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Titov’s presentation at the Qatar-hosted forum outlined the results of Russia’s unified digital services platform for SMEs, which combines registration, tax administration and banking access in a single window. The system has enabled real-time data sharing that improved visibility for tax authorities while simplifying compliance for businesses. Titov reported that the share of informal SMEs fell from 80 percent to less than 10 percent following implementation.
According to Titov, the number of small businesses in Russia grew by one million between 2018 and 2024, while the count of registered self-employed individuals climbed to 15 million, equivalent to more than 10 percent of the population. Annual tax revenue from the small business sector doubled to $119 billion, he added, with access to commercial bank credit expanding almost threefold. Suspicious financial transactions declined by 64 percent over the same period, demonstrating enhanced transparency.
The Russian model has been adapted in Kyrgyzstan, where Titov said the technology doubled the SME sector’s tax base within two years. Similar integrated portals function in China, India and several European Union member states, he noted. Titov presented the approach as a scalable solution for developing countries seeking to expand their tax base without increasing administrative burdens.
A 2025 International Monetary Fund working paper concluded that countries with higher business digital adoption exhibit larger tax-to-GDP ratios, with firm-level data showing digitally active companies more likely to pay taxes and contribute a greater share of revenues. The paper estimated that a one-standard-deviation increase in firm digitalisation could raise tax revenues-to-GDP by up to three percentage points. Such findings align with the outcomes Titov described from the Russian experience.
In the host country Qatar, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has rolled out the SMEs Go Digital programme, which assessed 220 enterprises and facilitated 30 agreements with technology providers by early 2026. The initiative forms part of broader national efforts to raise SME digital maturity in sectors including retail, logistics and healthcare. Public data from the ministry show the programme has generated training for hundreds of entrepreneurs and supported adoption of tools ranging from enterprise resource planning to digital payments.
An October 2026 policy brief submitted to UNCTAD by Signifide Group International highlighted how integrated ERP and e-commerce systems in African countries have improved real-time tax reporting and reduced compliance costs for both businesses and authorities. The brief drew on implementations in Kenya, Zambia and Uganda to illustrate gains in transaction visibility and automatic VAT calculations. Titov’s remarks at the Doha forum echoed these recommendations for wider deployment of such unified platforms across emerging markets.
