Over the past years, ISSME has been able to establish and cultivate relationships with its members, affiliates and partners and other like-minded organisations, relevant global policymakers, national governments and stakeholders.

Direct Lobbying

Through its well-established network of members, affiliates, partners and key policy-makers, ISSME is in direct contact with national governments, banks & financial institutions and other organizations in the SME sector to discuss and advocate the interests of small businesses throughout the world. The aim is to gain insight and first-hand information for our members, affiliates, partners on the policy process. ISSME also informs the decision-makers on the possible impact on small businesses of a policy proposal that a government or an organization could be working on.

Coalition Building

Since its establishment in 2010, ISSME has developed a large network of like-minded organisations who oftentimes share similar views on certain topics. This has increased ISSME’s reach and given a stronger voice to small businesses.

Community Mobilisation

ISSME believes that it is critical to involve small business communities to resolve any problem. Partners or volunteers in the field ensure that communities are made aware of the issues related to small business promotion & development and that they participate in the process of resolving the issues.

Networking

ISSME supports and initiates networking between members, affiliates and partners so they can meet share and learn from each other's experiences. ISSME also creates links with other SME support organisations at national, regional, and international level. An excellent example is the ‘Global Consortium of SME Experts’.

Capacity Building Inputs

ISSME also provides non-financial support to its project partners and entrepreneurs. These include project-planning, financial management, material requirements, perspective-building programmes, baseline data establishment, organisational development, skill building, information support, and developing promotional material.