Bangkok--10 Sep--Siam Commercial Bank
The Ministry of Industry's Department of Industrial Promotion (DIP) has teamed up with Siam Commercial Bank to announce joint cooperation in supporting and promoting the transformation of SMEs into the 4.0 era and encouraging increased use of digital platforms and technology to boost community enterprises, SMEs, and startups. Serving to enhance the competitiveness of SMEs and to solidify the foundation of Thailand's digital economy to achieve sustainable growth, the collaborative effort combines a range of mechanisms to provide access to knowledge and marketing opportunities through digital platforms, take advantage of a Startup Hub to produce new, capable startups, create a database for business matching in both Thailand and overseas, and provide access to funding and financial services for increased flexibility.
Speaking about the collaboration, Deputy Industrial Minister Dr. Somchai Harnhirun said that the government is set to reform the country using the Thailand 4.0 model as a road-map for navigating the economy and making use of knowledge, innovations, and advanced technology to the fullest extent to increase economic values in every aspect, such as moving from conventional commodities to innovative products; diverting an economy driven by original equipment manufacturers (OEM) to science, technology, innovation, and creativeness; expanding the competitive arena from local to international markets; transforming education and human resource development to strengthen human capabilities; and producing more research to promote community enterprises, startups, and SMEs. The success of grassroots economic development will depend on strong participation by all sectors, including the government, the private sector, and the government's Big Brother project by employing the Consensus, Identity, and Value Creation concept (CIV) through different technologies. These technologies will ensure that tourist attractions or community enterprises will be easily located and identified through the Internet and accessed conveniently. They will also enable e-commerce platforms for selling products anywhere in the world. These advancements will upgrade Thailand's competitiveness to the international level to place Thailand firmly in the Global Value Chain. Bearing these aims in mind, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been agreed between the Department of Industrial Promotion and Siam Commercial Bank, one of Thailand's major banks, with a longstanding commitment to innovation and technology development to benefit SMEs. We are confident that this cooperative effort will bring a new perspective to community enterprises, SMEs, and startups, enabling them to expand marketing channels and customer reach through the Bank's digital platform and other relevant means, allowing entrepreneurs and community enterprises to seamlessly transform to the digital era.
Department of Industrial Promotion Director-General Mr. Kobchai Sungsitthisawad added that the Department of Industrial Promotion is responsible for promoting SMEs to ensure that they are well equipped with knowledge, skills, and capabilities so that they can use their strong potential to the fullest extent for the management of business operations embracing innovative technology to keep abreast of changing business landscapes, while raising their competitiveness to the international level as a part of the global value chain. The development of SMEs has been supported by many firms and organizations promoting, supporting, developing, and enhancing their capabilities for greater competitiveness. The collaborative effort will also help SMEs, startups, and community enterprises sustain their businesses using effective financial instruments and technical capabilities. Both parties will also offer support in terms of relevant information and knowledge to assist these enterprises in doing business based on regulations and legal requirements which will create even more integration in order to bring about increased assistance for SMEs and community enterprises in the future.
Siam Commercial Bank SME Segment Head Mrs. Pikun Srimahunt noted that at present SCB has partnered with many parties in a variety of areas based on a common goal of promoting SMEs in every aspect. Cooperation with the Department to Industrial Promotion of the Ministry of Industry allows SCB to offer the advantages of its expertise, ready resources, and business ecosystem, which have been continually developed to accommodate businesses and to benefit SMEs and startups, while reaching community enterprises which serve as the backbone of the Thai economy and society at large. SCB and the Department of Industrial Promotion will cooperate in strengthening new generation community enterprises, SMEs, and startups to prepare them for Thailand's digital economy in accordance with the Thailand 4.0 strategy and to allow them to bring more value to the table. The cooperation will cover missions in six areas, comprising:
1) Promote SMEs registered with the Department of Industrial Promotion to allow access to useful knowledge and activities.
2) Create market opportunities and an on-line existence using the Bank's existing digital platform, and those which will be developed in the future, including platforms partnered with other leading firms, such pin dropping on Google My Business. This area will focus on community enterprises under the Creative Industry Villages Project (CIV) to upgrade communities to tourist attractions, while increasing competitiveness for community products.
3) Support the Startup Hub Project to boost success.
4) Support and promote technology usage through websites and databases for on-line business matching for both Thai and overseas partners.
5) Support community enterprises, SMEs, and startups with funding and financial services to suit requirements.
6) Enable SMEs working with the two organizations to join activities to share comprehensive business perspectives. Collaboration will promote a sharing economy between the government and the private sector to bring sustainable benefits to all segments of Thailand's economic system.