Bangkok--8 Dec--Bangkok Bank
Bangkok Bank has joined with King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) and the Thailand Research Fund (TRF) to strengthen Thai SMEs with innovation, finance and knowledge. The bank’s Partnership of Innovation and Knowledge project has already helped its first three customers to be successful in their businesses.
Bangkok Bank Executive Chairman Kosit Panpiemras says the bank’s ‘Partnership of Innovation and Knowledge’ project, in partnership with KMUTT and TRF, is helping strengthen Thai SMEs by using an innovative approach to help them solve business problems.
The ‘Partnership of Innovation and Knowledge’ project was initiated in 2008. In its first phase, lasting two years, Bangkok Bank offered 10 Master’s degree scholarships at KMUTT’s Science and Engineering Practice School Program. During this phase professors from KMUTT closely supervised students who worked with participating factories to find solutions to the business problems facing the businesses. TRF provided up to Baht 250,000 for each initiative, focused on the university’s areas of expertise including food science and biotechnology.
Mr Kosit added: “The first phase of the project has been completed and we have gained valuable experience and knowledge from our first three participating customers which we can share with other SMEs. The customers who participated in the first phase were the Thai-German Meat Product Ltd., which produces processed pork and chicken products such as sausages, ham and bacon under the market-leading Thai Sausage brand; K.M.P. Biotech, a producer of biotechnological products such as pro-biotics (beneficial micro organisms similar to yogurt) for livestock and aquatic animals; and Lily Tobeka, the producer of Khao Shong coated peanuts. Each customer had particular issues for the students to study and the teams used their combined knowledge and experience to solve the problems and improve productivity through the type of innovative solutions that are at the heart of SME competitiveness.”
Bangkok Bank initiated a program of activities to support SMEs, in parallel with financial product development, in 1999 and is the pioneer in providing support to small and medium-sized enterprises through workshops, networking, seminars, the Partnership of Innovation and Knowledge project and the Bualuang SME Club. Bangkok Bank is ready to support entrepreneurs from every industry to expand their businesses with tailored loans under the Bualuang SME umbrella including Bualuang SME loan, Ruamjai Pattana loan for SMEs, Asset Capitalization loan, business loan, government supported loan, the SME Machine Fund, Bualuang Green loan and Energy Saving loan. For further information, please contact any Bangkok Bank Business Center or branch near you or visit Bangkok Bank’s website at www.bangkokbank.com.