•Three micro-turbines with output power less than 1kW were designed for operation in low wind speed regions.•In addition to the output power, starting time was considered as a key parameter during the design.•The effects of generator resistive torque and number of blades on the performance of the turbines were investigated. Utilizing the micro scales of wind turbines could noticeably supply the demand for the electricity in low wind speed regions. Aerodynamic design and optimization of the blade, as a main part of a wind turbine, were addressed in the study. Three micro scales of horizontal axis wind turbines with output power of 0.5, 0.75 and 1kW were considered and the geometric optimization of the blades in terms of the two involved parameters, chord and twist, was undertaken. In order to improve the performance of the turbines at low wind speeds, starting time was included in an objective function in addition to the output power – the main and desirable goal of the wind turbine blade design. A purpose-built genetic algorithm was employed to maximize both the output power and the starting performance which were calculated by the blade-element momentum theory. The results emphasize that the larger values of the chord and twist at the root part of the blades are indispensable for the better performance when the wind speed is low. However, the noticeable value of the generator resistive torque could largely delay the starting of the micro-turbines especially for the considered smaller size, 0.5kW, where the starting aerodynamic torque could not overcome the generator resistive torque. For that size, an increase in the number of blades improved both the starting performance and also output power.