Encourage the formalization and growth of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises, including…
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Small business on the global agenda
The councils work toward named targets of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, answer the global calls made for small business, and plan a path to formal participation in UN processes.
Sustainable Development Goals
The targets behind every council
Hover a card for the official text. Tap a council to see its mandate.
Expand access to banking, insurance and financial services for all.
Increase small enterprises’ access to financial services, including affordable credit.
Higher productivity through diversification, technological upgrading and innovation.
Significantly increase access to information and communications technology.
A universal, rules-based, open, non-discriminatory and equitable trading system.
Develop effective, accountable and transparent institutions at all levels.
Ensure responsive, inclusive, participatory and representative decision-making.
Promote the rule of law and equal access to justice for all.
Combat all forms of organized crime.
Substantially reduce corruption and bribery in all their forms.
Achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all.
Reduce the proportion of youth not in employment, education or training.
Promote safe and secure working environments for all workers.
Quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure with affordable and equitable access for…
Strengthen resilience to climate-related hazards and natural disasters.
27 June · Every year
Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Day
The UN General Assembly designated 27 June as MSME Day in resolution A/RES/71/279. The 2026 theme was “Empowering MSMEs through Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Development.”
The UN notes that MSMEs account for about 90% of businesses, 60 to 70% of employment and 50% of GDP worldwide. Each 27 June, the councils will publish a State of Small Business report from that year’s cases.
Our response · Statement
On MSME Day, 27 June 2026
On MSME Day, the Founding Secretariat recognizes the businesses that sustain livelihoods and local economies, and sets out what Reseated members have reported during the Assembly’s first months. It calls on governments and large companies to make rules, payments and platform processes more predictable for smaller businesses.
Council briefs
Commentary on UN sessions
Each brief answers a UN session or story with what it means for small businesses and the fix our councils propose. UN media is shown unedited, with credit and a link to the original.
Taxing Wages 2026: the cost of a first employeeOECD figures show that the tax wedge on labour varies widely across countries. Reseated’s early Team Council reports point to a practical question for small employers: what does it take to make the first formal hire affordable and predictable?Team16 Apr 2026EU P2B Regulation: what a statement of reasons must containEU law requires an online platform to give a business user a statement of reasons when it restricts or suspends that user. The dossier establishes that requirement, but not a complete checklist of what every statement must say; owners should distinguish the legal minimum from the stronger protections they may ask a platform to provide.Platform9 Mar 2026The UK late-payment consultation response, explainedThe UK government published its response to a consultation on poor payment practices on 24 March 2026. For small-business owners elsewhere, the development is a reminder to distinguish a consultation response from a law—and to make payment delays visible, documented and comparable.Cashflow26 Mar 2026B-READY 2025: rules on paper, services in practiceThe World Bank’s B-READY 2025 results point to a gap between the quality of regulatory frameworks and the public services that put them into practice. For small-business owners, the issue is not only what a rule requires, but whether the process for complying with it is clear, accessible and timely.Red Tape4 Mar 2026How UK APP reimbursement works for micro-enterprisesUK rules offer a route to reimbursement for some authorised push payment fraud, but their stated scope has clear limits. Reseated’s April data shows why small-business owners need to understand both the protection available and the risks that remain.Fair Play13 Apr 2026Why small businesses carry most disaster lossesDisasters can threaten the survival of a small business as well as its premises and stock. The Resilience Council’s proposed Reopen Standard calls for faster insurance decisions, bridge funding, and continuity-planning support for micro businesses.Resilience4 May 2026CBAM’s 50-tonne threshold: a model for small tradersThe EU’s CBAM simplification uses an annual mass threshold that removes most importers from the mechanism while keeping nearly all covered emissions in scope. Reseated’s Trade Council sees a useful principle for future trade rules: match compliance demands to scale, and make costs understandable before small firms commit to a shipment.Trade6 Apr 2026At the UN, small business asked for a place in the AI economy. The rules come first.The UN’s MSME Day forum asked how the next generation of small businesses can thrive in an AI-driven economy. Our answer: start with fair terms on the platforms that economy runs on.Founders Assembly26 Jun 2026The DSA Transparency Database and what it can show business usersThe EU’s Digital Services Act Transparency Database makes statements of reasons for certain platform moderation decisions public. For business owners, it is a source of evidence about how platforms describe decisions—not a ruling on whether a particular decision was fair or lawful.Platform22 Jun 2026The Late Payments Bill reaches ParliamentThe UK’s Late Payments Bill has been introduced in the House of Lords, putting payment terms