Regional Training Program on
Business Resrach and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)
November 14 - 18, 2016
Mekong Institute (MI) Khon Kaen, Thailand
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the active engagement of the participants from 19 provinces along the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) in Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam (CMTV) in the regional training program on Business Research and Database Development in the SEC. The participants successfully completed all the program activities during the training program, actively participated in the discussion and group work and came up with the Action Plans (AP) which they will implement in their respective provinces in the next 4 months. Active engagement by the participants resulted in the success of this training program.
This training program could not have been accomplished without the kind and generous support from the Government of Japan through the Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
Furthermore, we wish to express our thanks to internal and external resource persons for providing technical expertise and sharing knowledge and best practices in the field of business research and database development.
Lastly, our sincere appreciation also goes to the Project Team of Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department and all the Mekong Institute (MI) staff members for their support and assistance to ensure the successful completion of this regional training program.
Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department Mekong Institute
Khon Kaen, Thailand November 2016
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Executive Summary
Mekong Institute (MI) conducted a one-week regional training on “Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)” from November 14 - 18, 2016 at Khon Kaen, Thailand. The training is part of the ongoing project, “Enhancing Competiveness of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) of ASEAN Mekong Subregion (AMS)”, funded by Japan – ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF).
The training program aimed to equip participants with the knowledge and skills on business research and structure and development of business database that will serve as an interactive platform between and among interested small, medium and large enterprises and investors. In particular, the training program aimed to enhance capacities of the local / provincial authorities, Business Development Service (BDS) providers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the 19 provinces along the SEC in developing business database in the SEC.
A total of 34 participants attended the training, representing business chambers and associations, provincial trade and industry-related departments and SME product clusters from 19 provinces along the SEC in CMTV. The training program was conducted covering interrelated themes on Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database; Growth and Prospect of E-Commerce and Scope for SMEs; Profiling companies / SMEs, Provinces, Chambers of Commerce and Industries (CCIs) / Business Associations (BAs) and Technological Requirements; and Final Template Design.
Upon completion of the learn-to-do phase under the modular training program, the participants will implement the action plans (AP), known as do-to-learn phase, to collect information that would later be used as input to design and populate SEC Database covering i. provincial profiles; ii. Company / SME profiles iii. CCI / BA profiles and iv. Technology support requests in 19 provinces along the SEC in CMTV. The information collection will be completed within 4 months with the support and assistance by the team of Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department. The participants will return to MI to report on the results of AP implementation (share-to-learn phase) in May 2017.
To assess the capacity of the participants as well as the effectiveness of the training program, selected evaluation methods were employed. The organizing team conducted the pre- and post- training self-assessment. The result shows that participants increased their knowledge and understanding on the business research and database development through the training program.
The organizing team also conducted after event assessment which evaluates the training program. With an overall average rating of 3.70 in a scale from 1 (least) to 5 (excellent), participants indicated that training program has contributed to the increase of knowledge and skills significantly which is relevant to their work. As for training program contents, participants reported that training program met their expectation and they have acquired
iv additional knowledge on the subject. Especially, participants considered e-commerce, provincial profiling, company profiling, and CCI / BA profiling as some of the most important topics they have learned from the training program. In terms of competency development, the participants indicated that they improved competency, especially on ‘team / group work skills,’ ‘cross-cultural knowledge and skills,’ and ‘critical thinking skills.’
Responding to training and M&E methods, participants reported that the applied methods were appropriate and effective. They especially liked ‘internet searching,’ ‘class activities / exercises / assignments’ and ‘group work / discussion.’ Responding to the support from the organizer, participants showed satisfaction with the logistics arrangement provided, especially, training facility and venue and simultaneous translation services in their local languages. Overall, participants were satisfied with the training program, with the average rating of 4.26. On the other hand, some participants felt that program schedule was quite tight as they had to learn and do exercise in limited period of time. Participants also noted that certain sessions were too short and the training program should have allocated more time for each session. Finally, participants also suggested the training materials to be available in their local language.
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Acronyms
AP Action Plan
BA Business Association
BDS Business Development Service
B2B Business to Business
B2C Business to Consumer
CC Chamber of Commerce
CCI Chamber of Commerce and Industry
CMTV Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam
JAIF Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund
MI Mekong Institute
MSME Micro, Small and Medium sized Enterprise
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
SEA Southeast Asia
SEC Southern Economic Corridor
SME Small and Medium sized Enterprise
TIF Trade and Investment Facilitation
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements ...... iii
Executive Summary ...... iv
Acronyms ...... vi
Table of Contents ...... vii
1. Introduction ...... 1
2. Program Objectives and Outcomes ...... 1
2.1. Program Objectives ...... 2
2.2. Program Outcomes ...... 2
3. Participants and Resource Persons ...... 3
3.1. Participants ...... 3
3.2. Resource Persons and Facilitators ...... 4
4. Modular Training Concept ...... 5
5. Program Contents ...... 7
5.1. Getting to Know Each Other ...... 7
5.2. Setting Norms and Expectation ...... 7
5.3. Board of Directors (BODs) Explanation ...... 9
5.4. Project Overview ...... 9
5.5. Training Modules ...... 9
5.6. Action Plan (AP) ...... 23
6. Program Evaluation ...... 23
6.1. Evaluation Method ...... 23
6.2. Evaluation Results...... 23
6.2.1. Pre/ Post Assessments on Competency on Training Program ...... 23
6.2.2. Board of Director (BOD) ...... 24
6.3. After Event Evaluation ...... 24
6.3.1. Relevance and Improvement of Knowledge and Skills ...... 25
6.3.2. Training Program Content ...... 25
6.3.3. Competency Development ...... 27
6.3.4. Training Methods ...... 27
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6.3.5. M&E Methods ...... 28
6.3.6. Support from the Organizer ...... 29
6.3.7. Overall Assessment of the Training Program ...... 29
6.3.8. Suggestion and Recommendation ...... 30
7. Way Forward ...... 30
8. Lesson Learned ...... 30
9. Conclusion ...... 31
10. Recommendation ...... 31
11. Appendix ...... 31
11.1. Resource Persons and Facilitators ...... 31
11.2. Questionnaire on Company Profile for SEC ...... 33
11.3. Questionnaire on CCI / BA Profile for SEC ...... 36
11.4. Action Plan ...... 39
11.4.1. Banteay Meanchey Province ...... 39
11.4.2. Battambang Province ...... 40
11.4.3. Kampong Chhnang Province ...... 44
11.4.4. Kampot Province ...... 47
11.4.5. Koh Kong Province ...... 49
11.4.6. Preah Sihanouk Province ...... 53
11.4.7. Pursat Province ...... 56
11.4.8. Svay Rieng Province ...... 58
11.4.9. Tanintharyi Region / Dawei...... 60
11.4.10. Kanchanaburi Province ...... 61
11.4.11. Ratchaburi Province ...... 63
11.4.12. Prachinburi Province ...... 65
11.4.13. Sa - Kaeo Province ...... 67
11.4.14. Chanthaburi Province ...... 67
11.4.15. Trat Province ...... 71
11.4.16. Ca Mau Province ...... 74
11.4.17. Ca Tho Province ...... 75
11.4.18. Tay Ninh Province ...... 76
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11.5. Training Assessment...... 76
11.5.1. Pre and Post Assessment on Competency of the Training Program ...... 76
11.6. Training Evaluation ...... 77
11.6.1. Relevance and Improvement of Knowledge and Skills Gained from the Training ...... 77
11.6.2. Training Content ...... 77
11.6.3. Competency Development ...... 77
11.6.4. Training and M&E Methods ...... 78
11.6.5. Support from the Organizer ...... 78
11.6.6. Overall Assessment of the Training Program ...... 79
11.7. Curriculum Design Statement ...... 79
11.8. Program Schedule ...... 88
11.9. Participant’s Directory ...... 92
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Regional Training on Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)
1. Introduction
The countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region have been witnessing steady economic growth in recent years leading to development of infrastructure, growth of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and creation of jobs in the national and regional economies. However, with the significant progresses in regional cooperation under the ASEAN and GMS frameworks, several crucial challenges remain, including involvement of private sector in trade facilitation, physical and non-physical barriers to regional trade and investment, and strengthening capacity and growth of SMEs through greater linkage to the over-border and overseas clients and markets.
