Digital Export Enablement: A Boon for ASEAN SMEs
The ASEAN region is home to a vibrant small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector and is a significant driver of economic growth across the region. Unfortunately, SMEs in ASEAN have been slow to take advantage of the digital economy and its potential to drive export activities. The Digital Export Enablement Programme (DEEP) for ASEAN Small Businesses is a new initiative to address this issue.
DEEP has been explicitly designed to support 1,000 micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) in the ASEAN region. Through this program, these businesses can be equipped with digital export-relevant skills, helping them access new markets and tap into the digital economy's full potential.
To shed light on the current condition of MSMEs in ASEAN, Google joined forces with the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and ran a study. The results revealed that despite their central economic role, MSMEs participate in regional trade. On top of it all, 60% yearn to broaden their market reach within the region.
DEEP is also a joint venture between Google, ICC, and the International Trade Centre (ITC). It is dedicated to driving export growth through digital tools and empowering MSMEs to succeed in the global market. It offers a series of training sessions, access to digital platforms and practical workshops or sessions that will increase the abilities of MSMEs from 10 ASEAN markets.
“Digital technologies are creating opportunities for small businesses to trade and reach international markets in ways impossible a generation ago, but those opportunities are not always easy to seize. Google is excited to collaborate with the ICC and the ITC to develop the DEEP training curriculum to help address this gap in ASEAN — and better enable MSMEs to fully benefit from the growing digital economy," said Karan Bhatia, vice president for government affairs and public policy at Google.
Through DEEP, ASEAN SMEs will gain access to an ecosystem of business support organizations, government ministries, and the ICC Academy. Specifically, the ICC Global Centres of Entrepreneurship in Southeast Asia (CoE Jakarta Hub) will be an integral part of the program, supporting its success.
"[This landmark program] will help SMEs from the ASEAN region increase their footprint in regional and global trade through the use of digital-export related tools made available by ICC CoE Jakarta, in collaboration with Google and the International Trade Centre. By launching this program, we are helping SME owners, families and communities from Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam," said ICC secretary general John W.H. Denton AO.
Image credit: iStockphoto/leolintang
