SMEs: the backbone of a good economy

Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a central plank of a good economy given their importance to employment, innovation, regional development and poverty reduction. They have a leading role to play in meeting the most ‘economic’ of the SDGs, namely Decent Work and Economic Growth (Goal 8) and Sustainable Industrialisation and Innovation (Goal 9).
Equally, as the dominant source of formal and informal employment in emerging market economies, SMEs are key to tackling poverty (Goal 1) and inequality (Goal 10) in rural areas and among women and socially disadvantaged groups.
The following collection of content shows how our work stretches across all these SDG domains. Our clients include private equity and specialist impact investors, governments with inclusive growth policies and development agencies.
The Good Economy is co-lead a collaborative market-building project with the aim of mobilising institutional investment, particularly UK pension funds, to support place-based impact investments

Mark Hepworth on his presentation to a conference on Scotland’s National Transport Strategy, Glasgow, 28th August 2019

A blog by TGE director Mark Hepworth reflecting on The Good Economy's study on business-led inclusive growth for the Scottish Government

We assessed the impact of Creative England’s investment programme designed to boost access to finance for the creative industries

Strategy consulting on the feasibility of voluntary organisations and social enterprises delivering regional healthcare services

Business-Led Inclusive Job Growth in the South of Scotland



Rebalancing the economy: the social value of private equity 2016 (Summary)

Innovation in Health and Care: the Opportunity for VCSEs