Against this background, MI, with the support from the government of Japan through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), is implementing a two-year project on “Enhancing Competiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) of the ASEAN Mekong Subregion (AMS).” The project development objective is to enhance capacities of the agencies involved in trade and investment activities to facilitate cross border trade, and support SMEs and Business Development Services (BDS) providers through capacity development programs.
As an integral part of the capacity development activities under the project framework, business research and database development play an important role in creating an business platform to enable the MSMEs, CCIs and BAs in 19 provinces along the SEC in CMTV to effectively interact and exchange information on trade and investment and promote trade linkages in the form of investors’ forum and business matching events between MSMEs in 19 SEC provinces and other sub-regional and international markets.
Such a database would facilitate: need assessment and identification for technological support needed to improve product and process quality among the MSMEs along the SEC, profiling the provinces, MSMEs and CCIs / BAs which in effect will enable efficient trade and investment opportunity search from the buyers, sellers and service providers’ end. All these can substantially contribute to connect the MSMEs in 19 SEC Provinces to the clients and markets which are essential to boost the inclusive economic growth along the SEC.
In this context, MI conducted a one-week training titled “Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)” aiming to equip stakeholders with the knowledge and skills on business research and business database development.
2. Program Objectives and Outcomes
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2.1. Program Objectives
The training aimed to equip the participants with the knowledge and skills on business research and development of business database that will serve as an interactive platform between and among interested small, medium and large enterprises and investors.
Specific objectives of the training were to:
• increase the understanding of the role of business research in trade and investment environment through online business database; • raise awareness of the BDS providers, MSMEs, and local government representatives working in the respective provinces along the SEC on searchable database and e-commerce; • provide practical knowledge of e-commerce for the purpose of business diversification and development; • raise awareness of the possibility of technological cooperation from the institutional and individual buyers cum investors to raise products and services quality and thus increase competitiveness; • improve understanding of outreach activities targeting the provincial MSMEs to be registered in the proposed database within an agreed time-frame; • equip with skills necessary to register CCIs and BAs representing the MSMEs across the sectors; • improve understanding of stronger roles of CCIs / BAs in supporting the member SMEs to take advantage of the online database to search for new clients, markets and / or investors; • formulate time-bound strategies to complete the activities related to formation and development of online database; and • identify relevant stakeholders, including CCIs / BAs to sign agreements as an active partners in developing and maintaining the database.
2.2. Program Outcomes
By the end of the training program, the participants acquired knowledge and skills on business research and database development.
Specifically, each participant:
• comprehended understanding on significance of trade and investment in the SEC and the roles of state and non-state business development services (BDS) providers facilitating provincial MSMEs in regional and international businesses; • increased understanding of business research and the role of online database; • gained practical knowledge and experience on E-Commerce through the learning from successful E-Commerce models in the regional and international markets; • increased understanding on developing an online platform to showcase provincial products and services identifying and highlighting the bottlenecks of the SMEs to facilitate future trade integration through investment / technical collaboration;
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• finalized action plans to complete all the necessary activities related to the establishment of online business database.
Inauguration Ceremony
Welcome and Opening Remarks by Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia (OIC: Officer-in-Charge), Director of Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department, MI.
Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia, Director of Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department, MI, welcomed all the participants to the MI. Ms. Medialdia highlighted that business research and database development is very important for related stakeholders including SMEs, CCIs and BAs in 19 provinces along the SEC. Ms. Medialdia emphasized that business database is one of the ways to connect the SEC SMEs to regional and global markets, thereby expanding their businesses and diversifying their products and markets. It can also promote trade, investment and economic growth in the SEC provinces. Finally, Ms. Medialdia also noted that participants are coming from both public and private sectors in 18 provinces along the SEC, and the training program is the good opportunity for them to interact with each other and learn about challenges and difficulties MSMEs have been facing in expanding business and promoting trade and investment in the region. Ms. Medialdia hoped that the participants would establish the stable networks and linkages that will allow them to work with each other in the future.
3. Participants and Resource Persons
3.1. Participants
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A total of thirty-four (34) participants attended the training comprising sixteen (16) from Cambodia, two (2) from Myanmar, twelve (12) from Thailand and four (4) from Vietnam. Among them, ten (10) are female and twenty-four (24) are male. In terms of sectors, sixteen (16) participants or 47% are from private sector representing SMEs product clusters and CCIs / BAs. Eighteen (18) participants or 53% are from public sector representing provincial trade and industry-related departments, Trade Promotion Center and CCI / BA. All the participants completed the training program successfully.
Participant Ratio
14 12 10 8 Female 6 Male 4 2 0 Cambodia Myanmar Thailand Vietnam
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8 7 6 6 5 Public Private 4 3 2 2 1 0 0 Cambodia Myanmar Thailand Vietnam
3.2. Resource Persons and Facilitators
A team of experts coming from TIF Department, MI and one external resource person from Alibaba.com facilitated the sessions with presentations, class activities, plenary discussions and simulation exercises. The team also coached the participants on the action plans to be developed during the training program.
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4. Modular Training Concept
The training is composed of three phases as follows:
Phase I: Regional Training on Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) at MI (November 14 – 18, 2016)
Phase II: Action Plan Implementation at respective countries / provinces (December 2016 – March 2017)
Phase III: Synthesis and Evaluation (S&E) Workshop (A Two - Day Progress Review Workshop) at MI (May 2017)
The training program was the learning phase with the objectives to equip participants with the knowledge and skills on business research and development of business database that will serve as an interactive platform between and among interested small, medium and large enterprises and investors. In particular, the training program aimed to enhance capacities of the Business Development Service (BDS) providers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) from the 19 provinces along the SEC to develop business database in the SEC.
Also, at phase II, participants will implement AP on information collection that would later be used as input to design SEC Database covering i. provincial profiles; ii. company / SME profiles; iii. CCI / BA profiles and iv. technology support requests in 19 provinces along the SEC. The information collection will be completed within 4 months with the support and assistance by the team of TIF Department.
Finally at phase III, participants will return to MI for synthesis and evaluation (S&E) workshop (a two-day progress review workshop) to report on the results of AP implementation and obtain feedback. At workshop, participants will have an opportunity to share learning and working experience with each other. The workshop is scheduled in May 2017.
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5. Program Contents
5.1. Getting to Know Each Other
Facilitator: Mr. Sopheak Seang, Program Coordinator of TIF Department, MI
Prior to the training program, MI activities and facilities were introduced to the participants through a video and power-point presentation. The participants were then stimulated with self-introduction session to get to know each other better. The activity helped to create a supportive environment for the participants to present and share the information, learn in a group and interact with each other.
