International Council for Small Business (ICSB)

10/18/2026

10 Key OECD Reports. Four Critical Conversations. One Shared Goal: From Research to Action. https://paris.icsb.org/news/from-oecd-research-to-action

As we prepare for the ICSB × OECD SME World Forum in Paris, October 21–23, our OECD colleagues have shared 10 key research reports and resources with ICSB to help shape our discussions.

This Forum marks an important moment when ICSB and the OECD bring together their research, expertise, and global networks to bridge a critical gap: the gap between research and action, and between policy recommendations and the everyday realities facing small and medium-sized enterprises.

The 10 resources address four major challenges:

🔹 SMEs & Artificial Intelligence — Moving beyond adoption to measurable business value.

🔹 Scale-Up Finance — Moving beyond access to capital toward sustainable growth.

🔹 Deeptech Entrepreneurship & Incubation — Turning scientific discoveries into successful enterprises.

🔹 Women & Youth Entrepreneurship — Transforming entrepreneurial potential into real opportunity.

By combining OECD policy research with ICSB's global expertise in entrepreneurship, education, and practice, we can turn knowledge into meaningful policy recommendations.

And through Human-Centered Entrepreneurship, we add another essential question: How can entrepreneurial progress also advance human flourishing?

From Evidence to Action. From Research to Impact.

We thank our OECD colleagues for sharing these valuable resources and look forward to advancing these important conversations together in Paris.

📚 Explore all 10 OECD reports and resources here:

https://paris.icsb.org/news/from-oecd-research-to-action

10/16/2026

Great science does not automatically create great businesses. So how do we bridge the gap?

Researchers and innovators worldwide are developing extraordinary technologies. Yet transforming scientific breakthroughs into successful enterprises remains one of entrepreneurship's greatest challenges.

How do we move discoveries from laboratories into markets? What makes an entrepreneurial ecosystem capable of supporting deeptech ventures? And how can smaller firms participate in the next generation of technological innovation?

On October 22, at the ICSB × OECD SME World Forum in Paris, we will bring together leading international voices for an important discussion:

Deeptech Entrepreneurship and Incubation

Session Chair:

🔹 Jonathan Potter — Head of Entrepreneurship Policy Unit, OECD

Distinguished Speakers:

🔹 Christian Friedl — Professor, Head of GEM Austria & DEM, FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences

🔹 Marc Gruber — Full Professor, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)

🔹 Donna Kelley — Frederic C. Hamilton Professor of Free Enterprise Studies, Babson College

🔹 Wael ElDesouky — Secretary General, Sustainable Entrepreneurship & Enterprise Development Organization (SKSEED), Egypt

Together, we will explore how research, entrepreneurial talent, incubation, and supportive policies can transform breakthrough technologies into thriving enterprises.

Innovation begins with discovery. Entrepreneurship turns discovery into opportunity.

The challenge isn't simply to invent the future, but to build the businesses and ecosystems that can bring that future to society.

Looking forward to this important conversation at OECD Headquarters in Paris.

🌐 https://paris.icsb.org/

10/13/2026

PARIS BY THE NUMBERS

The World Is Coming Together. The Future of SMEs Is on the Table.

Paris is almost here, and the numbers are telling a story of their own.

On October 21–23, the International Council for Small Business (ICSB) and the OECD will bring together an international community of researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and innovators. The researchers, policymakers, business leaders, and innovators from around the world will bring these perspectives together in Paris; the response has been extraordinary, and the Friday research program is already fully confirmed.

THE NUMBERS SPEAK

120 VOICES — Distinct contributors and session chairs across Thursday and Friday.

56 PRESENTATIONS — Confirmed research and expert contributions at OECD Headquarters.

26 COUNTRIES — Represented in Friday's research program alone.

62 ORGANIZATIONS — Universities, international institutions, financial organizations, and research centers in Friday's program.

5 POLICY ROUNDTABLES — AI, scale-up finance, deeptech, women and youth entrepreneurship, and emerging global challenges.

3 DAYS — From OECD Headquarters to the French Senate and Station F.

The numbers are impressive. The conversations could be even more important.

https://paris.icsb.org/program

ICSB × OECD SME World Forum 2026

October 21–23 | Paris, France

Explore the Full Program

SMEs at Frontier Speed. Guided by Human-Centered Entrepreneurship.

