The Forum will focus on discussing the issues on supporting micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially star-up businesses, such as enabling MSMEs to innovate, integrate and access to the global value chains right at their nascent business stage; accelerating the sustainable and environment-friendly socio-economic growth.

APEC 2017 Start-up Forum includes plenary sessions and concurrent sessions.  Participants and invited speakers are leading experts with extensive experiences in working with start-ups, MSMEs in Viet Nam and in the world.  The sessions focus on the following topics:

a. APEC Start-up ecosystem: Growth and growth quality are high priorities of APEC member economies.  An effective start-up eosystem is an important prerequisite to promote entrepreneurship and effectiveness of start-up businesses.  A start-up ecosystem needs a long term vision to ensure its sustainability.  Discussion focuses on roadmap and activities within APEC economies to develop an innovative, dynamic and cooperative APEC region.

b. The concurrent sessions focus on how to develop start-up businesses:

Innovative start-up in the digital era: The digital economy is developing rapidly in the APEC region.  Technology-based innovative start-ups are changing their perspective toward the world.  What economies need to do to engage start-ups in the current digital economy?  Promoting innovation in combination with IT application in the development of a number of key areas based on competitive edge is important for economies, IT application, and start-up connection in advantageous sectoral value chains of the economies: high-tech agriculture, tourism, culture, entertainment, logistics, and processing.

Education and training on entrepreneurship, enhancing career readiness, start-up for youth are among the indexes to measure the effectiveness of a start-up ecosystem.  This is an opportunity to learn experience and create initiatives to improve the quality of start-up education and training, and strengthen innovation in the APEC region.

Business services for start-ups: Finance for start-ups, incubator, co-working space, business consultancy, etc, are business development services to support start-up businesses to improve their competitiveness, quickly overcome the starting period, develop and expand.  Support services and activities have become more diverse and creative to promptly meet various needs of start-ups.  Practical experiences and effectiveness in supporting start-ups in the APEC region will be shared and discussed.

Sustainable business start-ups: Admist the current intensive globalization period, in order to strengthen enterprises’ engagement in global value chains to promote sustainable growth, it is necessary to pay more attention to abiding by regulation and improving business ethics by promoting good business standards for enterprises.  Promotion of innovation, IT application, development of “green” supply chains, implementation of corporate social responsiblity, and lessons will be shared among APEC economies.

The Forum also creates an opportunity for APEC economies to share experiences, ideas and tools to support business start-ups, thereby to form a dynamic and networked APEC Start-ups Community.

Initiatives and proposals discussed at the Forum will be incorporated in a Joint Statement on Promoting Start-ups and MSMEs to be submitted to the SMEs Ministerial Meeting.

From APEC 2017 National Committee