5.2. Setting Norms and Expectation
Facilitator: Mr. Sopheak Seang, Program Coordinator of TIF Department, MI
In this session, the participants were divided into four groups which were mixed among four nationalities from CMTV. Each group responded to each question raised by the facilitator. The participants discussed their expectations on the training program, co-participants, and the way to share acquired knowledge and practical experience to others in their respective provinces. Participants also discussed the norms to be set for the whole training courses to ensure the good quality of the classes and participations.
All their inputs were given due serious consideration throughout the training program. The questions and participants’ expectations are summarized as below.
Table 1. Setting Norms and Expectation and Participants’ Inputs
Questions Participants’ Inputs 1: What do you expect • Learn about regional / international market; from this training • Generate knowledge of cooperation among SEC program? countries / provinces on products; • Establish relationship among public and private stakeholders in SEC countries / provinces;
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• Learn about online interactive business research in SEC countries / provinces; • Share business experience with others; • Achieve AEC goals in cross-border trade; • Establish Business to Business (B2B) information system; • Gain knowledge on business research database system; • Improve language and communication skill; • Improve presentation skill; • Learn about products promotion in SEC countries; • Gain knowledge on business database 2: What do you expect • Share knowledge and experience; from your co- • Improve business network and connection (during and participants? after the training program) • Gather ideas on potential products from SEC countries / provinces; • Enhance business knowledge and mutual trade opportunities (e.g., raw materials, marketing, etc); • Exchange culture, learning and understanding among the countries in the lower Mekong region; • Improve language skill; • Share information with each other; • Support business growth; • Make business contacts and learn about new business project 3: How do you intend to • Share by facebook; share the acquired • Share by e-mail; knowledge and practical • Organize classroom event; experience to others? • Organize seminar; (Co-workers, supervisors, • Submit report to manager / director; friends etc.) • Create video clip and share it by youtube; • Conduct training in the organization and development of the staff in the department concerned; • Make photocopies of relevant documents and share them with co-workers, supervisors and friends 4: What should be norm /
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• Sleep during the training program; • Talk about something that is not related to the topic; • Use Facebook during the training program
5.3. Board of Directors (BODs) Explanation
Facilitator: Mr. Sopheak Seang, Program Coordinator of TIF Department, MI
Right after the “setting norms and expectation,” the participants were introduced on the concept of Board of Directors (BODs), a frequently used evaluation tools that aimed at getting the full engagement of all the participants, and facilitating the program implementation. To this end, the participants selected new BODs daily to work as the internal and external coordinator and facilitator to collect the feedback from other participants, lead the warm-up games and activities at beginning of the each training day, and recapture the knowledge learned. The BODs played important roles in contributing to the success of the training program.
5.4. Project Overview
Facilitator: Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta, Director of TIF, MI
Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta oriented the participants with an overview of the project, “Enhancing Competitiveness of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) of ASEAN Mekong Subregion (AMS).” He touched upon the project objectives, goals, activities, sites, strategic partners, target groups, components, and success measures. Mr. Dutta also presented the overview of the training program. He touched upon training objectives, evaluation methods and feedbacks, module contents, plan of action and its implementation, modular training approaches and training methodologies. Finally, Mr. Dutta also mentioned about the prospective collaboration with Otagai Forum Association for the SEC business database which will be launched as part of the project. Otagai Forum Association is the Japanese business association which has over 30,000 member companies.
5.5. Training Modules
Training program was delivered on four inter-related modules:
• Module 1: Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database
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• Module 2: Growth and Prospect of E-Commerce and Scope for SMEs • Module 3: Profiling Companies / SMEs, Provinces, CCIs / BAs and Technological Requirements • Module 4: Final Template Design
Module 1: Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database
Resource person: Mr. Quan Anh Nguyen, Program Specialist, TIF Department, MI
Session 1: Basic Concept and Objectives of Business Research
In this session, Mr. Quan Anh Nguyen introduced the participants to the fundamental concept of business research, nature and importance of business research, functions of business research, and categories and processes in conducting business research in a practical manner. As the training concept targets business research and database development, i.e. e-commerce, this session provided the participants with a video clip on business to business (B2B) model using an internet platform where all business transactions between company sellers and buyers are conveniently and effectively performed thanks to a huge SME databases serving business matching and business development.
In addition, Mr. Nguyen introduced two key business research types, namely quantitative and qualitative analysis. Particularly, qualitative method of business research, which is used to gain the understanding of reasons, opinions, motivations, and etc. For instance, factors are considered in consumer decision making, and those that may affect the cross-border logistics services, reasons for high prices of inputs, price differentials in different countries, and so on. This method aims to provide in-depth insights into the problems, and uncover trends in thoughts or opinions. On the other side, quantitative business research is used to quantify the problem(s) by generating numerical data that can later be transformed into useable statistics, for instance, sensitivity to particular pricing, willingness to pay, trade channel pricing, final product pricing, effectiveness of advertising or sales promotion. Quantitative data normally uses measurable data to formulate facts and uncover pattern in research, i.e. a process of identifying and selecting a problem, understanding the problem, planning, and implementing solution to the selected problem.
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Methodologically, data collection can follow different ways, including (i) questionnaire survey, (ii) in-depth interview, (iii) group discussion, and (iv) case study. In this connection, given the business research objectives and its nature, and the budget availability, an appropriate method is considered. As such, Mr. Nguyen provided the participants with the concept and examples of primary data and secondary data, structured, semi-structured, and non-structured questionnaire, open-ended, and close-ended questions. The introduction tried to assist the participants in gaining basic knowledge of selecting and designing questionnaire on a case-by-case basis.
To apply the knowledge provided, group work exercise (country-wise groups) was conducted which focused on the identification of types of information needed for business research.
Module 2: Growth and Prospect of E-Commerce and Scope for SMEs
Resource Persons: Ms. Wen Hao, Program Coordinator, TIF Department, MI Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin, Trader and Trainer at Alibaba.com
Session 1: Introduction of E-Commerce (Ms. Wen Hao)
Electronic commerce has been a phenomenal force to the global economic development over the last decade. In this session, the participants were introduced to the new trading form – electronic commerce with following points:
• What is E - Commerce? • Types of E - Commerce? • How it works? • Why it is important? • Trends of E - Commerce • Issues related to E – Commerce
Ms. Wen Hao firstly oriented participants about e-commerce based on the Glossary of Statistical Terms given by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development: OECD (2013) as follows.
• E-commerce is the sale or purchase of goods or services, conducted over computer networks by methods designed for the purpose of receiving or placing of orders; • The goods or services are ordered by those methods, but the payment and the ultimate delivery of the goods or services do not have to be conducted online; • An e-commerce transaction can be made between enterprises, households, individuals, governments, and other public or private organizations; • E-commerce includes orders made over the web, extranet or electronic data interchange. The type is defined by the method of placing the order. E-commerce excludes orders made by telephone calls, facsimile or manually typed e-mail.
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Ms. Hao then introduced various types of e- commerce by geographic areas, by goods, and by transaction participants. She especially compared the most common three types of e-commerce, including Business–to-Business (B2B), Business-to- Consumer (B2C) and Consumer-to- Consumer (C2C).
