Small enterprises

Access to decent work is an antidote to social exclusion right across our global economy. Sustained enterprise growth is essential to employment creation. The ILO works towards the creation of sustainable, decent jobs in all types of enterprises, with a particular focus on small and group-based enterprises, and the upgrading of micro-enterprises in the informal sector, an area which generates most new jobs worldwide. The ILO’s Small Enterprise Development Programme (SEED) seeks to unlock the potential for creating more and better jobs in the small enterprise sector. Since this is where most women and men earn their living now - in micro and small enterprises, in self-employment, as homeworkers − this is where policies, regulations, business training, market development and organization building can matter most.