This is a special chapter of the Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) focusing on the impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in developing Asia. The study is based on findings from rapid MSME surveys conducted from March to May 2020 in Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, the Philippines, and Thailand. The ASM is a knowledge-sharing product series developed as a key resource for MSME development policies in Asia and the Pacific.

This final volume of the Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor 2020 sets out ADB’s work so far on a new composite index called the Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Development Index (SME-DI) to help guide support for the development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). The SME-DI aims to measure MSME development and access to finance using multivariate analysis of national MSME data. The volume includes the results of testing a pilot index using data from Southeast Asia.

The development of micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) remains key to promoting inclusive growth in developing economies in Asia and the Pacific. The Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) provides data and analysis as a resource for evidence-based policy design on MSME development. The ASM 2020 focuses on Southeast Asia and this first volume reviews the financial and non-financial conditions of MSMEs at country and regional level. In future years, the ASM will expand its country coverage to other regions.

A persistently large trade finance gap is an ongoing global challenge, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises, which continue to face significant barriers to access financing. This report reflects on the Trade Finance Gaps, Growth, and Jobs Survey conducted by the Asian Development Bank since 2012. It provides insights on trade finance trends, analysis, and lessons from the past 10 years and identifies what needs to happen to make access to trade finance more inclusive. The report discusses the rapid digitalization in trade and trade finance markets and advocates for increased international cooperation to enable the full benefits of digitization to be realized.

This thematic chapter shows how the Russian invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions are affecting micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in Central and West Asia and suggests policy responses to mitigate the impact. It draws on the results of business surveys in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan carried out six months after the start of the invasion. It assesses the invasion’s macroeconomic impact, outlines its effect on global supply chains, and explores MSME responses. Highlighting how countries are converting risks into opportunities, it notes that strengthening domestic commodity markets and increasing digitalization and available capital could help make MSMEs more resilient.

The Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) is a knowledge-sharing product developed as a key resource for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise development policies in Asia and the Pacific. The ASM 2020 Volume III is a Thematic Chapter on financial technology (fintech) loans to tricycle drivers in the Philippines, addressing how fintech affects the welfare of the self-employed and contributes to the development of country’s local economies.

The Asia Small and Medium-Sized Enterprise Monitor (ASM) is a knowledge-sharing product developed as a key resource for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) development policies in Asia and the Pacific. The ASM 2021 Volume IV reports on a technical exercise for developing an empirically rigorous index that measures various dimensions affecting MSME development in developing Asia.