Then, Alibaba group was introduced as a sample to demonstrate the ecosystem and key players of e-commerce, including sellers, buyers, logistics service providers, finance etc. Ms. Hao stressed four key factors for e-commerce development, such as establishing online business, international e-payment, cross-border delivery, and after sales. More specifically, she provided a checklist to lead participants to examine their provinces’ readiness for e-commerce in terms of firm-level of capabilities, immediate business environment, and national environment.
After participants understood better on the concept of e-commerce, Ms. Hao addressed the importance of e-commerce from the perspective of consumer, business and national business development and global development. Moreover, with various figures and statistics, Ms. Hao also introduced the e-commerce development status, trends and potentials in Southeast Asia (SEA). She emphasized that all major Southeast Asian countries are now above global average in mobile penetration. However, the current e-commerce shopping makes up just 1-2% of total retail sales in SEA, which is lower than 8% of global average. But this figure also implies the large growth potentials for e-commerce development in the region. The next big online business will not only focus on B2C, C2C and B2B marketplace, but also transport and logistics and other services, online / mobile payment and financial technology. By 2020, the USD 6 billion Southeast Asian online retail market is expected to grow to USD 70 billion and the potentials remain in the 620 million strong population who will use mobile technology including 250 million users of smartphones. At last, although there are obvious potentials for e-commerce development, Ms. Hao have also listed the disadvantages of the e-commerce development and call for the establish regulations for e-commerce in this region.
Session 2: Introduction of the Leading E-Commerce Platforms in Thailand and in the World (Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin)
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Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin introduced the proportion of the total market value of e-commerce in Thailand. He noted that the total market value of e-commerce in Thailand at the moment is 1% of the retail market in the country. This is in comparison to 13% in the UK, 10% in China and 9% in the US. However, total sales value of products through E-Commerce in Thailand is increasing steadily.
Mr. Srinakarin then introduced two leading e-commerce platforms and one on-line payment system in the world which are eBay (B2C), Paypal and Alibaba.com (B2B). Mr. Srinakarin then introduced the participants with some of the online platforms and payment systems.
Orientation to eBay
eBay is an online business-to-consumer (B2C) sales services site, also known as e-commerce site. It brings together a lot of items and sells products from all over the world. This is also a site for people to purchase products in the form of an auction. eBay.com is a part of eBay group in the US. The group also has another well-known payment facility, that is Paypal.
What is Paypal
Paypal is a company active in the field of electronic commerce. Paypal specializes in providing payment services and money transfer via the Internet. Paypal Inc is a subsidiary of eBay Inc.
Srinakarin oriented the participants further by referring to his own experience. This includes his experience with eBay and Paypal, trading experience with eBay, registering with eBay and Paypal, rules to make purchase from eBay and products suitable for sale on eBay. He then explained to the participants about the rules and regulations, the way to check shipping cost, the registration fee for eBay and Paypal, niche products and the way to communicate with and solve problems with buyers. Finally, Mr. Srinakarin also introduced the participants about www.whatbuyerwant.com (eBay marketing research tools). During the session, one Thai participant, as representative, registered with eBay with guidance from Mr. Srinakarin.
Orientation to Alibaba.com
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Alibaba.com is an on-line business to business (B2B) marketplace, also known as e- commerce site. It is a product of Alibaba Group, which Mr. Jack Ma founded in 1999. At Alibaba.com, any products can be purchased at competitive prices.
Mr. Srinakarin oriented participants by referring to his own experience. This includes the way to register with Alibaba.com, the way to post products on Alibaba, the way to communicate with buyers, what is and how to use alisoruce (a toolbar that allows users to source products from across the web in one simple click) and the way to send the quotation.
Module 3: Profiling Companies / SMEs, the Provinces, Technological Requirements and CCIs / BAs
Resource persons: Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun, Program Manager, TIF Department, MI Mr. Reza Patwary, Program Specialist, TIF Department, MI
Session 1: Profiling Companies / SMEs (Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun)
Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun started the session with group discussions on the development of company profile. Mr. Sattanun explained that the company profile is a tool to present the company’s products / services to offer more visibility, to establish company-to- company (C2C) and investor-to-company (I2C) business contact in the global market for the company‘s business expansion and growth and for business networking.
After discussions, the objectives and expected outcomes of the session were presented. The participants discussed different components of SMEs profile which were necessary to consider and mark as key elements for data collection as follows.
1. Corporate Status comprises state owned enterprise, private business, joint venture, partnership, public (limited) company, limited company, cooperative and others; 2. Type of Business referred to producer, retail, wholesaler, processor, exporter, importer, service provider, and others; 3. Business related information were on Vision & Mission, line of business, history, quality standard, export information, firm legal structure (SME), business strategic alliances and organizational structure; 4. Product details consist list of products / services, time of delivery, price quoted for transportation and type of service; 5. Membership and association. The SME is part of any formal / informal association in and outside the country; 6. Market Destination in both domestic and internal market.
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In addition, sample templates of the SME / company profile from MI’s existing databases (East – West Economic Corridor and North-South Economic Corridor) and product value chain of Coconut were presented to have options for gathering information.
In the end of the session, the participants were divided into group and worked on key company information for display on data base / business directory which company wants to provide with an aim to attract business collaboration with outside investors. Sample of discussion result is shown as below.
Final template and questionnaire based on active discussion and inputs received from the participants and facilitators will be used for data collection in 19 SEC Provinces in CMTV.
Session 2: Profiling Provinces (Mr. Reza Patwary)
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Mr. Reza Patwary started the session with a presentation on the steps of developing provincial profiles. He described why it is necessary to develop the provincial profiles in a future SEC database. Each province is geographically different from each other. And some provinces are new and some are old, some host good infrastructure and some lack basic infrastructure, some are adjacent border province along the SEC and some are more agrarian and considered a good farmland. Some provinces also host some of the famous clusters in the region and some provinces are directly connected to the world market with their export- oriented production. Some provinces also host special economic zones with connection to infrastructure and utility. Some provinces also ensure supply of skilled workforce than the others. Some provinces offer the advantage of being located close to a sea port. In addition, national and provincial authorities offer diverse incentives to investors for investing in a particular province in a form of tax rebates, quicker registration etc.
In the future interactive database of SEC, both local and foreign business community will learn about a particular province at a more ease with key information presented in the database. There would be collaborators and investors can come in contact with the provincial SMEs according to their interests. Provincial profile will also help the SMEs in the province to get in touch with one another in case they need to collaborate with other SMEs in the sector.
Mr. Patwary then started a group activity which proved popular with the participants. 2-4 members from each country team formed their own ‘investment promotion agency’ making a total of 4 agencies while the rest were divided into a mix of four investor groups. The investor groups then visit each country (or provinces) in rotation and come to know the facilities offered by those countries / provinces. The investor also asked questions to clarify their concern or to get more information. After the round of 4 countries investment promotion agencies listed out what are more important to the investors and what features in the province / countries were more on demand. On the other hand, the investor groups compared their findings and presented which countries / province were providing more benefits to the
16 investors in terms of supply of raw materials / skilled workforce, infrastructure, indigenous products and others.
The exercise helped the participants to develop insight about how information needs to be collected from different provincial authorities and from conversation with local Chambers and business associations. The participants in Cambodia, for instance came up with the major exports from a particular province so that it is easier for investors and collaborators to get an idea what can be produced in that province easily and what related industry can be established there to take advantage of primary and / or intermediary inputs already in abundance in that country. The participants at the end of the session said that it would be easy for them now to work on developing provincial profiles.
