In both developed and developing countries, SMEs make up a majority of business and employ the majority of workers in both manufacturing and services sectors.
SMEs cater mostly to their domestic market and their contribution to GDP, although normally very small, can vary greatly depending on the value of the goods or services they produce.
While less than 6 per cent of the formal work force is employed in manufacturing in SMEs in Azerbaijan, Belarus and Ukraine, this share is more than 50 per cent in other developing countries such as Ghana, Turkey and Ecuador.
Studies has indicated that countries with large SME sectors also tend to benefit from the significant contribution which SMEs make to GDP (WTO, 2013: 1