Large Asean firms urged to help SMEs

Asean Business Advisory Council Chair (ABAC) Joey Concepcion said medium and large firms in the Asean region should include micro and small enterprises in their supply chain, noting that it is difficult for smaller players to compete in the now much larger market.

“The challenge really, especially for micro and small enterprises, is their ability to benefit from Asean,” he said in a press conference on Thursday.

Concepcion said large companies that either have partnerships or are exporting to any of the 10 Asean member states should include the smaller players “as part of their ecosystem.”

He said this was especially true for local farmers who now have more competition in light of free trade in the region.

He said he had told the business advisory council that large firms needed to include micro and small companies as part of their supply chains, noting that this is where they could achieve inclusive growth.

This mirrors a local initiative of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), which has a mentorship program wherein micro and small companies partner with large companies not only to exchange technical expertise but also to possibly include them in the value chain.

When applied to the Asean region, he said more firms would be able to move up the economic ladder through partnerships.

“As the big companies start to do business with the Asean neighbors, especially as the tariffs are brought down, then the chances of micro and small entrepreneurs moving up from survival to sustainable, from small to medium, is much faster,” he explained.