Session 3: Profiling Technology Support Services (Mr. Reza Patwary)
Mr. Reza Patwary started the session by describing how technological support requirements need to be profiled through active discussions with the stakeholders. Mr. Patwary described that the training brought together some of the leaders from the private sector and provincial authorities along the SEC who, during and after the training, will take the lead in listing out the major technological support requirements of their provinces. He went on to say that successful profiling of the technological support requirements of the provincial SMEs would help the investors and technological collaborators with ideas about how they can collaborate with the regional or provincial SMEs with their access to superior technology and help the provincial SMEs in increasing their productivity and efficiency. This can bring opportunities to the provincial SMEs to get in touch with future investors who will be more accustomed to the SMEs’ access to technology and find the best ways for collaboration.
Mr. Patwary said that technological support requirement can start with identifying the leading agro-sectors in the province and explore what are the areas in the processing that needs improvement either to be competitive in the international market by reducing cost and / or improving quality or to scale up the production or both. He said the future interactive database of SEC would enable technological collaborators or support group to come in contact with SMEs with specific needs that need to be addressed through technical collaboration. He said that technological support requests can range from skill training to anything like
17 handling system to packaging and certification. Through the collaboration, the often foreign counterpart will have an opportunity to help grow the company and also to look for collaboration about their experience from collaboration which will likely to be a win-win situation for both parties. He said that the provincial team has to be really careful about choosing the sectors and industry where technological collaboration can benefit the most including the owners, producers and traders and service providers involved in that sector. The sectors chosen should also be accompanied by a list of would be collaborators / provincial SMEs who share the need for technological / quality upgradation. It would be wise to think about the bottlenecks of the sector. Quality of produce / products or quality of packaging are few of some of the areas technological support requests can address to.
Mr. Patwary then arranged a group activity where the country groups listed out their main sectors in the respective provinces and identified the main anticipated technological constraints. He said the provincial team will now have a major task to do and that is to collect relevant information when they return to their provinces. For instance, one group came up with some of the determining factors in processing activities and listed out the major processing constraints. For instance, an agricultural product may come up with lower production of rice in the coastal region for increasing salinity while that can be confronted with salinity resistant variety of rice that can even be scaled up. Such profiling makes it easier for potential investors and collaborators to come and join the forces to develop SMEs.
Session 4: Profiling CCIs / BAs (Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun)
Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun started the session with the group discussion on members’ expectations to the CCI / BA / Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), and kind of support CCI / BA and FTI provide to the members. Results of group discussion are shown in the table below.
Table 2: Members’ Expectations to the CC / BA
Members’ Expectations to CCI / BA / FTI Kind of Support CCI / BA / FTI Provides to Members Group 1 Group 1 - Search for business matching and - Be a power of business sector; networking opportunities; - Provide business matching opportunities; - Search for Investment opportunity at both - Prvide more information; local and international level; - Develop business database; - Provide business advisory / consultation; - Support investment and provinde training; - Provide advises on appropriate / suitable - Provide increased knowledge and logistics for business; experience from members;
18
- Provide capacity development; - To encourage new product exhibition; - Become the voice of private sector; - Support in communicating with public - Provide updated information; sector; - Search for national and international - Mediate coflict between government and exhibition / trade fair events; privte sector; - Support members in dealing with laws and - Provide the latest update information on regulations; SMEs; - Play a role as financial guarantor for low - Establish alliances with ASEAN Economic rate interest; Community (AEC);
Group 2 Group 2 - Support in getting capital from bank / - Organize meeting for sharing government; organizational plan; - Provide Information, database and - Share and update relevant information; - technology; - Facilitate forum / dialougue among - Provide knowledge / education related to business and enterprises, employer and business; government; - Provide business links; - Provide business matching / trade fair / - Search for investment opportunity; exhibition at national and international - Advocate for laws and regulations level; - supporting members - Conduct business research; - Collect member fees for organizing related Group 3 business activities for members; - Protect members’ businesses; - Invite investors for meeting with members; - Promote member’s products; - Provide solution and resolve problem of - Share business information to investors; members; - Provide education / advises for product development; - Provide techonological support; - Assist in the organizeational development; - Engage in the database development; - Disseminate relevant policies to members; - Become guarantor for bank loan;
After presentations by the participants, Mr. Sattanun added and summarized that CCIs / BAs in the greater Mekong subregion (GMS) act as trade promotion agencies which have role of
• creating and maintaining database of all the relevant information and supporting business information network and data interchange; • providing trade and investment inquiry services; • creating local CCIs in key towns and supporting their regionalization and Internationalization; • conducting regular survey and providing information to the business group; • promoting businesswomen’s club; • helping computerization and system networks; • engaging in employee welfare activities;
19
• engage in community development activities; • providing management counselling; • identifying products / industries to be promoted / invested; • Identifying export market;
In the end of the session, the participants engaged in the group work with an aim to enhance and promote business collaboration with outside investors and organization. Results of group discussion are shown in the table below.
Table 3: Key Information on CCI / BA to be Displayed at SEC Database
Key Information of CCIs / BAs to be Name and Website of CCIs / BAs Displayed at SEC Database in SEC Provinces Group 1 Thailand - Name & Logo; - History / About Us Provincial Chamber of Commerce (Vision, Mission & Objectives); - Certificate of Business / Association http://www.thaichamber.org/Kanchanaburi/ Registration; http://www.thaichamber.org/Ratchaburi/ - Address / contact information (Website, http://www.thaichamber.org/Phrachinburi/ Email, Tel, Social Media Contact); http://www.thaichamber.org/Sakaeo/ - Service Description / Activities; http://www.thaichamber.org/Chanthaburi/ - Supportive clubs / organizations/clusters http://www.thaichamber.org/Trat/ - Photos; - Partners; The Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) - Members’ Profile; http://www.fti.or.th/ - Provincial Strategic Master Plan; www.foodfti.com/
Group 2 The Industrial Environment Institute, FTI - Name / Logo; http://www.iei.or.th - Address / Contact detail (Tel, E-mail) - Staff information; Industrial Labor Hub - Funding information; http://www.ftijob.com
Community Enterprise http://www.sceb.doae.go.th/datachw.html
Community Development (OTOP) http://cddata.cdd.go.th/otoppracha/main2.php http://www.thaitambon.com/province
Cooperative Professional Group http://goods.cpd.go.th/
Vietnam
20
Cambodia
Kampot
Starling Farm Cambodia Starling Farm; Kampot and Kep Mango Association; Dried Shrimp Community; Kampot and Kep Salt Community; Kampot, Takeo, Kep, CoC; Kampot Pepper Farm Link; Kampot and Kep Pepper Association
21
Myanmar
http://www.tccidawei.com http://www.diamondcrownhoteldawei.com http://www.apexairline.com https://www.hkgbusiness.com/en/company/Dawe i-International-Trading-Co-Limited https://www.facebook.com/pages/Zayar-Htet- San-Hotel-Dawei/428884707202268
Final template and questionnaire based on active discussion and inputs received from the participants and facilitators will be used for data collection in 19 SEC provinces in CMTV.
Module 4: Final Template Design
Resource person: Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun, Program Manager, TIF Department, MI
Session 1: Group Exercise: Template Design and Query on Companies / SME Profile
In this session, Mr. Sattanun distributed questionnaire on company profile for SEC to the participants (please see Annex 11.2.). This is in order for participants to indicate information
22 they think is important. Inputs from the participants will be reflected in the final template for the information collection on company profile at 19 provinces along the SEC in CMTV.
