The UN SSE initiative welcomes Cape Town Stock Exchange
1 September 2022

The SSE and Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
The companies listed on stock exchanges come from all economic sectors: services, manufacturing, mining and information technology. They generate revenues that pay salaries, buy goods and services from other companies, pay taxes and return dividends to shareholders. Small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) form a large proportion of companies and employers worldwide. According to the World Bank, SMEs provide at least 45% of the jobs and 33% of the GDP in emerging economies alone. Although SMEs are important contributors to jobs and the growth of economies, they face signifcant constraints, including lack of access to finance. Given the importance of SMEs to economies, a number of multilateral institutions, governments, policymakers and private sector actors across developed and developing markets are focused on addressing the SME financing gap. This has included a greater emphasis on the potential role of capital markets and stock exchanges in particular. Today, 78 of the 120 stock exchanges tracked by the SSE have an SME listing platform. The SSE works with stock exchanges to advance SME development in their markets through donor-sponsored technical assistance. For more information, please contact the SSE team directly: info@sseinitiative.orgAbout the SSE
The SSE initiative is a UN Partnership Programme organised by UNCTAD, the UN Global Compact, UNEP FI and the PRI. The SSE’s mission is to provide a global platform for exploring how exchanges, in collaboration with investors, companies (issuers), regulators, policymakers and relevant international organizations, can enhance performance on ESG (environmental, social and corporate governance) issues and encourage sustainable investment, including the financing of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The SSE seeks to achieve this mission through an integrated programme of conducting evidence-based policy analysis, facilitating a network and forum for multi-stakeholder consensus-building, and providing technical assistance and advisory services.