The 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.

SDG 8.3SDG 8.10SDG 9.3

Official event banner for the HLPF 2026 side event on MSMEs, 6 July 2026. Image: UN DESA. Read the original on UN DESA, Sustainable Development

What the UN session covered

HLPF 2026 side event “Empowering Micro-, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) through Innovation and Sustainable Industrial Development,” 6 July 2026, Conference Room 12, UN Secretariat. Organized by UN DESA, UNCTAD, UNDRR, the UN Global Compact, UNIDO, ILO and ITC, together with Member States.

The concept note listed “Access to Affordable Finance and Market Opportunities” and “Strengthening MSME resilience in the face of economic, social, environmental and digital shocks” among the event’s themes.
It noted that MSMEs represent over 90 per cent of businesses globally, and linked the event to the 2026 HLPF review of SDG 9.

What it means for small businesses

Before a small business needs a loan, it usually needs its own money. Intuit QuickBooks found that small businesses with unpaid invoices are owed $17,500 on average.

Paying small suppliers within 15 days turns money they are already owed into working capital, at no interest to anyone. That is the 15-Day Pay Standard.

Figure: Intuit QuickBooks, 2025