Taiwan to advance regional SME development via APEC working group

2018/03/28

Taiwan will join Chile, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand in determining the goals and projects for the fourth stage of the Online-to-Offline Initiative at the 46th Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation March 26-28 in Brunei.
 
 Themed Empower SMEs to Embrace Digital Transformation, the final portion of the O2O program will run in 2019. During the three-day meeting, Taiwan will also present results from the second phase, provide specifics on events for the third stage this year and unveil findings from a global business innovation survey conducted in 2017.
 
 According to the SME Administration under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, for the third phase Taiwan will organize five forums in Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It will also host an APEC SME O2O summit in southern Taiwan’s Kaohsiung City and conduct a training program on fostering digital resilience.
 
 In addition, Taiwan will invite innovative startups and SMEs from APEC member economies to take part in local trade shows so as to strengthen business partnerships, the SMEA said. These efforts will empower enterprises to embrace digital transformation and underscore Taiwan’s commitment to fostering regional economic growth through APEC.
 
 Proposed by Taiwan in 2015 in cooperation with the Philippines, the four-year O2O initiative aims to enhance the digital competitiveness and resilience of SMEs as well as build a global network of related experts.
 
 Renowned for its vibrant, internationally competitive SME sector, Taiwan is a bellwether in associated policy development. Over the past 16 years, SME projects proposed by the country have secured nearly US$2 million from the APEC Support Fund.
 
 These initiatives have strengthened cooperation, growth and trade exchanges for SMEs across the region, especially in the 18 target countries of the government’s New Southbound Policy.
 
 A key component of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy, the policy seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, educational, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/news.php?unit=6&post=131686)