SME Webinar in Thailand: Supporting Thailand SMEs' Digitalization Amid COVID-19

Background
The US-ASEAN Business Council (the Council) is pleased to continue the SME Webinar Series in Response to COVID-19 in 2021 and will have the second webinar capacity building program in Thailand with a focus on, “Supporting Thailand SMEs’ Digitalization Amid COVID-19”. The Webinar Series is a part of the ASEAN SME Academy activity to empower ASEAN SMEs’ strive in COVID-19 crisis and part of the economic recovery program. The program is also part of the US business commitment to enhancing ASEAN SMEs’ digital skills to become more competitive in domestic markets and help SMEs to be better integrated into regional and global value chains.
Thailand SMEs are the backbone of the Thai Economy and have a vital role to drive forward the recovery process in Thailand. According to the ADBI Working Paper, SMEs contributed to the Thai economy by about 45% or seven trillion baht (USD 215 billion) in 2018. Thai SMEs also employed 14 million people in 2018 or accounted for 86% of the total employment. However, SMEs are particularly more vulnerable to the economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. It has been a year since the pandemic worsened the economic situation and the crisis is pushing more consumers online and accelerating the adoption of e-commerce, which requires further digital adaptation by SMEs.
Promoting the digitalization of SMEs can help address a number of the economic challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis. Supporting SMEs’ digitalization requires a strong effort from the government and strengthen partnerships with the private sector to create an effective intervention in capacity building dan knowledge transfer that allows SMEs to reap the benefits of the digital world. The webinar will feature prominent US-ABC member speakers to share the latest technology solutions to support SMEs’ business operations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives

• Help Thai SMEs adapt to the COVID-19 crisis and emerge stronger in a post-COVID-19 economy.
• Unlocking the benefits from e-commerce and increase Thai SMEs' efficiency and productivity in the digital economy era.
• Promote the benefits of digital payments and upscale SMEs’ digital skills to be more competitive.   

• 210 minutes of a hybrid/virtual session.
• Keynote address from senior officials to share the current policy for SMEs development in Thailand.
• Training session from US-ABC member company to share the latest digital tools to help small businesses adapt amid the disruption.
• Live recording using Zoom webinar.