2014 Vietnam SME workshop HCMC

Business Alliance for SMEs Organizes First Workshop to Boost Regional Trade
HO CHI MINH CITY, April 22, 2014 – Today, the United States and the U.S. private sector launched the first activity in their partnership formed in collaboration with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to promote small and medium enterprise (SME) development and growth to bolster trade across the region.
Formed by the US-ASEAN Business Council and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the U.S.-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive SMEs focuses on training, sharing of information and mentoring and builds on the Council's SME training program created at the request of the ASEAN Economic Ministers in 2011.
 
“By partnering with USAID we are expanding the resources, scope and diversity of SME training in the run-up to the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015,” said US-ASEAN Business Council President, Alexander Feldman. “As in the United States, SMEs in ASEAN are a critical part of the economy which will continue to power Southeast Asia in the years to come.”
 
Today’s launch workshop in Ho Chi Minh City, provided 150 Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the basic skills and knowledge needed to enter international markets which are often very different to those used to sell locally. Experts shared insights on cross-border e-commerce, exporting to global markets, and best practices of global suppliers by leaders from U.S. firms such as UPS, Baker and McKenzie, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft and Visa.  The information provided will enable participating SMEs to be more competitive as they seek to grow their companies.
“UPS is proud to be part of this workshop to inaugurate the activities of this public-private initiative. We welcome the opportunity to share best business practices including how logistics can support the competitiveness of SMEs when participating in global supply chains,” said UPS Vice President for Public Affairs, Shiumei Lin. 
Future Business Alliance activities will be held throughout the region with the next events planned for June in Malaysia and Indonesia.  The Alliance is also working to establish a cloud-based portal to support Southeast Asian SMEs.
For more information about the U.S.-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive SMEs, contact Anthony Nelson at the US-ASEAN Business Council (anelson@usasean.org) or Mr. Chanyut Nitikitpaiboon (cnitikitpaiboon@usaid.gov) at USAID.