ASEAN SMEs to Avail Online Information and Training Resources

Jakarta (Antara Bali) - The ASEAN Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) has collaborated with the US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive SMEs and other stakeholders to design the ASEAN Online SME Academy, stated Jakarta's ASEAN Secretariat's press release.

According to the press release received on Wednesday, adequate and timely access to business information and training resources in local languages is critically important to small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in ASEAN. There is, however, no single entry point to facilitate such access.  

The ASEAN Online SME Academy will be a one-stop, open-access gateway to provide business information and training resources to support ASEAN SMEs' start-up, development, and internationalization as well as to improve the business development services being offered to SMEs from their providers. As per demand and when required, the business information and training resources posted in the academy will be selectively translated into the local languages to maximize reach and absorption.

Preliminary work on the academy started since the launch of the Business Alliance in March 2014, in consultation with the ASEAN SMEWG. This regional consultation was organized to keep the working group's members abreast of the progress and development, particularly with regard to the core elements of the academy that will serve targeted SMEs in the region.  

It also facilitates the SMEWG, Business Alliance partners, and other stakeholders to finalize a statement regarding the academy's mission, vision, and potential content. There were about 40 participants in this meeting.

The academy is a collaborative initiative between the Business Alliance and the SMEWG. The Business Alliance corporate partners supporting the academy included eBay Inc., Hewlett Packard, MasterCard, Procter & Gamble, and Qualcomm.  (WDY)