Bangkok--18 Feb--โฟร์ฮันเดรท
Today, over 150 entrepreneurs from Small and Medium Sized Enterprises (SMEs) attended a two-days training organized by the US-ASEAN Business Alliance for Competitive SMEs (Business Alliance), entitled Digital Business for Cosmetic and Personal Care Products. The Business Alliance is a partnership between the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and has offered training to nearly 4,000 entrepreneurs across all 10 ASEAN countries.
The training workshop focused on four specific areas; (a) the challenges and opportunities for ASEAN and Thai SMEs in e-commerce at the domestic, regional and international levels; (b) e-technology, platforms, tools and solutions for digital marketing, as well as the legal and regulatory issues on the use of social media and other e-tools for marketing in the digital space; (c) technology-driven ways and means to optimize consumers' online experiences, customer service and retail distribution; and (d) success stories and experiences in e-retailing of beauty and personal care products as well as in investment ventures in this sector in the CLMV countries.
Thailand can become a strong base for intra-regional investment and for cosmetic and personal care clusters within the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). Data shows that in 2014, Thailand's Cosmetics Industry is worth roughly US$ 7.6 billion, of which US$ 4.8 billion was from the domestic market and US$2.8 billion from exports. ASEAN accounted for 39 per cent of exports, meaning there is substantial opportunity to be realized close to home. The prospects of expansion in both domestic and external e-commerce in the cosmetic and personal care product markets for Thai and other producers in ASEAN make the future look bright for those SMEs participating in the training.
The workshop is sponsored by Procter & Gamble (P&G), the Office of SME Promotion (OSMEP) and USAID, with the support from Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), the Thai Cosmetic Manufacturer Association (TCMA), and United Parcel Service (UPS).
Thailand office of SMEs Promotion would like to enhance SMEs' digital literacy, which is the foundation of getting access to global market. Also, Digital Economy would facilitate SMEs linkage into MNC supply chains, which require higher standard of SMEs managements in areas, such as logistics, supply chain management, online transaction and e-marketing. Experiences and best practices from today workshop would increase their knowledge and skills toward the international level.
"In the past 2 years, The Federation of Thai Industries (F.T.I) has attempted to improve Thai Small and Medium Enterprise (SMEs) for supporting Thailand to be a regional production hub of ASEAN. We have conducted 'Digital system' to help our entrepreneurs to improve their marketing potential and also encouraged product R&D in a new innovation and technology to develop production capability in order to reach a sustainable improvement of Thai industry's competitiveness." Said Mr. Supant Mongkolsuthree, Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries.
"The ASEAN market is highly significant for Thai Cosmetics Industries because of highest export proportion of cosmetic products. This market has been more broadening after becoming AEC in the end of year 2015. That is a challenge for entrepreneurs to improve their skills and competitiveness, in particular, market developing by Digital system such as E-Commerce, E-Technology, and other electronic services which enable businesses to approach their customers directly and thoroughly" said Ms. Ketmanee Lertkitja, Chair of Cosmetics Industries, FTI and Chair of Board of Trustees, ASEAN Cosmetics Association.
P&G Managing Director for Thailand, Myanmar and Laos and Vice-Chair of US-ABC ASEAN Committee, Raul Falcon, said: "We recognize that SMEs are the growth engine for Thailand and ASEAN economy. P&G is proud to be deeply involved with the US-ASEAN Business Alliance in conducting the training to the Thai cosmetics & personal care sector which aims to help cosmetics SMEs accelerate their business and compete across the region."
Besides workshops like today, the Business Alliance's SME empowerment programs include an online portal (the ASEAN SME Academy) with interactive and customized training and mentoring resources and business information for the regional SMEs, promoting women's economic empowerment, and expanding access to finance. The Academy can be accessed atwww.asean-sme-academy.org.
For more information about this event, contact Mr. Anthony Nelson (
[email protected]) at the US-ASEAN Business Council.