Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition

3 December 2025

Jessica Meeker

Knowledge Manager

Summary

This report highlights outcomes and recommendations from the T20 Side Event ‘Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition’, held in Johannesburg on 17 October 2025.

It presents seven recommendations for concrete steps to turn the G20’s green energy principles into practice, with South Africa’s presidency positioned as a crucial catalyst for this transformation.

Cite this publication

Meeker, J. (2025) 'Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition', CEDCA Clean Energy Brief, Brighton: Institute of Development Studies, DOI: 10.19088/CEDCA.2025.003

Copy

learning

Theme

MSMEs, Clean Energy

Documents

Briefing paper

Credit: 'Two women working in a clothing factory' by Dominic Chavez/World Bank. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Two women are standing by a table in a factory, folding a long piece of white fabric.

Event

Women’s leadership and innovative finance: Driving climate resilience and sustainable development

Thursday 20 November 2025

This panel, hosted as part of COP30, will explore how women’s leadership and inclusive financial innovation serve as powerful levers for climate resilience and sustainable development. The session will highlight concrete examples internationally, focusing on the intersection of gender equity, entrepreneurship, and climate action.  Panellists: Adel Ben Youssef, Université Côte d’Azur – featured Clean Energy […]

Learning

Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition

3 December 2025

This report highlights outcomes and recommendations from the T20 Side Event ‘Unlocking the Potential of Small and Medium Businesses and Entrepreneurs in the Clean Energy Transition’, held in Johannesburg on 17 October 2025. It presents seven recommendations for concrete steps to turn the G20’s green energy principles into practice, with South Africa’s presidency positioned as […]

Credit: IDRC

A photo taken at a conference. There are many women sat in chairs facing forward, with one woman speaking to the group. There is a GENERIS banner behind her and a projector.

Blog

Supporting economic growth and climate action through renewable energy: Insights from fish farming in Bolivia

8 December 2025

Agriculture continues to represent a critical source of foreign exchange and job creation throughout the Global South. The future growth and development of the sector depend on farmers, processors and traders finding innovative ways to produce more and better-quality products or to reduce costs, without harming the natural resource base. Renewable energy — in particular, […]