Proposal for the Interaction with the Business Community

The following paper gives high consideration to five issues on SMEs participation in APEC activities:

Starting from Osaka Action Agenda, APEC member economies have "recognized the importance for policy development of listening to SMEs and understanding their needs, to ensure that policy remains responsive and relevant, and will involve the business sector in activities under the SME Action Program." Responding to the needs of SMEs, APEC SME Ministers have developed discussions with the business sector in recent years. These sessions ensure that policies are not only responsive and relevant to SMEs but are addressed in a focused and consistent manner by member economies in the SME Ministerial Meetings. In 1999, New Zealand, the business sector, through the interactive and joint sessions with SME Ministers, has presented their concerns at the ministerial level. This was continued in year 2000, in Brunei Darussalam, with the duration of joint session between SME Ministers and SME Business Forum extended to 2 and 1/2 hours. This practice was also followed by China in 2001 SME Ministerial Meeting. It is proposed that this mechanism be continued and further developed. It is believed that the interaction between ministers and SMEs delegates during the joint session is of prime significance to the success and sustainable development of APEC SME Ministerial Meeting. The flexibility and vigor of the APEC SME activities in large part rests on the substantial outcomes produced by the interaction session in which pressing issues of SMEs could be appropriately addressed.

Attendance in Meetings. Considering that SME WG is the only APEC forum directly responsible to the SME Ministers, it is appropriate for the SME WG and SME representatives to jointly consider and deliberate SME concerns and issues in a physical meeting. Economies should be encouraged to send a representative from an organization that represents, either through a membership structure or other formal consultation mechanism, the broad interests of SMEs in their economy on a voluntary basis.

As stated in the Osaka Action Agenda (OAA), the duplication of work among APEC fora should be avoided. Hence, it's highly necessary to have an ABAC SME CAUCUS representative present at SME WG meeting to coordinate joint activities and to avoid duplications. With this in mind, the possibility for representatives of the SME Business Forum, which is usually organized in parallel with the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting, should also be considered. Ideally, the Chair of the Business Forum for the current year should be welcomed in the SMEWG meetings. This would facilitate synergy of issues and continuity of agenda and programs.

Virtual Discussion Forum. Recent experience has shown that the Internet is an important venue for the exchange of ideas. A discussion forum on the Internet similar to that of APEC's AST WEB may be considered by SMEWG as a means of facilitating the work of the group before and after meetings. This could enhance the quality of physical meetings by reducing some of the routine agenda such as evaluating new, on going and proposed projects and allowing more time for discussion of policy issues and strategic targets. The Information Xchange feature of the Ecotech Clearing House ( http://www.apec-ecotech.org) could be a starting point for developing a more interactive form of a discussion forum.

Symposium and Field Trip. It is encouraged that a SME symposium and a field trip be arranged at the sidelines of SME WG meeting. Hong Kong, China has demonstrated us a nice model in this regard. The holding of the symposium will present a great opportunity for WG delegates as well as local SME representatives to conduct a face-to-face exchange of ideas. The invitation of SMEs experts to the symposium will bring them the latest available know-how on the topics to their concern. Also development level of local SMEs could be well exhibited to WG delegates through paying a visit to the manufacturing site, thus, enabling them to have an eye-witnessed impression.

Consultation with SMEs at economy level. SMEs problems should be adequately addressed on a day-to-day basis. SMEs policy makers in APEC economies are encouraged to pay constant visits to grass-roots SMEs to listen to their voices to facilitate SMEs involvement in the policy making process. Intermediaries could as well serve as a good channel to reap feedback on policy issues from SMEs. Seminars, symposiums, etc. should be conducted irregularly with participants from both the administrative bodies and SME business community to focus on the urgent woes and needs of SMEs to keep policy makers well informed. Surveys targeting at SMEs are also recommended to aggregate the first-hand and real-time information for the reference of policy making.

Widening Involvement. One of the areas that could be strengthened is in widening the involvement of various groups in business, i.e. youth, women, micro-entrepreneurs. Some of the past meetings of the SME Ministers had events prior to and/or in parallel with the SME Ministerial Meeting. These include Young Entrepreneurs' Conferences, Business Forum and WLN. These three events had presented their respective outcomes during the Joint Session between SME Ministers and Business Forum. It is hoped that this could be continued and expanded in future SME Ministerial Meetings. Hence it is proposed that the formalization of this process be looked at, that these related SME events be part and parcel of the SME Ministerial Meeting agenda.

Reviewing the past SME Ministerial Meetings, efforts had been made to use these meetings to expand the market prospects of SMEs through the trade events. This modality, while not unique, may be considered as a best practice in encouraging the participation level of SMEs in APEC events. An annual event whereby APEC SMEs physically meet, exchange views, contacts and showcase their achievements is a clear demonstration of APEC's commitment to providing tangible benefits to the SME community. It is also a means of exhibiting APEC's contribution in securing benefits to APEC SMEs.

Many of APEC's previous projects took the form of Human Capacity Building Programs such as conferences, symposiums, seminars, workshops, trainings and dialogues. The participations of the SMEs in such programs could only increase their interests and understanding in APEC processes and increasing our interaction with them. Recommend deeper coordination of SMEWG with Chair or Lead Shepherds across APEC fora to better broadcast opportunities for SMEs to participate in these types of events.

There are 27 fora and taskforces in APEC, and while SME is a cross-cutting issue of many fora under APEC, it is proposed that SMEWG needs to identify those fora that have SME related issues in their agenda and network with them while acting as a coordinator for the participation of SMEs in the project of these other fora. This will not only give SMEWG information of the SME related projects that other fora are doing and thus reduce overlapping, but also ensure participations of the right and relevant SMEs and thus increase effectiveness and success rate of each project.

In its effort to achieve effectiveness in enhancing its outreach to the business community, this paper has suggested some approaches that may help in improving its interaction with the SMEs and/or their representatives and add value for SMEs when attending APEC sponsored or organized events. These approaches are in line with APEC Guidelines on Non-Member Participation.

Subsequently, as a result of further consultations between SMEWG Chair and relevant APEC fora also involved in developing and initiating SME related projects and activities, SME WG will inform the ESC Chair on cross cutting SME issues. ESC Chair will follow up as appropriate to the SOM.