Globalizing Small Businesses in Emerging Markets

Research proposal by Christine Pamela Chandrakasan

1 | Why This, Why Now

“The architecture of global exchange remains top-heavy.”

MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises) make up 90% of global firms but capture only a sliver of international trade.

Just five countries dominate 40% of all global trade (US, China, Germany, Japan, UK), leaving much of the Global South underrepresented.

As a startup founder in Malaysia, I’ve faced cross-border friction, including currency mismatches, fragmented regulations, and logistical inefficiencies. These challenges consumed more than 60% of my operational bandwidth.

During COVID-19:
70% of Malaysian small businesses suffered severe sales losses.
Over 176,000 permanently closed.

Guiding Question: What if the next era of globalization were built around participation, not power?

2 | Core Research Questions

This study investigates three key barriers to small-business global trade:

• Capital Constraints: Can decentralized finance such as Bitcoin reduce exposure to volatile currencies and limited credit access?
• Digital Adoption: What patterns and design principles enable long-term, sustainable digital tool adoption in under-resourced communities?
• Logistics Access: Can community-based, modular logistics improve export predictability and reduce trade barriers?

Focus Countries: Malaysia, Ghana, Peru
Additional Lenses: Cambodia, Laos, Kenya, Nigeria, Brazil, Costa Rica, El Salvador

3 | What’s Missing in Existing Trade Models

• Structural Vulnerability: MSMEs absorb global shocks but are often left out of recovery plans.
• Digital Maturity Gap: 66% of Brazil's small firms are offline; in Asia-Pacific, 84% are “digital observers.”
• Currency Dependence: USD reliance exposes firms to external shocks. Bitcoin offers a potential stateless trade mechanism.
• Logistical Fragmentation: High costs, poor traceability, and infrastructure gaps block exports.
• Policy Bias Toward Large Firms: Trade policies favor incumbents, validating Krugman, North, Rodrik, Krueger, Bhagwati’s observations.

How This Bias Shows Up Today: Tax breaks, certifications, digital platform dominance, and inaccessible trade finance all compound MSME exclusion.

4 | Precedents That Work

• Taobao Villages: Connected rural producers to global markets through digital tools.
• Germany’s Hidden Champions: Niche firms supported by export-friendly policies.

5 | Research Methodology

1. U.S.-Based Research: Use datasets from distressed regions (Rust Belt, rural Midwest).
2. Global Fieldwork: Interviews, open-source prototypes, surveys across SE Asia, Africa, Latin America.
3. Policy Co-Creation: Create scalable toolkits with regulators and local networks.

6 | Researcher Qualifications

• Background in engineering, innovation, and entrepreneurship
• Cross-border startup founder
• Mentor/advisor to 100+ startups and corporations
• Author of a book on ecosystem innovation strategy

7 | Expected Contributions

• Create open-source tools, policy templates, and logistics prototypes
• Partner with impact ventures and global institutions
• Advance a new vision: “Globalization has long favored the powerful. It’s time it favored the builder.”

FAQs

Q: What is the central goal?
A: To empower small businesses in global trade using digital, financial, and logistical innovation.

Q: Why Malaysia, Ghana, and Peru?
A: Trade-reliant yet structurally excluded — ideal to study friction and opportunity.

Q: How does Bitcoin help?
A: It minimizes dollar-dependence and lets firms transact with more autonomy.

Q: What is community-based logistics?
A: Shared, localized transport systems modeled after Grab, Gojek, Mercado Envios.

Q: What’s new here?
A: Small-firm-first, open-source tools and policy design that scale locally and globally.

Q: What are open-source policy templates?
A: Drafts built with local stakeholders to reduce adoption barriers and scale inclusion.