Background of the project

The ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME), led by Malaysia, is undertaking a project to develop high-level policy guidelines to enhance micro, small and medium enterprises’ (MSMEs) resilience against future disasters and crises, considering lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic. Supported by the Australian Government through the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Programme Phase II (AADCP II), the project is undertaken in collaboration with the University of Cambridge and Sociedade Portuguesa de Inovação (SPI). The Guidelines aims to inform how relevant agencies in AMS can identify resources, determine roles and responsibilities, establish coordination mechanisms and include disaster preparedness into existing or new policies and regulations, specifically those aimed at:

• Supporting MSME’s recovery, which may include labour retention policies, deferral and moratorium measures as well as financial schemes.
• Promoting MSME’s recovery as well as resilience, which may include structural policies that help MSMEs find new and alternative markets, support digitalisation and promote innovation more broadly.
• Establishing an enabling environment to help MSMEs recover and build resilience, which may include measures to promote cross-sectoral, multi-stakeholder collaboration, increase demand for MSME products and services e.g. through MSME-enabled criteria for government and municipal procurements, and provide access to alternative funding sources.

The Guidelines will provide overall advice relevant for all ten AMS at different stages of development and governments with different capacities and capabilities. The development of Guidelines involves both desk research and consultations through questionnaire dissemination to identified stakeholders in ASEAN Member State and consultative workshop.

Aims of the workshop

The consultative workshop brings together ASEAN Sectoral Bodies and ASEAN entities to:

1. discuss the first draft of the Regional Guidelines on MSMEs Crisis and Disaster Resilience;
2. confirm information included in the Guidelines as collected from desk research and questionnaire responses;
3. validate and prioritise key policy recommendations contained in the Guidelines

Invited Participants

The consultative workshop will collect inputs from both private and public sectors, represented by at minimum senior management officers from the following ASEAN sectoral bodies and entities:

Public Officials
1) Members of the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME)
2) Members of the ASEAN Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM)
3) Members of the Working Group on Financial Inclusion (WC-FINC)
4) Members of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW)
5) Members of the ASEAN Senior Labor Officials Meeting (SLOM)

Private Sector
6) Members of ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN BAC)
7) Members of ASEAN Women Entrepreneurs Network (AWEN)
8) Members of ASEAN Young Entrepreneurs Council (AYEC)