Session 2: Group Exercise: Template Design and Query on CCI / BA Profile
In this session, Mr. Sattanun distributed questionnaire on CCIs / BA profile for SEC to the participants (please see Annex 11.3.). This is in order for participants to indicate information they think is important. Inputs from the participants will be reflected in the final template for the information collection on CCI / BA profile at 19 provinces along the SEC in CMTV.
5.6. Action Plan (AP)
As a part of the training program, participants have developed Action Plans (APs) to collect information that would later be used as input to design SEC Database covering i. provincial profiles; ii. company / SME profiles; iii. CCI / BA profiles and iv. technology support requests in 19 provinces along the SEC (please see Annex 11.3). The information collection will be completed within 4 months with the support and assistance by the team of Trade and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department.
Regarding monitoring and evaluation (M&E) during AP implementation, TIF team will provide regular on-line coaching to support participants for the successful implementation of the AP. E-mail group of the participants ([email protected]) was also created in order for the participants to share updates on the AP implementation, other information and concerns. The participants will return to MI for synthesis and evaluation (S&E) workshop to report on the results of AP implementation and obtain feedback. The workshop is scheduled in May 2017. 6. Program Evaluation
6.1. Evaluation Method
During the training program, TIF facilitator conducted applicable evaluation methods to monitor and evaluate the performance and understanding levels of the participants.
Objectives
• To assess the achievement of the training program against participants expectations • To get feedback and inputs for improving the training program course in the future
6.2. Evaluation Results
6.2.1. Pre/ Post Assessments on Competency on Training Program
23
In order to evaluate the knowledge acquisition of participants during the training, pre and post assessments were distributed to all participants to assess against the knowledge and skills before and right after the training program.
20 Total 18 3.59
16 Module 4: Final Template 14 3.51 Design 12 3.67 10 Module 3: Profiling of the 1.87 Companies, Provinces, 8 Technical Requirements and 1.85 3.56 CCIs / BAs 6 Module 2: Growth and 1.92 Prospect of E-commerce and 4 Scope for SMEs 1.79 3.61 2 Module 1: Basics of Business 1.9 Research and Facilitation of 0 Trade through Online Pre Assessment Post Assessment Database
The same self-assessment form was used for both pre and post assessments. In the questionnaire, different components were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where “5” was the highest and “1” was the lowest. The total average rating for pre-assessment of participants’ knowledge and skills on the training contents or modules were “1.87” which meant the understanding of participants towards all subjects of the modular training program on ‘Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)’ was between “I do not know anything about this topic (rating at 1)” and “I have heard about this topic but do not know enough about how to do / use it (rating at 2)”
On the last day of one-week training program, post-assessment sheet was distributed to the participants with the same questionnaires to evaluate their understanding about acquired knowledge after being trained by MI. The total average rating for post assessment of acquired competencies was “3.59” which meant between “I have some knowledge on this topic, but could not do it now without further study (rating at 3)” and “I have a good working knowledge & can do routine aspects now (rating at 4).” Table below shows the pre and post self-assessment results of participants’ competencies and understandings on each module of the program.
6.2.2. Board of Director (BOD)
The BOD committee members were selected from participants to facilitate the training atmosphere and summarize the previous day session to the class.
6.3. After Event Evaluation
24
The After Event Evaluation was conducted by using a participatory method. This method allowed all participants to freely comment, without the scrutiny of instructors / facilitators and program staff. Different components were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where “5” is the highest and “1” is the lowest.
6.3.1. Relevance and Improvement of Knowledge and Skills
Relevance and improvement of knowledge and skills gained from the training were evaluated with the rating scale of 1 to 5. Overall average rating was 3.70. Participants reported that the training program has increased their knowledge and skills with the average rating of 3.74. Participants also indicated that knowledge and skills gained from the training program are relevant to their work with average rating of 3.65.
How well you think the training program has increased your knowledge and skills (Number of Participant) Well (3) Neutral (12)
Mostly Well (19)
Indicate the relevance of knowledge and skills gained from the training to your work (Number of Participant)
Fully Relevant Partially Relevant (3) (1)
Neutrally Relevant Mostly Relevant (13) (17)
6.3.2. Training Program Content
The participants evaluated the training program content with 5 rating scales. Overall average rating was 3.54. In detail, participants reported that training program met their expectations with the average rating of 3.62. Participants also indicated that level of instruction from the resource persons were either appropriate or advanced with the average rating of 3.68. Finally, participants indicated that they neutrally or mostly acquired
25 additional knowledge on the subject from the training program with the average rating of 3.74. Especially, participants consider sessions on E-Commerce, provincial profile, company profile and CCI / BA profile as one of the most important topics they learned from the training program among others.
In your own opinion, how has the training program met your expectations? (Number of Participant)
Neutrally Met Highly Met (13) (21)
How was the level of instruction from the resource persons (Number of Participant)
Somewhat Appropriate Too Advanced (5) (1) Appropriate (14) Advanced (14)
26
Did training program help you acquire additional knowledge on the subject? (Number of Participant)
Fully Acquired Partially Acquired (5) (2)
Neutrally Acquired (10) Mostly Acquired (17)
6.3.3. Competency Development
Competency development was evaluated in the rating scale of 1 to 5 (1-Not Improved; 2- Partially Improved; 3-Neutrally Improved; 4-Mostly Improved; 5-Fully Improved). Overall average rating was 3.60. Especially, participants reported that they developed competency on ‘team / group work skills,’ ‘cross-cultural knowledge and skills’ and ‘critical thinking skills,’ with the average rating of 3.79, 3.79 and 3.65 respectively.
Competency Development
5
4 3.79 3.79 3.65 3.47 3.59 3.59 3.6 3.29 3
2 Average Rating
1
0 Presentation Communication Team / Group Cross-Cultural Critical Thinking Networking Online Information Total Skills Skill in English Work Skills Knowledge amd Skills Retrieving Skills Skills
6.3.4. Training Methods
In terms of training methods, they were evaluated with rating scale of 1 to 5 (1– Inappropriate; 2-Somewhat Appropriate; 3–Neutrally Appropriate; 4–Mostly Appropriate; 5–Fully Appropriate). Overall average rating was 3.92. Especially, participant’s considered
27
‘internet searching,’ ‘class activities / exercises / assignments’ and ‘group work / discussion’ as the most appropriate with the average rating of 4.03, 4.00 and 4.00 respectively.
Trainig Methods
5
4.03 3.88 4 4 3.88 3.97 3.91 3.92 4 3.7
3 Average Rating
2
1
0 Lecture Video / Case Class Activities Group Work / Participant's Expert Internet One-to-One Total Studies / Exercises / Discussion Presentation Speakers Searching Action Plan Assignments and Plenary Consultation Discussion
6.3.5. M&E Methods
M&E Methods
5
Average 3.85 3.72 4 3.59 Rating
3
2
1
0 Board of Directors (BOD) Pre & Post Self- Total Assessment
M&E methods were evaluated with rating scale of 1 to 5 (1-Not Effective; 2-Partially Effective; 3-Neutrally Effective; 4-Mostly Effective; 5-Fully Effective). Overall average rating was 3.72. Especially, participants considered ‘Pre & Post Self-Assessment’ as the most effective with the average rating of 3.85.
