Sustaining ASEAN Access: Building a Future Beyond Borders
ACCMSME Representatives at the Strategic Meeting on ASEAN Access Sustainability in Bangkok, Thailand
- The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) together with the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises (OSMEP) and the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) in cooperation with GIZ convened the Strategic Meeting on ASEAN Access Sustainability in Bangkok, Thailand.
- The meeting accentuated the development and sustainable plans for the key features of ASEAN Access, namely business matchmaking (MATCH), online business training for businesses (LEARN) and public-private networks to continue facilitating cross-border trade within the region and beyond.
- ACCMSME representatives of all member states discussed feasible commitments and exchanged views on the future of the platform post 2025.
Bangkok, 5 August 2024 – ASEAN Access, the regional platform for cross-border trade support, recently celebrated its third anniversary. This milestone prompted the leads of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) to convene the Strategic Meeting on ASEAN Access Sustainability to discuss ways to enhance and maintain core services in the future.
Wittawat Lamsam, Director of the International Cooperation Department at the Office of SMEs Promotion (OSMEP), Thailand, and Chair of the ASEAN Task Force on SME Service Centre Web Portal, emphasised the importance of each member state’s commitment to the sustainability and growth of ASEAN Access beyond 2025. He also urged all Member States to consider the most effective governance structures to ensure the continued provision of ASEAN Access services and the strength of public-private networks in the future.
“ASEAN Access has been a success story on all fronts, but it’s important to be mindful of the future. Collectively, we need to be ready to sustain ASEAN Access going forward, after 2025,” Wittawat said in his opening remarks. To ensure that ASEAN Access continues to provide high-quality internationalisation support services for SMEs, the collective commitment from all Member States is essential in driving the platform forward.
Wittawat Lamsam, Director of International Cooperation Department, OSMEP
A particular focus in the meeting was on the platform’s key features: virtual matchmaking activities (MATCH), online business training for SMEs (LEARN) and public-private networks in various sectoral industries such as agriculture and biotechnology, food and beverage, textile, and tourism. The representatives from ACCMSMEs also discussed potential Market Talks on Agroindustry and Halal Markets to enable cross-border trade within the region and building capacity for SMEs.
The meeting also highlighted the possibility of ASEAN Access integration into regional and national action plans post 2025 to govern and sustain the platform further. On this occasion, all representatives from each member state exchanged views on feasible commitments for short, medium, and long-term management and maintenance of the regional platform, ensuring appropriate support from all stakeholders.
The ACCMSME representative shares her views during the discussion
Since its launch in June 2021, the ASEAN Access platform has grown to encompass over 3,500 members and boasts a broad network of service providers.
The development of ASEAN Access and its main features, MATCH and LEARN, is a joint effort between stakeholders across the region, with technical assistance from GIZ through the ASEAN SME II project funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
For more information, please visit: https://www.aseanaccess.com.
Learn more about ASEAN ACCESS: https://youtu.be/YEKKLO5jTAU?si=4uB2NgRWPBOemdss
Sita Zimpel
Project Director of ASEAN SME II
Email:sita.zimpel(at)giz.de