The Role of Small and Medium Enterprises in Promoting Maritime Economic Development

Maritime economic development is often framed around ports, fleets and trade corridors, yet much of its local developmental effect is transmitted through small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in logistics, fisheries, aquaculture, coastal tourism, port services, ship repair, digital trade services and maritime supply chains. This paper examines how SMEs contribute to maritime economic development and why their contribution remains uneven across countries and regions. Using a structured secondary review and thematic synthesis of peer-reviewed studies, international policy reports and comparative case evidence from 2010 to 2026, the paper integrates literature on SME development, maritime clusters, port innovation ecosystems, trade facilitation, blue-economy livelihoods and digital-green transition pressures. The analysis finds that SMEs promote maritime development through five main channels: employment and local income generation, supplier and service linkages, transaction-cost reduction, innovation diffusion, and inclusive coastal livelihood upgrading. However, these effects are conditional. SMEs deliver stronger developmental outcomes where port community systems, maritime single windows, accessible finance, skills programmes, collaborative clusters and transition-support policies are present. Where these conditions are weak, maritime growth tends to remain concentrated in large operators, leaving smaller firms exposed to regulatory burdens, digital capability gaps and decarbonisation costs. The paper contributes by placing SMEs at the centre of maritime development analysis rather than treating them as background actors. It concludes that governments, port authorities and development institutions should move beyond infrastructure-only strategies and design integrated maritime SME ecosystems that combine digital trade facilitation, supplier development, climate-transition finance, skills upgrading and inclusive blue-economy governance. and coastal resilience.