Robert Troy, the Minister of State for Trade Promotion, Digital and Company Regulation, has urged SMEs to stay focused on digital transition. 

The minister represented Ireland yesterday as co-chair of the meeting of the steering group of the OECD’s ‘Digital for SMEs’ global initiative.

The meeting was chaired by Stuart Nash, the New Zealand Minister for Small Business, and was also attended by the Deputy Secretary General of the OECD, Ulrik Vestergaard Knudsen. 

The gathering also included representatives of business, academics, and other OECD member countries.

Theme

On the agenda for the 16 December meeting was the ‘digital for SMEs global initiative’ throughout 2020, and the proposed programme for 2021/22, under the overarching theme of ‘SME digitalisation to build back better’.

The upcoming programme of work will organise activities around three main pillars – analytical research, sharing SMEs’ experiences, and network and policy-dialogue activities.

Speaking after the meeting, Minister Troy said: “As minister with responsibility for digital, I was very pleased to co-chair today’s valuable meeting at OECD level, to ensure that a strong focus is kept on the importance of the digital transition for SMEs, [which] represent the backbone of our own economy here at home.

Prominent role

“Ireland is playing a prominent role in this OECD initiative, and it is of great benefit to discuss these shared opportunities with international partners, such as Minister Nash of New Zealand, and Deputy Secretary General Knudsen of the OECD.”

The minister added that digital transformation would be crucial to the future development of small and medium-sized businesses.

“As minister with responsibility for trade promotion, I am also very conscious of the role that digital progress will play in enabling Irish firms to connect with, and successfully grow their exports to, markets across the globe,” he said.