The Government is to establish a Management Development Council as part of a series of measures designed to boost the development of small business.
Minister for Enterprise Micheál Martin said he would be seeking to implement the recommendations of a report by the Small Business Forum.
Speaking at the unveiling of Small Business is Big Business, Mr Martin said the small business sector is "critical to Ireland's future".
He said: "With 97 per cent of all businesses in Ireland being classified as small, employing almost 800,000 people, it is obviously important to the overall vibrancy of the economy that we ensure that we are doing as much as possible at all times to support their continued growth and development."
The report also recommends providing funding to encourage small business in the form of "knowledge acquisitions grants" and "innovation vouchers".
The report also urged the development of a national entrepreneurship policy
The 13-member Small Business Forum is made up of representatives of the small business sector and owners and managers of small businesses.