Small and medium-sized enterprises: engines of the digital revolution: Creating jobs and driving technological development are keys to growth.

• Author: Zhao, Houlin
• Position: SPECIAL REPORT

New technologies--from the Internet of Things to artificial intelligence (AI) to 5G communications--hold great potential for human progress.

They are already enabling innovations in health, financial services, energy, transportation and smart communities. They will be essential for the realization of every single one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

This digital revolution cannot happen without small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Along with micro and local businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs, SMEs are crucial to ensuring economic growth in a sustainable and inclusive manner across developed and emerging economies alike. Businesseswill increasingly be a key driver of the development of the information and communication technologies (ICTs) that power today's digital economy, helping to ensure local needs for new digital services are met in all corners of the world.

DRIVING THE DIGITAL ECONOMY ICT startups and entrepreneurs--and the solutions, applications and innovations they develop--are a fundamental source of new jobs, with tremendous potential to boost global, regional and national economies. Flexible, adaptable, scalable and responsive, they can operate and innovate anywhere there is connectivity, making a long-lasting impact on our societies and markets.

SMEs and entrepreneurs face very specific challenges, in particular an urgent need to develop local skilled talent; access to new markets and sectors; and investment.

Funding, whether from government, corporate or non-governmental (NGO) sectors, is critical to take ideas to scale and gain critical mass. However, it is always in short supply and often extremely difficult to locate and secure. Regulatory barriers can also be intimidating for SMEs, particularly in converged markets where rules and approaches can be unclear or outdated.

The potential to change those conditions is in place. Many government initiatives aimed at supporting digital entrepreneurship already exist, from national programmes seeking to foster innovation to technology parks and hubs; business incubators; accelerators; and supportive regulatory regimes.

Still, there is a pressing need for a wider platform to share good practices, to bring together ideas and initiatives that have proved successful, to facilitate connections between innovators, investors, industry and governments. A neutral, international platform to promote global collaboration and foster SMEs in the ICT sector...