On Stage
Live Events at OECD-ICSB Forum
Live Reporting
Day 3 is well underway at OECD Headquarters, with research rooms running back to back. Paper presentations are now live across the rooms, as researchers share findings on SMEs, AI, scale-up finance, deeptech, and human-centered entrepreneurship.
After a day of great sessions, we're underway with our final roundtable of Day 2 at the OECD-ICSB SME International Conference: New and Emerging Topics. This forward-looking discussion in Room CC7 is exploring the future of SMEs, emerging global trends, and the new opportunities shaping the next frontiers of entrepreneurship. The conversation will help inform ICSB's Top Ten Trends for MSMEs.
Narmina Hasanova spoke as an entrepreneur and business executive who has led and scaled multiple SME ventures across diverse industries in Azerbaijan. She shared how she makes decisions without always having all the answers, and how paramount a strong mentor can be. She noted that young girls who grow up around entrepreneurship are more likely to succeed, and she is committed to opening as many doors as she can for them.
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AI Must Create Capability
All times in CEST (Central European Summer Time).
Organizations Represented
80 institutions and organizations bringing global perspectives to Paris 2026.
- Adelaide University
- AlBaraka Forum for Islamic Economy
- Amazon
- The American University in Cairo
- Arab Academy for Science, Technology and Maritime Transport (AASTMT)
- Atlantic Technological University
- Azfar Group
- Babson College
- Bank of Canada
- Bridge Impact Advisory (BIA)
- Center for Applied Research in Finance (CARF)
- Clermont School of Business
- Delta Asia Financial Group
- École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL)
- EDC Paris Business School
- EDHEC Business School
- emlyon Business School
- Entrepreneurship to the Point
- Equitable Cities Collaborative
- ESCP Business School
- FH JOANNEUM University of Applied Sciences
- Florida State University
- George Washington University
- Global Entrepreneurship Association
- Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)
- Government of India
- Griffith University
- Hankuk University of Foreign Studies
- HEC Paris
- IMK Institute for SME
- International Council for Small Business (ICSB)
- International Labour Organization (ILO)
- Karlsruhe University of Education
- King's College London
- Leiden University
- Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences
- Make Mothers Matter (MMM)
- MEBÚ Agency
- MiniBoss Business School Baku
- mnAI
- Navigator Foundation
- New Giza University
- NiBS University
- Nile University
- OECD
- OMTPME (Observatory of Moroccan SMEs)
- Politecnico di Milano
- Prince Mohammed Bin Fahd University
- RMIT University
- Robert Gordon University
- Routledge / Taylor & Francis Group
- Senate of France
- SKSEED
- Sogang University
- South Westphalia University of Applied Sciences
- Sparbanken Alingsås
- State University of Campinas (UNICAMP)
- State University of New York (SUNY)
- Suffolk University
- Technical University of Denmark
- UCLy (Lyon Catholic University)
- Uganda Martyrs University
- Ulster University
- Universidad Nacional de Rafaela
- Université d'Angers
- Université de Lorraine
- Universiti Putra Malaysia
- University of Bergamo
- University of Granada
- University of Jordan
- University of Melbourne
- University of Orléans
- University of Parma
- University of South Carolina
- University of Warwick
- Universität Wuppertal
- Webster University
- Women Presidents Organization (WPO)
- World Bank Group
- World Trade Organization (WTO)
Day 1: Pre-conference morning at EDC Paris and opening reception at the OECD
Wednesday, October 21The day begins at EDC Paris with a pre-conference session built for its audience. As more than half of the participants are students, the morning gives most of its time to AI and entrepreneurship: a research paper presentation, a journal presentation, and a full hour on a new study of AI and student entrepreneurship, followed by a panel discussion with students. The day then closes with a welcoming reception at OECD Headquarters, hosted by the leadership of ICSB and the OECD with invited international guests, where participants from research, government, and enterprise meet, connect, and open the conversations that will carry through the next two days.
Day 2: Full conference day at OECD Headquarters
Thursday, October 22Day two is the working heart of the conference, held at OECD Headquarters in Room CC7. The day opens with welcome remarks from the OECD and ICSB, followed by five policy roundtables: AI and SMEs, Scale-Up Finance, Deeptech Entrepreneurship and Incubation, Women and Youth Entrepreneurship, and New and Emerging Topics. Each of the first four opens with an OECD introductory presentation.
Day 3: From research to ecosystem to policy
Friday, October 23Day three traces the full journey from evidence to action across two venues. Research sessions continue at OECD Headquarters across five research rooms, completing the presentation of papers and drawing together the recommendations emerging from each. The conference then moves to Station F, the world's largest startup campus, where findings meet the entrepreneurs living them. In a single day, the conference's research travels from the seminar room to the startup floor.