10/12/2026

France: strong entrepreneurship, weaker flourishing.

As student demonstrations continue across France, ICSB has used the Human-Centered Entrepreneurship (HCE) Index 2026 to look beyond the headlines. The Index was launched at the United Nations in June, nearly three months before the first student blockades.

Across 43 economies, France scores above the median on every entrepreneurship measure: innovation, risk-taking, and pro-activeness. It scores below the median on every human flourishing measure.

📊 Innovation: 50.7, about twice the median of 25.1
📊 Adults thriving: 37%
📊 Employees engaged at work: 8%, compared with 12% across Europe and 20% globally

The Index does not measure students' experiences or explain the protests. It shows a gap that neither GDP nor entrepreneurship data reveals on its own.

This is the first time ICSB has applied the HCE Index to a moment as it unfolds.

"The responsibility of researchers is to ensure that what matters to people is also what we measure." Dr. Ayman ElTarabishy, President and CEO of ICSB

Read the full analysis: https://icsb.org/central/france-beyond-economic-growth/

France is a nation of innovation and economic strength, yet its entrepreneurial success contrasts with weaker human flourishing. The HCE Index reveals this gap and raises important questions about growth, quality of life, and the future facing France's younger generation.

10/11/2026

The Sunday Times | What If Growth Is No Longer Enough?

For decades, we have measured entrepreneurship by how much we create, invest, and grow.

But perhaps it is time to ask a different question: Growth for whom, and to what end?

This week's ICSB Sunday Times explores three perspectives:

Beyond Growth: Why entrepreneurial success must include productivity, sustainability, and human well-being.

Five Signals from the Frontier: As we prepare for the ICSB × OECD SME World Forum 2026 in Paris, five emerging signals are challenging how we think about AI, finance, deeptech, and inclusion.

Cutting-Edge Research: New findings from 20 low-income countries reveal that access to credit alone does not create more businesses. Strong institutions matter.

The future of entrepreneurship is not simply about growing more. It is about growing better.

Pour yourself an espresso and enjoy this week's edition!

What if growth is no longer enough? This Sunday Times explores five signals shaping the future of entrepreneurship, from AI and finance to innovation and inclusion, alongside new research revealing why strong institutions matter more than credit alone. A fresh perspective on what meaningful entrepre...

10/10/2026

What If Growth Is No Longer Enough?
For decades, we have measured entrepreneurial success through business creation, investment, revenue, and economic growth.
But perhaps we have been asking the wrong questions.
What if AI adoption does not translate into real productivity? What if access to finance does not lead to sustainable growth? What if scientific breakthroughs never reach the marketplace? And what if entrepreneurial opportunity remains out of reach for too many people?
On October 22, at OECD Headquarters in Paris, the ICSB × OECD SME World Forum 2026 will bring together global leaders to explore five questions shaping the future of small business:
AI: Are we measuring adoption or actual progress?
Finance: Are we financing the past or the future?
Deeptech: What happens after the discovery?
Women and Youth: Who actually gets the opportunity to grow?
Emerging Topics: What are we not talking about yet?
With perspectives from the OECD, World Bank Group, WTO, Amazon, CARF, EPFL, Women Presidents Organization, UNESCO Chair, Taylor & Francis, and leading entrepreneurship scholars, these conversations will challenge how we think about the future of SMEs.
And they are part of a larger three-day gathering connecting policy, academic research, and entrepreneurial practice.
Because perhaps the most important question is not simply how we help small businesses grow, but what kind of growth we want, and whether that growth improves people's lives.
Economic progress and human flourishing belong in the same conversation.
I look forward to these discussions in Paris.
October 21–23, 2026 | SMEs at Frontier Speed

For decades, we have measured entrepreneurial success through business creation, investment, revenue, and economic growth. Those measures still matter. But perhaps we have been asking the wrong questions.

10/08/2026

Something interesting happened when we opened the conversation to the world.

As we prepared for the ICSB × OECD SME World Forum 2026 in Paris, we invited researchers, policymakers, and entrepreneurship leaders from around the world to share their ideas. https://paris.icsb.org/program

We expected research papers and policy recommendations.

What emerged was something more interesting: five signals about the future of entrepreneurship.

FIVE SIGNALS FROM THE FRONTIER

1. AI is no longer just about adoption. It is about value.

The real question is whether AI creates measurable improvements for small businesses.

