WEF claims small businesses create seven out of 10 jobs

World Economic Forum (WEF) has revealed that the COVID-19 pandemic increased demand for more adoption and integration of digital technology among small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

WEF, in a survey, noted that SMEs face numerous barriers in adopting technology at a critical time of need.

The survey observed that while 97 per cent of global companies have accelerated the adoption of technology to get through the pandemic, only 23 per cent of SMEs were able to dedicate resources to new digital tools.

Head of urban transformation at WEF, Jeff Merritt, noted that three years ago, the government of Brazil sounded an alarm on the urgent need to help support the modernization and competitiveness of small and medium-sized enterprises.

He added that the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified these challenges, underscoring the need for collective action from the public and private sectors across the globe.
  
Executive Director of the center for the fourth industrial revolution, Brazil, Lucas Camara, said: “Having a better understanding of how COVID-19 is impacting SMEs is critical to the world economy.”
   
WEF pointed out that SMEs represent more than 90 per cent of all companies globally and are the primary drivers of social mobility, creating seven out of 10 jobs.

However, WEF stressed that these companies are struggling to embrace the fourth industrial revolution, endangering their own comparativeness in a global economy.
   
WEF noted that the pandemic further emphasized the importance of business to be flexible and agile, and yet these digital resiliency tools are out of reach.
   
Head of the center for the fourth industrial revolution, Colombia, Erez Zaionce, said: “The pandemic made it clear for many SMEs that to remain relevant, they must adapt quickly to our new reality and adopt technology that will allow them to stay in business.”

According to WEF, the survey of 141 SMEs from six countries that are part of the World Economic Forum’s fourth industrial revolution network – Azerbaijan, Brazil, Colombia, Kazakhstan, South Africa and Turkey – shows heightened demand among SMEs to integrate digital technology in business operations, particularly related to the industrial internet of things, cloud computing, big data and artificial intelligence.