APEC SME O2O Forum

This week, the 46th APEC SMEWG (Small and Medium Enterprise Working Group) Meeting kicks off in Bandar Seri Begawan. On Wednesday March 28, Chinese Taipei, with partner economies Viet Nam and Brunei Darussalam organized the "APEC SME O2O Forum" in Musyawarah Hall International Convention Centre. With the aim to ignite business potential of SMEs and to promote digital transformation, drawing a total of 120 participants, this forum has brought together key stakeholders such as policy makers, representatives of APEC economies, and SMEs/start-up , to share experiences on utilizing digital technology, accelerating business growth and strengthening the cooperation among SMEs in APEC region.

This event is launched within the framework of the 3rd phase of the APEC O2O Initiative. With the title "Unleash the Potential of SMEs through Digital Transformation for a Shared Future", the initiative proposed by Chinese Taipei and 4 partner economies, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam, is aligned with the 2018 APEC theme of "Harnessing Inclusive Opportunities, Embracing the Digital Future" and APEC's promotion of cross-economy collaboration as well as fostering innovative growth through public-private partnership. With a goal of increasing the utilization of O2O business model, this initiative encourages member economies to promote business innovation and connectivity, and shape highly impactful businesses through digital transformation to enhance global connectivity among SMEs/startups in the Asia-Pacific region.

Riding the Tides in the Digital Age
The forum began with opening remarks delivered by Mr. Javed Ahmad, CEO of Darussalam Enterprise (DARe), Brunei Darussalam; Ms. Betty Hu, Deputy Director General of SMEA, MOEA, Chinese Taipei and Mr. Nguyen Hoa Cuong, Chair of APEC SME Working Group (SMEWG). The SME officials from the three economies expressed their gratitude to all the attending member economies for their supports and emphasized the importance of SMEs’ digital development in the APEC region.

"In recent years, developments of digital technologies and smart phones has made it clear that embracing electronic commerce is the trend of the world. Along with this trend, comes the unavoidable challenge for SMEs to go through digital transformation," said Deputy Director General Ms. Betty Hu, SMEA, MOEA of Chinese Taipei.

"As SME officials in APEC economies, it is our responsibility to help the SMEs in the APEC region to encounter the challenges brought by digital transformation, and to unleash their potential for a better development," continued Ms. Hu as she explained the main purpose of proposing the APEC O2O Initiative and the organization of this event.

The forum was organized in three sections, the first two of which are panel discussions on the topics regarding to the opportunities and challenges that SMEs will face throughout the process of digital transformation, and the measures that they can take for them to unleash their business potentials. The presentation of Chinese Taipei's self-funded APEC project "Global SME and Corporate Innovation Survey" was delivered by Mr. Volker Heistermann, Managing Director of Yushan Ventures in session I, which gained many positive feedbacks from many economies in both APEC O2O forum and the 46th APEC SMEWG.

The third section is a showcase in which 14 startups from 6 APEC economies presented their business plans and share their experiences in utilizing O2O business model to access global markets. Tictag JSC (Viet Nam) is the prize winner and is invited to attend the APEC SME O2O Summit, highlight of O2O serial events this year, held in Kaohsiung from 2 to 4 July this year.

Strengthening Bonds of a Shared Future
The APEC SME O2O Forum is the first of the serial event that the APEC O2O Initiative offered this year. 9 other events are scheduled to be held in co-proposing economies throughout the year, including APEC O2O Forums and APEC Digital Resilience Training Workshops in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines and Viet Nam, and the APEC O2O Summit in Kaohsiung. Apart from strengthening the friendship and partnership among APEC economies, the implementation of these events is expected to spread the words about the benefits of digital transformation, stimulate the start-up ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region, prepare SMEs to fight against cyber threats, and create a shared digital future for all APEC member economies.

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For further details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:

Ms. Betty Hu
Deputy Director General, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2366-2202
bdhu@moea.gov.tw

Ms. Hsin-Yi Tseng
Section Chief, Policy Planning Division, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2366-2251
thy@moea.gov.tw