and enforcement powers back in focus. For small-business owners elsewhere, the comparison is a reminder that protections differ widely—and that a rule on paper is only useful if it can be enforced.Cashflow21 May 2026One year on: what the APP evaluation foundThe UK’s first-year evaluation of its authorised push payment reimbursement rules offers evidence that reimbursement can improve while fraud falls. But the protections are limited by who qualifies and which payments are covered—and they do not, by themselves, settle the case for protection across borders.Fair Play13 Jul 2026When late-payment laws exempt trade contractsThe UK Late Payments Bill was introduced in the House of Lords on 19 May 2026, but the dossier records an exemption for import and export contracts. For small traders, the boundary between domestic payment protections and cross-border trade can matter as much as the headline rule.Trade20 Jul 2026The Sendai Framework and business continuityThe Sendai Framework calls for disaster-risk reduction and business continuity to be built into business practice, especially for MSMEs. Reseated’s resilience reports show how disruption reaches small firms—and why continuity support must include timely claims decisions, bridge funding and practical planning.Resilience6 Jul 2026Informality and the first hireHiring formally can mean taking on costs and administrative steps before a small business has predictable revenue. Reseated’s Team Council is examining whether a simpler, phased approach could make a business’s first ten hires easier to undertake.Team2 Jul 2026Silence-is-consent: deadlines that make permits moveA World Bank assessment finds a gap between the rules economies put on paper and the public services businesses encounter. Reseated’s Red Tape Council is calling for impact tests, one-stop digital processes, published service times and a clear deadline for permit decisions.Red Tape15 Jun 2026TR-001 passes its pattern test: what comes nextReseated’s Trade Council has found that reports about trade-rule burdens meet its five-part pattern test. Its proposed Small Importer Standard would call for size-based thresholds, plain-language guidance, phase-ins and clearer landed costs—but it has not yet been drafted, consulted on or adopted.Trade21 Oct 2026Cross-border payments: the gap in fraud protectionA UK reimbursement framework and European payee-name checks mark real progress, but they do not create consistent protection for small businesses facing authorised payment fraud across borders. Reseated’s evidence shows this is a reported problem across many countries, while its proposed standard calls for faster recalls and reimbursement that includes cross-border cases.Fair Play12 Oct 2026Prepared versus unprepared: the recovery gapDisasters can leave small businesses facing a long gap between the first loss and the ability to reopen. Resilience Council reports and external evidence point to the value of preparation—and to the need for recovery systems that work for very small firms.Resilience21 Sep 2026Australia’s payment-times data: what 27.2 days meansAustralia’s latest Payment Times Reporting Scheme update puts average small-business invoice payment at 27.2 days. The figure is useful evidence of payment practice—but it is not a promise that any particular owner will be paid on time, or a measure of how many invoices meet a 15-day standard.Cashflow17 Aug 2026Days to Open: Interim Findings from 30 CitiesA World Bank assessment points to a persistent gap between the rules businesses face and the public services that put those rules into practice. Reseated’s permit reports show owners describing costs and delays across many countries—but they do not establish which countries or cities perform worst.Red Tape7 Sep 2026Why TM-001 is becoming the Fair Hiring Cost StandardTM-001 is a proposal to make the first ten formal hires more affordable and simpler for small employers. The evidence points to a real problem, but the proposal is still early: as of 5 October, it had passed two of the five pattern tests.Team5 Oct 2026Payment withholding disclosures: what Japan’s Transparency Act requiresJapan’s rules require designated digital platforms to disclose conditions for withholding payments. The Platform Council sees that transparency as a useful step, while its adopted standard calls for broader safeguards when a platform holds funds or changes a business account.Platform28 Sep 2026The UN’s story of home-grown business runs through digital marketplaces. So does its biggest risk.UN News followed home-based entrepreneurs selling online across borders. For a business with no shop, the platform is the shop.Platform15 Feb 2026The UN named “access to affordable finance” for small business. The cheapest finance is getting paid on time.A UN side event during the 2026 High-Level Political Forum put finance and resilience at the center of the MSME agenda. Late payment is where both start.Cashflow6 Jul 2026
Path to the UN
From independent assembly to accredited voice
Formal participation is earned over time. These are the public steps, in the order an organization like ours can take them.
We do not use the UN emblem, name or SDG icons in a way that suggests endorsement. UN rules restrict their use by outside organizations. UN: Rights and permissions
- NowAlign to the SDGs
Every council mandate mapped to named targets, and every outcome counted against them.
- Year 1Join the Business and Industry industry group
Business and Industry is one of the Major Groups through which non-state actors take part in UN sustainable-development processes. UN: Major Groups
- Year 1Contribute to the High-level Political Forum
The HLPF reviews progress on the SDGs each July; in 2026 it reviewed Goals 6, 7, 9, 11 and 17. HLPF 2026
- After 2 yearsApply for ECOSOC consultative status
Organizations must have existed for at least two years to apply; applications are due by 1 June. ECOSOC: How to apply