand the key elements of a sustainability roadmap for the SME sector.