In the APEC region, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) account for around 90 percent of all businesses and employ as much as 60 percent of the work force. At present, however, they generate only around 30 percent of exports. APEC’s Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) therefore works to encourage the development of SMEs and build their capacity to engage in international trade.
First established in February 1995 as the Ad Hoc Policy Level Group on SMEs' (PLGSME), the objective was to assist SMEs improve their competitiveness and to facilitate a more open trade and investment environment. In 2000, the group was renamed the SMEWG and granted permanent status.
The SMEWG works towards the achievement of the Bogor Goals by fostering enabling business environments for SMEs to grow and develop into export-ready (internationalized) firms, through the sharing of information on best practice initiatives and conducting capacity building activities.
A meeting of ministers responsible for SMEs has been held annually since 1994. In 2008, the ministers endorsed the Strategic Plan for 2009-2012, with the following priority areas for action:
- Business environment;
- Building management capability and promoting entrepreneurship;
- Market access and internationalization;
- Innovation;
- Financing;
- Raising awareness of sustainable business practices; and
- Youth, women and minorities
The SMEWG meets twice a year. The most recent meeting was held in Brunei Darussalam, on April 25th and 26th, 2012. The 19th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting will be held in August 2012 in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
The SMEWG collaborates with other APEC fora, in particular the Economic Committee (EC), the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) and APEC's Policy Partnership on Women and the Economy (PPWE).
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An Integrated Plan of Action for SME Development (SPAN) was developed and endorsed by APEC SME ministers in 1998. The SPAN serves as a set of broad guidelines for SME development in individual economies. It also provides a reference point for review of both individual and collaborative initiatives, programs and regulatory frameworks. The current SMEWG’s Strategic Plan for 2009-2012 complements the SPAN.
To help SMEs embrace the culture of innovation and maximize the benefits of technology, the Daegu Initiative was launched in 2005. The initiative is intended as a long-term measure which runs in five year cycles with the objective of improving the economic and policy environments of all member economies to make them more conducive for SME innovation.
Six areas were identified in the first cycle between 2006 and 2010:
- Developing human resources and technology through linkages between industry and educational and research institutions;
- Accessing to specialist assistance and advice;
- Enhancing availability of capital to innovative SMEs;
- Networking and clustering for innovative SMEs;
- Establishing appropriate legal and regulatory structures; and
- Establishing a market consistent economic environment.
Under this initiative, an APEC SME Innovation Centre has been established in Korea to offer consulting services to small businesses and provide opportunities for economies to share innovation policy experiences.
The Green Initiative is the second cycle of the Daegu Initiative. As part of this initiative, the APEC SME Green Innovation Conference was held in April 2011 in Seoul, Korea that brought together government officials from SME-related and energy ministries and business representatives from innovative SMEs to share ideas and forge greater cooperation.
The Private Sector Development Agenda was launched in 2007 to help APEC economies create an enabling environment for small business by using the World Bank’s Ease Doing Business indicators. The 2007-2010 work plan to further this agenda include surveys and symposiums on:
- 2007: Establishing a business (Australia)
- 2008: Obtaining licenses (Peru)
- 2009: Access to capital (Singapore)
- 2010: Getting Credit (Japan).
In May 2011, the 18th Small and Medium Enterprises Ministerial Meeting (SMEMM) was held in Big Sky, Montana, U.S.A., under the theme “Leveraging Partnerships with APEC Small Businesses to Foster Innovation and Create an Entrepreneurial Society”.
At the meeting, Ministers:
- Shared recognition of the importance of SMEs and entrepreneurs to the APEC region; since SMEs and entrepreneurs account for approximately 90 percent of all global businesses and employ nearly 60 percent of the global workforce, they warrant special attention by APEC Leaders;
- Discussed the importance of business ethics to enhance SMEs competitiveness; corruption is a significant market access barrier for SMEs that disproportionately impacts their ability to prosper and grow. They endorsed the adoption and implementation of the Kuala Lumpur Principles on Medical Device Sector Codes of Ethics (the “KL Principles”);
- Promoted SMEs use of new technologies to reduce the costs of doing business; governments can take the lead by developing initiatives and policies that leverage Information and Communications Technology (ICT) to improve SMEs’ interface with the government and initiatives to help SMEs use ICT to generate new and improved products, services and processes;
- Identified policies to support green SMEs; during numerous green growth seminars held in Big Sky, speakers discussed and analyzed issues such as financing, regulation, trade promotion and public-private partnerships that support SME sustainability, innovation, and the development of green technology that will help increase their businesses.
Ministers also acknowledged the first Joint Ministers Responsible for Trade and SME Ministers Meeting held in Big Sky, Montana, U.S.A., on May 20th, 2011 and expressed the need for similar collaboration in the future.
In November 2011, at the Leaders’ Summit in Honolulu, APEC Ministers endorsed a set of 3 Codes of Business Ethics for the Medical Device Sector (Kuala Lumpur Principles), the Biopharmaceutical Sector (Mexico City Principles) and the Construction and Engineering Sector (Hanoi Principles).
On April 25 and 26, 2012, the 34th SMEWG Meeting was held in Brunei Darussalam.
- All the Champion Economies for the Strategic Plan priorities reported on the contributions of the SMEWG projects from 2009-2012 and the draft proposal of the SMEWG Strategic Plan 2013-2016 was presented.
- The SMEWG approved its work plan for 2012.
- The United States reported on the upcoming SME Trade Finance Conference, which will tentatively be held in the Spring 2013 on the margins of 36th SMEWG Meeting in the Philippines.
- Russia reported on the initiative to reduce Intellectual Property (IP) barriers for SMEs. The results will be presented on the 35th SMEWG meeting and forwarded to the 19th SMEMM for endorsement.
- Russia received the support of the SMEWG for the creation of an International Cooperation Center in Vladivostok (Russia) for APEC SMEs.
- Russia proposed within the framework of the SMEWG to implement a special format “Young Entrepreneurs Network (YEN)” that will meet on a regular basis. The initiative was endorsed by the SMEWG. The results of the first meeting of YEN will be presented in the 19th SMEMM.
- The SMEWG endorsed the Response to the SCE Recommendations from the 2011 Small and Medium Enterprises Working Group (SMEWG) Independent Assessment. The Chair will present the report to SCE2.
- The APEC Secretariat suggestion to re-establish the SMEWG’s Project Assessment Standing Committee to assist member economies to develop concept notes and projects was accepted by the participants.
- The Chair welcomed Thailand to be the Chair of SMEWG for 2013-2014.
Robert S Q LAI (Mr)
Chair
Director-General
Small and Medium Enterprise Administration
Ministry of Economic Affairs
3rd Floor, No 95, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 2
Chinese Taipei
Tel: +886 2 2366 2200
Fax: +886 2 2367 3896
Email:
Maggie HSU (Ms)
Assistant to Chair
Section Chief
Start-up Promotion Section
Small and Medium Enterprise Administration
Ministry of Economic Affairs
3rd Floor, No 95, Roosevelt Road, Sec. 2
Chinese Taipei
Tel: +886 2 2366 2262
Fax: +886 2 2367 3914
Email:
Diego BELEVAN (Mr)
Program Director
APEC Secretariat
Email: