Resident Coordinator's speech: Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day Singapore

Dr. Bicky Bhangu, President, UN Global Compact Network Singapore

Ms. Cindy Khoo, Managing Director of Enterprise Singapore 

Members of the Global Compact Network Singapore;  entrepreneurs and representatives of businesses in Singapore, ladies and gentlemen, good morning to you all. 

It is a pleasure and an honour, to open this event marking United Nations Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day. Today we recognize the importance of MSMEs in the economy and their wider contribution to sustainable development. The United Nations welcomes and commends the efforts of the Global Compact to engage with this core, but often undeserved, business constituency. 

Founded at the beginning of the new millennium, the Global Compact has grown to become the World's largest corporate sustainability and social responsibility initiative, with more than 20,000 participants in around 170 countries.  And I highlight the Compact’s Ten Principles which guide business conduct and have come to define good corporate citizenship covering human rights, labour, environment, and anti-corruption, as its signature achievement.

This year also marks 25 years of Global Compact advocacy and delivery around the world, and 20 years in Singapore.  Moreover, the  Singapore Chapter, stands-out as a trailblazer - with a membership of  over 200,  that crucially also includes representatives of apex business and employers’ associations, and of trades unions and employees. The Chapter’s various initiatives on environment are a defining feature of its work. Particularly  innovative is its embrace of decarbonization mechanisms, including carbon accounting and carbon pricing. This shows genuine and innovative corporate leadership. 

I also commend the Singapore GC Network’s efforts in leveraging businesses to deliver on the broader agenda given by Sustainable Development Goals.  This is vital given that the most recent global UN progress assessment, published at last year’s Summit for the Future suggests that only 17% of SDG targets are on track to be achieved by 2030, and still more troublingly, 35% are either stagnant or regressing.  

This brings me to the vital importance of Micro, Small and Medium-sized enterprises, and their large but often untapped capabilities, to contribute to the SDGs. MSMEs are vital to the economy – accounting for a sizable share of GDP globally, and in Singapore, and having major job creation potentials. Through the adoption of modern, ESG-compliant business practices, MSMEs can deliver major social and environmental gains, and via their inherent flexibility and creativity, can help kick-start SDG progress.

I emphasise also, that enterprises can themselves benefit directly from embracing the goals. The SDGs offer various channels for realizing competitive advantages, and these are especially important for smaller businesses, which often lack access to high-powered consultancy support on ESG compliance.  Channels include access to new markets and to concessional financing, to partnerships with larger and Government-backed enterprises, and by offering a marketing edge with increasingly sustainably savvy consumers. Through the tools and facilities available on the global Faster Forward Platform and via local efforts, the GC Network can enable MSMEs in Singapore to secure these commercial gains. 

In closing, I encourage all enterprises to take advantage of these opportunities by engaging with the Global Compact and the wider dialogue on sustainable development. It is only through whole-of-society actions that we can re-accelerate progress and achieve the goals both globally, and at country level. I wish you well with your sessions, and a successful MSME Sustainability Day!