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6.3.6. Support from the Organizer
Support from the Organizer
5 4.41 4.44 4.38 4.47 4.43 4 Average 3 Rating
2
1
0 Venue Training Facility Meal ArrangementCoffee / Tea Break Total Arrangement
In terms of logistics arrangement, it was evaluated with rating scale of 1 to 5 (1-Not Satisfied; 2-Partially Satisfied; 3-Neutrally Satisfied; 4-Mostly Satisfied; 5–Fully Satisfied). Overall average rating was 4.43. Especially, participants reported that they were satisfied with ‘coffee / tea break,’ ‘training facility,’ and ‘venue arrangement’ with the average rating of 4.47, 4.44 and 4.41 respectively.
6.3.7. Overall Assessment of the Training Program
In response to the question on “What is your overall assessment of the training program,” participants rated with rating scale of 1 to 5 (1-Not Satisfied; 2–Partially Satisfied; 3– Neutrally Satisfied; 4–Mostly Satisfied; 5–Fully Satisfied). Participants indicated the average rating of 4.26–“Mostly Satisfied.” This shows that the participants were mostly satisfied with the training program.
Overall Assessment of the Training Program (Number of Participants)
Average Neutrally satisfied Rating (4.26) (1)
Fully Satisfied Mostly (10) Satisfied (23)
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6.3.8. Suggestion and Recommendation
The participants also provided some suggestions or comments to this training program for future improvement as below:
• Program schedule was quite tight. Participants had to learn and do exercises in the limited period of time; • Certain sessions were too short and the training program should have allocated more time for each session; • Training materials, including evaluation forms, should be available in local language.
7. Way Forward
Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia (OIC: Officer-in-Charge), Director of Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department, MI
In her concluding remarks, Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia, Director of Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department, MI, congratulated the participants on the completion of the training program. Ms. Medialdia emphasized the significance of AP and said that the information collection on provincial profile, company profile and CCI / BA profile is the fundamental requirement for the development of proposed SEC business database. The database is expected to serve as an interactive platform between and among interested small, medium and large enterprises and investors. Ms. Medialdia hoped that participants, as part of their contribution to the project, implement AP seriously.
Ms. Medialdia also hoped the participants to maintain professional relationship and network among them. Participants come from 18 provinces along the SEC and they will meet each other again in the future and may collaborate. In this regards, Ms. Medialdia thanked Government of Japan for their financial support. Without their financial support, MI would not be able to organize this training program and had opportunity to meet each other. Ms. Medialdia also expressed her appreciation for participants for their active participation, resource persons and also the MI organizing team who contributed / supported this training program.
8. Lesson Learned
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Key lessons learned from the training program are summarized below:
• Group work by mixed participants among four nationalities from CMTV helped them to establish lasting relationship and share knowledge and experience among themselves and also between public and private sectors; • Presentations by country / province helped all participants to know and understand the current situation of clusters in SEC provinces; • Using video is sometimes gain more participants’ interests than slides;
9. Conclusion
This report concludes assessment results of one week training program. The assessment results of training program affirmed that the learning program objectives were achieved. Participants reported that they have increased knowledge and skills, which are relevant to their work, the training program met their expectation, they have increased their competency, training methods were appropriate, M&E methods were effective, support from the organizer on logistics arrangement was satisfactory and they were satisfied with overall training program.
10. Recommendation
The following recommendations were received by both participants and MI organizing team for further improvement of the training program:
• Training program was quite hard for some participants, as they come from different countries and speak different languages. It was difficult for them to clearly understand the relevant topics in English; • Organizing team of the training program should have provided related links to participants for their further self-study.
11. Appendix
11.1. Resource Persons and Facilitators
Photo Name & Position Organization & Address Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin Alibaba.com Wanasorn Building 3F Payathai Junction, Payathai Trainer Rd, Thailand.
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Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Director Thailand TIF
Mr. Quan Anh Nguyen Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Program Specialist Thailand TIF
Mr. Reza Patwary Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Program Specialist Thailand TIF
Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Program Manager Thailand TIF
Ms. Wen Hao Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Program Coordinator Thailand TIF
Mr. Toru Hisada Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Senior Project Coordinator Thailand TIF
Mr. Sopheak Seang Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Project Coordinator Thailand TIF
Ms. Sasiporn Phuphaploy Mekong Institute 123, Muang District, Khon Kaen Province, 40002, Program Assistant Thailand TIF
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11.2. Questionnaire on Company Profile for SEC
Total Cambodia 1 Cambodia 2 Myanmar Thailand 1 Thailand 2 Vietnam Agreed Disagreed Check list (4 prov) (4 prov) (1 prov) (3 prov) (3 prov) (3 prov) No. No.
• Name of the company
• Brief description of the company
• Your company's logo
• Main products or services offered
□ Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing □ Apparel □ Arts, sports and recreation (includes leisure and culture facilities and services)
33 □ Automobiles & Motorcycles and accessories
Beauty & Personal Care
Business Services (includes financial, legal, real estate, office)
Catering and Accommodation (includes hotels, hostels, cafes, bars, restaurants)
Chemicals
Computer Hardware & Software
Construction, Real Estate and Tool
Consumer Electronics
Education (includes teaching, training and instruction)
Electrical Equipment & Supplies
Environment
Fashion Accessories
Food & Beverage
Furniture
General Industrial Equipment
Gifts & Crafts
Health & Medical
Home Appliances & Garden
IT and Telecommunications Services
Lights & Lighting
Logistics (transportation, shipping, post, etc)
Luggage, Bags & Cases
Machinery
Media and Creative Services (includes production, distribution broadcasting and publishing)
Minerals & Metallurgy
Mining, Energy and Utilities
34 Office & School Suppliers
Packaging & Printing
Rubber & Plastics
Security & Protection
Service Equipment
Shoes & Accessories
Textiles & Leather Products
Timepieces, Jewelry, Eyewear, Accessories
Toys & Hobbies
Other (specify:
• Pictures of products (100 Kbyte – 300 Kbyte) or………………..
• Contact information *: a. Office Phone: b. Mobile Phone : c. Fax :
d. Mailing Address : ▪ Number and Street: ▪ Town/City : ▪ Province/state: ▪ Country: e. Email : f. Website : g.
• Year of Business Establishment *:
• Number of employees *:
• Corporate Status : □ State Owned Enterprise □ Private □ Joint Venture □ Partnership Public (Limited) Company Limited Company
35 Cooperative Other (Specify): • Type of Business o Producer o Retail o Wholesaler o Processor o Exporter o Importer o Service Provider o Others: (please specify)……………………… • Number of business Member ( ) o Producer o Retail o Wholesaler o Processor o Exporter o Importer o Service Provider o Other : (please specify)……………………………………. • Target Market o Domestic ▪ 1.…………………………. ▪ 2.………………………….
▪ 3.…………………………. ▪ 4.…………………………. o International 1.…………………………. 2.…………………………. 3.…………………………. 4.………………………….
• Membership (Member of Chamber of Commerce, Association, Institute, Government agency etc.) • Certification (Type) o Copy of or logo of certification 1 o Copy of or logo of certification 3 o Copy of or logo of certification 4 o Copy of or logo of certification 5
11.3. Questionnaire on CCI / BA Profile for SEC
Total Thailand Thailand Check list Cambodia 1 Cambodia 2 Myanmar Vietnam Agreed Disagreed 36 1 2 Remarks (Please √ on appropriate bullet and/or add if any) (4 prov.) (4 prov.) (1) (4) No. No.