Day 1
Wednesday, October 21Breakfast and Networking
Morning breakfast and networking to open the pre-conference sessions at EDC Paris.
Opening Welcome Remarks
Opening welcome remarks to launch the OECD-ICSB pre-conference morning at EDC Paris.
Research paper presentation by Prof. Salman Bahoo
Research paper presentation by Prof. Salman Bahoo.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review (IER) Journal Presentation
Presentation of the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Review (IER) Journal.
Coffee Break
Quick coffee break.
Presentation of a new study on AI and student entrepreneurship, followed by a panel discussion with students
Presentation of a new study on AI and student entrepreneurship, followed by a panel discussion with students. With more than half of participants joining as students, this session is given a full hour so the conversation on AI and entrepreneurship can move from presentation to reaction and open exchange.
Opening Reception at the OECD
The conference opens with an evening reception at OECD Headquarters, featuring welcoming remarks from senior leaders of ICSB and the OECD, as well as invited international guests. Participants establish new connections and begin the conversations that will continue throughout the conference.
Day 2
Thursday, October 22Opening and welcome
The conference opens with welcome remarks from the OECD and ICSB, followed by a 10-minute keynote talk from Mr. Orkhan Mammadov titled 'Insights from Azerbaijan and Future Trends'.
SMEs and AI
How artificial intelligence is reshaping SME competitiveness, which use cases deliver real productivity gains, and how SMEs build AI-ready teams through reskilling and training pathways.
Scale-Up Finance
The financing instruments and ecosystem conditions that enable SME scale-up, including venture and growth capital, as well as alternative and blended finance models.
Coffee break
Coffee break
Deeptech Entrepreneurship and Incubation
What it takes to build supportive ecosystems for science-based ventures, from specialized incubation and acceleration to the research-to-market pipelines connecting universities, labs, and industry.
Lunch
Connect with fellow conference participants over lunch at the OECD.
Women and Youth Entrepreneurship
How women-led and youth-led businesses scale beyond the start, from access to networks and capital to the ecosystem interventions that support sustained, ambitious growth.
Coffee break
New and Emerging Topics
A forward-looking roundtable on the future of SMEs, emerging global trends, and the new opportunities shaping the next frontiers of entrepreneurship. The discussion will help inform ICSB's Top Ten Trends for MSMEs.
Day 3
Friday, October 23Coffee and check-in
Coffee and check-in
Research Room 1, Human-Centered Entrepreneurship
A focus on Human-Centered Entrepreneurship and its impact across all facets of SMEs and the economy, exploring how entrepreneurship can balance innovation, competitiveness, and economic growth with human well-being, inclusion, resilience, and societal impact. This theme examines how SMEs can harness emerging technologies, strengthen human capabilities, create meaningful opportunities, and build more sustainable and resilient businesses while contributing to communities and the broader economy.
ECOLOGICAL TRAINING OF SME EMPLOYEES FOR THE GREEN TRANSITION IN FRANCE
Towards a Small Business Stress Test: Design of an Entrepreneurial Resilience Profile
Strengthening and Upgrading the Entrepreneurial Capacity-Building Ecosystem: Regional vs University Ecosystems
Human-Centred Entrepreneurship: Insights from a State-of-the-Art Evidence Review of Entrepreneurs’ Health and Wellbeing
The Human-Centered Entrepreneurship Index
When Financial, Tax and Sustainability Reporting Converge on the Small Firm: A Proportionate, Consent-Based Disclosure Framework for Egypt
Challenging the “European DARPA” Reflex: Bridging the SME Scaling Gap via Adaptive Architecture and Transatlantic Symbiosis
Human-Centered Financial Capability: Risk-Taking Propensity as the Mediating Mechanism Between Financial Literacy and Micro-Business Performance
Using Responsible AI to Close Gender Data Gaps in SME Statistics: Evidence from Morocco
Smart Entrepreneurship for Smart Tourism: Ecosystems, Capabilities, and Venture Design
Human Rights of Older Adults: A Human-Centered Entrepreneurship Approach to Active Ageing
Beyond the Hero: How Collaboration Drives Institutional Change
Research Room 2, AI Adoption and Deeptech
Parallel sessions in breakout rooms at the OECD present the latest evidence on AI adoption and deeptech entrepreneurship. Sessions are chaired by senior scholars and generate actionable insights and policy recommendations.
