To rebuild Asia’s resilience, invert innovation systems

IN A time of fractured international trade, it’s easy to assume that large multinationals will be the ones to hold the world together. But in Asia, it’s the small businesses – the family-run exporters, tech-enabled micro-retailers, and fast-moving suppliers – that are proving to be the invisible glue of global commerce.

This isn’t a feel-good narrative. It’s a hard economic reality. Today, micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) make up 95 per cent of all businesses worldwide. In Asia, they’ve become the shock absorbers of international supply chains – enabled to soar above external triggers by a decade of digital transformation, regional cooperation and targeted public-private investment.

Now, as trade tensions and technological decoupling disrupt the rules of the game, it’s time to invert how we think about innovation and growth. Instead of designing systems for the largest players and hoping benefits trickle down, we must start with MSMEs in mind – building technology, financial infrastructure and policy frameworks that serve their cross-border ambitions first. That’s how we’ll unlock inclusive, sustainable growth, and more importantly, resilience.