Senior commerce, trade and small business officials from the 21 APEC members are ramping up efforts to make it easier and less costly for micro, small and medium enterprises to take advantage of new Asia-Pacific trade opportunities.
Measures to lift trade barriers faced by small firms, the preeminent drivers of employment and growth among the region's economies, were taken forward by officials and industry representatives meeting in Atlanta over the last week. The focus is on creating openings for small businesses to integrate in global value chains, or the different stages of international production and trade of goods, by partnering with larger companies in cross-border supply chains.
"In the 21st century economy, the cost of every product made, moved, bought and sold is determined by how efficiently it moves through its supply chain," explained Bruce Andrews, Deputy Secretary of Commerce for the United States, in opening remarks. "Small and medium size businesses understand better than anyone else how strengthening global supply chains will foster the long-term competitiveness of economies across the Asia-Pacific region."
Small and medium enterprises account for more than 97 per cent of all businesses, about 60 per cent of GDP and half of the labor force in APEC member economies but a relatively low proportion of their exports—less than 25 per cent in the case of the United States as well as Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore and Chinese Taipei, according to the APEC Policy Support Unit.
A new APEC Startup Accelerator Network for Early Stage Investment kicked off, providing technology startups from the region an opportunity to showcase their ideas before angel investors and venture capitalists as well as mentoring on cross-border business development from startup community heads and large companies including Coca-Cola and Intel. It sets the stage for the 3rd APEC Challenge offering a USD100,000 cash prize to the region's most innovative technology startup, as selected by an international panel of investors and industry executives.
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