The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the United States on Tuesday launched a regional business council in Ho Chi Minh City in a bid to promote the development of their small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and bolster trade across the region.

US- ASEAN Business Alliance for SMEs, jointly formed by the U.S.-ASEAN Business Council and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), will focus on training, the sharing of information, and mentoring in addition to building 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 Council President Alexander Feldman.

“As in the U.S., SMEs in ASEAN are a critical part of the economy which will continue to power Southeast Asia in the years to come,” Feldman said.

This partnership “will make it easier for ASEAN SMEs to be more competitive” internationally, as “the training will provide what ASEAN needs – leadership talent for high-potential and high-growth SMEs and strong corporate governance and business ethics,” according to Joakim Parker, director of the USAID Vietnam Mission.

A workshop held for the inauguration of the new alliance in HCMC two days ago also provided more than 100 Vietnamese entrepreneurs with the skills and knowledge needed to enter international markets which are often very different to those used to sell locally.

At the workshop, experts from Baker and McKenzie, Coca-Cola, Google, Microsoft and UPS shared insights into cross-border e-commerce, exporting to global markets, and best practices of global suppliers. 

The information provided will enable participating SMEs to be more competitive as they seek to expand their companies.

“UPS is proud to be part of the Alliance and support the launch workshop of the Business Alliance. We strongly support the efforts to promote ASEAN SMEs capacity by sharing information on our specialized expertise in delivering goods and logistics,” said Leslie Griffin, UPS President.

“We believe that investing in the local SMEs will widen access across Asia and connect to a wider global network.”

Future Business Alliance activities will be held throughout the region with the next event planned for June in Malaysia. The Alliance is also working to establish a cloud-based portal to support Southeast Asian SMEs.

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