Support to the Development and Enhancement of ASEAN SMEs

The project aims to enable small and medium enterprise (SME) development across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This is done through more effective and coordinated SME policies and linking SMEs into regional and global value chains. This will create a more integrated competitive resilient and innovative ASEAN Economic Community. Project activities include: (1) elaborating a second iteration of the ASEAN SME Policy Index to assess the scope and quality of SME policies and institutions across the region; (2) supporting an ASEAN-OECD Regional Policy Network on SMEs through which senior ASEAN and Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) experts can address common challenges. These challenges improving SME competitiveness and drawing on the knowledge and experiences of their respective economies; (3) supporting linkages between ASEAN SMEs with value chains and foreign investors in cooperation among other things with the Canada-ASEAN Business Council; and (4) associating with the OECD-World Economic Forum's Redesigning Development Finance Initiative and other major players to promote innovative approaches for SME financing in annual ASEAN roundtables. The project fully aligns with DFATD's Sustainable Economic Growth Strategy the 2016-2020 ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action and the strategic goals of the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) strengthened ASEAN Co-ordinating Committee for the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSMEs (ACCMSME) to be able to support the full implementation of the ASEAN SME Strategic Action Plan 2016-2025 efficiently and effectively; and (2) increased understanding of policymakers and relevant stakeholders of the needs of SMEs their ability to access finance to be environmentally sustainable and their connection to the rest of the world.