| Danial Norjidi |
CANADA is working with Asean to deliver an ambitious five-year, CA$11.9 million initiative through a partnership with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the region.
The Canada-OECD Project on Asean SMEs (COPAS) is an initiative that aims to create more competitive, resilient and innovative SMEs in Asean that are better able to benefit from the Asean Economic Community (AEC).
Canada will be supporting Asean SMEs by bringing world-class expertise and experience under the COPAS.
The project was highlighted yesterday by Sharon Armstrong, the Director/Counsellor (Development) of the Embassy of Canada for Indonesia and Asean, and Marina B Laker, the High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei Darussalam in an interview with the Bulletin. It was shared that the project works with policy makers from the Asean Secretariat, the Asean Coordinating Committee on micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (ACCMSME) and Asean member states.
The project aims to improve their knowledge, skills and capacity to ensure that they are better equipped to work together; identify key lessons learned; prioritise policy reforms; and develop and adopt relevant programmes and policies that improve SME competitiveness, resilience and regional and global linkages.
The project also supports the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan for Asean MSMEs by focusing on action lines that will help enhance SME productivity, provide SMEs greater access to finance, integrate SMEs to value chains and strengthen the policy and regulatory environment.
On what the project has done to date, it was shared that the “Starting a Business in Asean” report was recently concluded. It is an evidence-based analysis that compares experiences across Asean and provides clear and concrete recommendations to member states. Endorsed by the Asean Senior Economic Officials in June 2016, the report will serve as an important reference for evidence-based policy reforms.
Marina B Laker, the High Commissioner of Canada to Brunei Darussalam speaking to the media. – PHOTOS: AZROL AZMI
Sharon Armstrong, Director/Counsellor (Development) of the Embassy of Canada for Indonesia and Asean speaking to the media.
Also, through the project, Canada has worked with Asean and OECD to support important regional meetings such as the SME Regional Policy Network meeting in Singapore in late May/early June 2016 and the Southeast Asia Regional Forum in Hanoi in June 2016. The project also supported another SME Regional Policy Network gathering here in Brunei on November 22, bringing together policymakers from across Asean to discuss the impact of the digital economy on SMEs and ways to analyse and compare relevant SME policies in this area.
Armstrong attended the aforementioned SME Regional Policy Network meeting in Brunei.
As she explained in yesterday’s interview, COPAS is a “project we are funding that is being delivered by the OECD that assists the ACCMSME to help deliver on the Asean Strategic Plan on SMEs.”
“It’s really about trying to have more inclusive, productive economies and about really trying to enable SMEs to take advantage of the Asean Economic Community.
“We all know that the AEC came into effect as of the beginning of this year, but what does that really mean for SMEs and how can they take advantage of it?
“Of course, we live in a world where one of the things that the committee was talking about in the Regional Policy Network meeting was the digital economy, what that means for SMEs, how SMEs can take better advantage and how the Asean member states and ministries can put into place the right kind of policies and legislative framework so that SMEs can actually take advantage.”
She also shared an example of what the project has done. “One of the first things that the project did just in the last few months was to work on starting a business. This was actually one of the priorities of Lao PDR as the chair of Asean last year.”
“The project supported a series of workshops and analyses in different countries, including Brunei, about what starting a business looks like in this country. To try and identify, country by country, how many steps does it take, how many things need to be signed, how can you get licences, how much time does it require, and how much money does it require for a small business to get started?
“The OECD through this project deconstructed that ‘starting a business’ part and looked at all of the Asean countries with a view to saying how they compare, what the real problems are in terms of starting a business, and the next step will be on what policy measures these countries can take, including Brunei, to actually address some of these things and make it better.
“So then of course we will hopefully be looking at real policies, real changes that will affect SME owners and businesses.”
On the project’s importance to Canada, Armstrong said, “Overall our regional development programme supports sustainable economic growth, and advancing democracy or more accountable and inclusive governance. On the sustainable economic growth side, I think what we recognise is that SMEs are really the engine for growth across Asean.”
The Canadian high commissioner also commented, highlighting that Asean is a priority region for Canada, noting that the country has two ambassadors in Jakarta, one of whom is dedicated just for Asean. “We have also opened offices in Cambodia and in Lao PDR. So it is an important region for Canada.”
She highlighted Canada’s long-standing relationship with Asean, noting that Asean is Canada’s 6th largest merchandise trading partner, with two-way merchandise trade amounting to $21.4 billion in 2015. In addition 11,560 students from Asean member states study in Canada.
“Asean is an important partner to Canada with growing importance,” she said.
The high commissioner also shared that the Canadian government “set out its priorities after it was elected, and one of those priorities was to continue to reinforce its relationships around the world.”
“So Asean is important also because as Asean grows and becomes stronger, and when you see economic growth and the alleviation of poverty, the potential in Asean for partnership with other countries and for two-way trade is going to continue to grow.
“And so, it’s in Canada’s interest to continue to have a strong partnership with Asean, not only for us to give some of our expertise to Asean and help Asean grow and develop, but also because of the potential for two-way trade after that,” she added.
Armstrong then highlighted, “Canada is very open and I really see that as being part of our brand. We’re open when it comes to trade. We’re an open people, and diversity is our strength.”
Concluding, Armstrong said, “When governments take evidence-based approaches to policy, then they can really have the best impact on their communities and on their countries. That’s what this project is really about – helping policymakers to have good, strong evidence-based policies that will in fact help their people and help grow their economies.”
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