The publication is produced by the OECD-Eurostat Entrepreneurship Indicators Programme based on official statistics. The 2017 edition features a new trends chapter, which also introduces recent developments related to the emergence of the "gig economy" and the use of digital tools by micro-enterprises.

The Future of Business survey is a collaboration between Facebook, the OECD and the World Bank to provide monthly data to policymakers on the perceptions and challenges of online small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across the world. Launched in February 2016, the monthly survey provides a pulse on the economic environment in which businesses operate

This draft document is to trigger an exchange on the most appropriate ways to support gender equality and promote gender mainstreaming in the different regional working groups and fora of the MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme during the implementation period 2019-2020.

The MENA-OECD Competitiveness Programme is a strategic partnership between MENA and OECD economies to share knowledge, expertise and good practices. The Programme’s objective is to contribute to the development of inclusive, sustainable and competitive economies across the region. The Programme supports reforms to mobilise investment, private sector development and entrepreneurship as driving forces for inclusive growth and employment in the MENA region, building also on the need to mainstream the region’s increasingly well trained youth and women.

The report notes that while women in the Middle East and North Africa are better educated and skilled than ever, the share of them in work is still amongst the lowest in the world. The report acknowledges that women do not share the same rights as men although there are major differences between countries. Bringing the legal frameworks, in particular family and labour laws, in line with gender goals enshrined in national constitutions should enable more women to enter employment and make MENA economies more competitive and inclusive