ABOUT THIS EVENT
The US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) will conduct the launch event of the ASEAN SME Academy 2.0 on Friday, April 8, 2022, at 9.00 AM – 11.00 AM Singapore time (TBC). ASEAN SME Academy (the Academy) is an online learning platform which was built back in 2016 as a joint initiative between US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC), United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the ASEAN Coordinating Committee for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME). It is an official ASEAN platform, co-administered by US-ABC, the Philippines Department of Trade and Industry—Bureau of Small and Medium Enterprise Development (BSMED - DTI) and the Philippine Trade and Training Centre (PTTC).
The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unprecedented challenges to the world’s economies, especially affecting small businesses. US-ABC and the U.S Government recognize the importance of creating a more centralized learning resource for ASEAN SMEs that is world-class, attractive, user-friendly, inclusive, and features more localized courses on a variety of topics of interest to SMEs.
The upgrade will include multilanguage support, new visual and mobile-friendly interface, top online resource for SMEs, and self-certifications. Since its establishment, the Academy has grown significantly, and now offers more than 95 courses and 375 additional online resources for SMEs. The Academy now has reached over 470,000 unique visitors and more than 9,800 active users regularly accessing new knowledge and skills training resources. In line with Cambodia’s ASEAN Chairmanship 2022’s key theme of “Addressing Challenge Together” by building a harmonious ASEAN Community that is peaceful, stable and prosperous, US-ABC and the U.S. Government aim to strengthen the capacity of SMEs as one of ASEAN’s economic pillars, thus empower ASEAN SMEs to become more competitive in domestic markets and better integrate into both regional and global value chains.
