Home/Council briefs/26 June 2026
Founders Assembly · Commentary on a UN session
At 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.
SDG 8.3SDG 9.3
What the UN session covered
International Forum on Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (MSME Day 2026), held 26 June 2026 in the ECOSOC Chamber at UN Headquarters, New York, in collaboration with the International Council for Small Business.
- The forum’s theme was “Human-Centered Entrepreneurship in an AI-Driven Future: Economic Empowerment for the Next Generation of MSMEs.”
- It brought together entrepreneurs, policymakers, scholars, business leaders, youth and international organizations to examine how small businesses can lead in a technology-driven global economy.
“We meet here today because of a decision made in this building.”
Ayman El-Tarabishi, President and CEO of the International Council for Small Business, opening the forum. Source
What it means for small businesses
An AI-driven economy reaches small businesses through a handful of platforms, marketplaces and app stores. When those platforms change a rule, hold a payout or close an account, the owner has no seat in the decision.
Human-centered entrepreneurship has to mean that a person reviews the decision before a livelihood is switched off. That is the core of the Platform Fairness Standard.