2. Finance is not simply about access to capital. It is about the ability to grow.

Getting financing and building a sustainable enterprise are two different challenges.

3. The entrepreneur is important. But the ecosystem may be just as important.

Universities, incubators, institutions, and regional networks are becoming essential to entrepreneurial success.

4. Progress means measurable opportunity for women and youth.

The conversation is shifting toward who gets to scale, who has access to opportunities, and what meaningful entrepreneurial success looks like.

5. Economic growth and human flourishing belong in the same conversation.

Entrepreneurship must create economic value while strengthening people, communities, and society.

These are not final conclusions. They are emerging signals from the research and ideas we will explore together in Paris.

Our Preliminary Program is now LIVE!

October 21–23, 2026 | Paris, France

ICSB × OECD SME World Forum

Theme: SMEs at Frontier Speed

Three days connecting policy, research, and entrepreneurship at OECD Headquarters and Station F.

Explore the program:

https://paris.icsb.org/program

The future of entrepreneurship is not something we simply predict. It is something we shape together.

https://paris.icsb.org/program

See you in Paris!

10/07/2026

Create. Connect. Open.
Why does ICSB need three journals?
Because they were never designed to do the same thing.
JSBM creates. The Journal of Small Business Management is the oldest and largest scholarly journal in our field, providing a home for rigorous research in small business management and entrepreneurship.
JICSB connects. It brings MSME research into closer conversation with policy, education, practice, governments, and institutions.
And now, IER opens. The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Review is ICSB’s first fully Open Access journal, published with Taylor & Francis and focused on innovation, entrepreneurship, and emerging areas of research.
This did not happen overnight. We gave each journal time to develop its own identity and purpose.
Create. Connect. Open.
Three journals. Three different roles. One evolving approach to how knowledge is created, connected, and shared.
And later this month in Paris, at the SME World Forum Paris 2026 convened by ICSB and the OECD, we will continue the conversation and introduce IER to our wider global community.
Read the full story:

The Innovation & Entrepreneurship Review (IER) is officially live as ICSB’s first fully Open Access journal, published with Taylor & Francis. IER joins JSBM and JICSB in a publishing ecosystem developed over time to create knowledge, connect research with policy and practice, and open new scholars...

10/04/2026

A major milestone for ICSB.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review (IER) is now officially live with Taylor & Francis as ICSB’s first fully Open Access journal. https://icsb.org/sunday-times/central/october-3-for-msmes-worldwide/

IER was created with a simple idea in mind: important research in innovation and entrepreneurship should be accessible to a global community without sacrificing rigor, credibility, peer review, or research integrity.

This has been years in the making, and it is exciting to see the vision become real.

Open Access has arrived at ICSB — and we are just getting started.

09/29/2026

WE ARE LIVE.

The Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review (IER) is officially live with Taylor & Francis. https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/uier20/

IER is the first fully Open Access journal of the International Council for Small Business (ICSB), created to serve a much-needed global research community.

Open Access is now mainstream, and much needed. But access alone is not enough. Researchers need Open Access publishing that is reliable, authentic, rigorously peer-reviewed, and backed by organizations committed to quality and research integrity.

The idea for IER began 10 years ago with Dr. Ayman El Tarabishy, who believed that Open Access was where the future of academic publishing was heading. His vision was to create an ICSB journal that would make high-quality innovation and entrepreneurship research more accessible to researchers around the world—while maintaining the rigor, credibility, and integrity expected of a leading scholarly journal.

The vision was there. But the timing had to be right and, just as importantly, ICSB needed the right publishing partner.

With Taylor & Francis, ICSB found a partner with the global reach, publishing expertise, scholarly standards, and commitment to research integrity needed to bring that vision to life.

Today, Dr. El Tarabishy serves as Founder and Editor-in-Chief of IER, alongside Editors-in-Chief Eric Liguori and Katia Passerini, supported by Regional Editors from around the world and a distinguished Global Advisory Group.

IER will focus on the emerging intersections shaping innovation and entrepreneurship—from entrepreneurial ecosystems and policy to digital transformation, AI, and actionable, impact-driven knowledge.

Ten years in the making. A vision of where publishing was heading. The right time. The right partner.

Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review is LIVE.

The submission system is open. We invite the world to contribute. https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/uier20/