Are AI Readiness Assessments Ready for SMEs? A Systematic Review and Methodological Appraisal
From Artificial Intelligence Adoption to SME Business Performance: Absorptive Capacity as the Missing Link in Artificial Intelligence Value Capture
Supporting AI Adoption in Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises through Organizational Knowledge Infrastructure: A Conceptual Framework
Incubating Deep Technology Startups: Policy-Driven University Entrepreneurship Ecosystems in Upstate New York
From Classroom to C-Suite: Teaching Future CEOs with AI
The Future is Hybrid: The AI-Human Coevolution in the Hiring Process in SMEs
From creditworthiness to viability: an explainable, consent-based standard for assessing small-business viability
AI Augmentation for SMEs: Standards, Training, and Certification for AI Job Analysts
Bridging the Missing First Mile: Early-Childhood Care and Women's Participation in Entrepreneurship in Mongolia
Beyond Connectivity: Navigating Sustainability–Resilience Tensions in Innovation Ecosystems
Intelligence Extension and Reflective Capability in Small Business AI Adoption
Research Room 3, Scale-Up Finance
Parallel breakout sessions presenting the latest research on scale-up finance. Chaired by senior scholars.
Resource-Conversion Efficiency in Regional Entrepreneurial Ecosystems: Evidence and Implications for SME Policy
Government Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Startup Markets
AI in Banking: A Real-World Case, Insights, and Lessons
Payment Technology Adoption and Survival of SMEs
Approval Is Not Access: Institutional Fragmentation and the Limits of AI Credit Scoring for SME Finance
Willing Researchers, Missing Founders: A University-Based Venture Builder for Research Commercialization in Egypt
From Seats to Outcomes: Where Software Revenue Moves Next
Beyond Business Creation: An Enterprise Threshold Framework for Strengthening SME Policy Evaluation
FROM FIRM CAPABILITIES TO CAPABILITIES-IN-PLACE A CONTEXTUAL APPROACH TO INDUSTRIAL POLICY
Islamic Banking in a Changing Global Economy: Industry Insights and Emerging Opportunities
Beyond Investment Readiness: Building Inclusive Growth-Finance Ecosystems for Women-Owned Small and Growing Businesses
Research Room 4, Women and Youth Entrepreneurship
A focus on the latest evidence on women and youth entrepreneurship. Chaired by senior scholars, generating actionable insights and policy recommendations.
Student entrepreneurship in France: Empirical evidence from GUESSS 2025
Bridging the Generative AI Adoption Gap Evidence on use, unequal enabling conditions, and safe support for women entrepreneurs across 79 countries
The Role of Artificial Intelligence in Empowering Women Entrepreneurs
Computer Science Literacy and Digital Literacy for Women Entrepreneurs – Content Requirements and Measures for Improvement
Are Migrant Women Entrepreneurs Really Less Growth-Oriented, or Are We Measuring Only One Form of Growth they Intend to Pursue?
Beyond Participation: Closing Australia’s Women Business Scaling Gap Through Evidence-Based Entrepreneurship Policy
Spousal Collaboration and Caregiving in Women-Owned SMEs: The Role of Sensing Capability
Stuck in the Middle: Capital Readiness and the Missing Middle for Women-Led Firms
Entrepreneurial Propensity of University Students in Argentina: A Comparison 2023 vs. 2025
Necessity without enterprise: why flexibility policy misroutes mothers, and what it means for small firms
The Emergence of Entrepreneurial Mindset in Egypt
Research Room 5, Emerging Topics
Parallel breakout sessions presenting research on mom entrepreneurship, family-business balance, intergenerational entrepreneurship, and succession. Chaired by senior scholars.
Information Governance for Cross-Border E-Commerce: From Adverse to Favorable Selection in Compliance and Competition – Insights from Brazil
From Acceleration to Innovation Procurement: A Green Urban Solutions Initiative for African Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs)
Internationalisation as a Catalyst: Twin Transformation Among Turkish SMEs
Clustering in Social Enterprise: From Policy Metaphor to Measurable Mechanism - A Cross-National Research Agenda
The Future of Academic Publishing: Insights from an ICSB Publishing Partner
The Future of Entrepreneurship: Emerging Global Trends from GEM
Beyond Adoption: How Psychological Ownership Turns GenAI Co-Creation into Business Model Innovation in SMEs
Using AI for Teaching, Mentorship, Advising, and Re-Skilling: Preparing Talent for the Future of Work
Beyond first-time internationalization: Supporting SME re-entry in foreign markets in times of Global Value Chain disruption
Resilient by purpose - The next era of sustainability
Why the future of ESG lies in resilience and purpose, not compliance.
Human-Centered Entrepreneurship: Reimagining Entrepreneurship for Human Flourishing
Networking Lunch
Lunch with fellow researchers and conference participants.
Innovation Ecosystem Experience at Station F
The full group reconvenes for an immersive visit to Station F, the world's largest startup campus, connecting the conference's research and policy conversations with entrepreneurship in practice.