(3 prov) (3 prov)
• Name of the CCI / BA
• Brief description of the CCI / BA
• Logo
• President’s name
• Vision, Mission and its Objectives
• Organization’s Structure
• Rule of regulation of the organization
• No. of business partners / MOU signed with org.
• How to be a member and its procedure
• Member fee
• Working hour
• No. of staff (permanent)
Membership Benefits: • Information by newsletter, email, poster, brochure etc. Please add______• Business Matching • Seminars, Conference, Workshops • Exhibition, trade fair and study tour • Service and Facility • Business Consultation
37 • Others (please specify)
Services provided to members in the last _____months
Number of Members in total (2016) :
Business Categories (8 Groups with 28 Sectors), each categories request to provide Number of member. (How many member) i. Agro & Food Industry (Agribusiness, Food and Beverage) ii. Consumer Products (Fashion, Home & Office Products, Personal Products & Pharmaceuticals) iii. Financials (Banking, Finance & Securities, Insurance) iv. Industrials (Automotive, Industrials & Machinery, Packaging, Paper & printing materials, Petrochemicals & Chemicals, Steel) v. Property & Construction (construction materials, Construction services, property Development, Property Fund and REITs) vi. Resources (Energy & utilities, mining) vii. Services (commerce, health care services, media & publishing, professional services, tourism and
Leisure, Transportation & logistics) viii. Technology (electronic Components, information & communication Technology) • Contact information*: h. Location with map : i. Office Phone: j. Mobile Phone : k. Fax : l. Mailing Address : ▪ Number and Street: ▪ Town/City : ▪ Province/state: ▪ Country: m. Email : n. Website : o. Other communication channel : p. Name of contact person :
• Year of Establishment*:
• Corporate Status of members: each categories request to provide Number of member. (How
38 many member per type) □ State Owned Enterprise
□ Private □ Joint Venture □ Partnership Public (Limited) Company Limited Company Cooperative Other (Specify): • Type of Member’s Business each categories request to provide Number of member. (How many member) o Producer o Retail o Wholesaler o Processor o Exporter o Importer o Service Provider o Other : (please specify)………………………
11.4. Action Plan
11.4.1. Banteay Meanchey Province
39
11.4.2. Battambang Province
40
41
42
43
11.4.3. Kampong Chhnang Province
44
45
46
11.4.4. Kampot Province
47
48
11.4.5. Koh Kong Province
49
50
51
52
11.4.6. Preah Sihanouk Province
53
54
55
11.4.7. Pursat Province
56
57
11.4.8. Svay Rieng Province
58
59
11.4.9. Tanintharyi Region / Dawei
60
11.4.10. Kanchanaburi Province
61
62
11.4.11. Ratchaburi Province
63
64
11.4.12. Prachinburi Province
65
66
11.4.13. Sa - Kaeo Province
67
68
11.4.14.
11.4.14. Chanthaburi Province
69
70
11.4.15. Trat Province
71
72
73
11.4.16. Ca Mau Province
74
11.4.17. Ca Tho Province
75
11.4.18. Tay Ninh Province
76
11.5. Training Assessment
11.5.1. Pre and Post Assessment on Competency of the Training Program
Modular Training Program on Average Rating Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) Pre Post Module 1: Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of through Online Database 1.1 Role of research in making smart business decisions 1.94 3.65 1.2 Importance of business Research 2.06 3.82 1.3 Research tools and process 1.76 3.65 1.4 Database as a source of exploratory research for reaching new 1.97 3.41 markets and investments 1.5 Regional cooperation along the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) 1.76 3.50 Total (Module 1) 1.90 3.61 Module 2: Growth and Prospect of E-Commerce and Scope for SMEs 2.1 Doing business through E-Commerce 1.91 3.71 2.2 Well-known E-Commerce platforms and tactics of presenting 1.71 3.53 product offers 2.3 Legal aspects of e-commerce and digital payments 1.74 3.44 Total (Module 2) 1.79 3.56 Module 3: Profiling of the companies / SMEs, provinces, technological support requirements and CCIs / BAs 3.1 Profiling of companies / SMEs in the provinces 2.24 3.59 3.2 Profiling of provinces with summarized useful information for 1.71 3.74 investors 3.3 Profiling chambers of commerce and other business associations 2.03 3.71 3.4 Profiling technological support required for SMEs in provinces along 1.68 3.65 Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) Total (Module 3) 1.92 3.67 Module 4: Final Template Design 4.1 Preparation of survey tools like questionnaire / templates 1.91 3.53 4.2 Gathering information from local stakeholders for populating a 1.79 3.38 database 4.3 Planning time-bound action plans 1.85 3.62 Total (Module 4) 1.85 3.51 Total (Module 1 / 2 / 3 / 4) 1.87 3.59
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11.6. Training Evaluation
11.6.1. Relevance and Improvement of Knowledge and Skills Gained from the Training
Not at all Not well Neutral Mostly Well Well Total Average (80 – 100%) (0%) (<50%) (50 – 80%) (100%) Rating 4 1 2 3 5 How well you think the 35% 56% 9% training has increased your 12 19 3 34 3.74 knowledge and skills Not Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average Relevant Relevant Relevant Relevant Relevant Rating (0%) (<50%) (50 – 80%) (80-100%) (100%) 4 1 2 3 5 Please indicate the relevance 3% 38% 50% 9% of knowledge and skills 1 13 17 3 34 3.65 gained from the training to your work Total 3.70
11.6.2. Training Content
Not Somewhat Neutrally Highly Fully Total Average Met Met Met Met Met Rating 1 2 3 4 5 In your own opinion, how 38% 62% has the training program 13 21 34 3.62 met your expectations? Too Basic Somewhat Appropriate Advanced Too Total Average Appropriate Advanced Rating How was the level of 3% 41% 41% 15% instruction from the 1 14 14 5 34 3.68 resource persons? Not Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Acquired Acquired Acquired Acquired Acquired Did training program 6% 29% 50% 15% help you acquire 2 10 17 5 34 3.74 additional knowledge on the subject? Total 3.54
11.6.3. Competency Development
During this Not Improved Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average program, I have 1 Improved Improved Improved Improved Rating improved my 2 3 4 5 Presentation skills 12% 38% 41% 9% 4 13 14 3 34 3.47 Communication 15% 50% 26% 9% skill in English 5 17 9 3 34 3.29
Team / group 3% 29% 53% 15% work skills 1 10 18 5 34 3.79
Cross-cultural 38% 44% 18% knowledge and 13 15 6 34 3.79 skills
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Critical thinking 6% 35% 47% 12% skills 2 12 16 4 34 3.65
Networking 12% 35% 35% 18% 34 3.59 4 12 12 6 Online information 12% 32% 41% 15% 3.59 retrieving skills 4 11 14 5 34 Total 3.60
11.6.4. Training and M&E Methods
How do you think Inappropriate Somewhat Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average about the training 1 Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Appropriate Rating methods? 2 3 4 5 Lecture 29% 53% 18% 10 18 6 34 3.88 Video / Case 44% 41% 15% studies 15 14 5 34 3.70 Class activities / 18% 64% 18% Exercises / 6 22 6 34 4.00 Assignments Group work 18% 64% 18% /discussion 6 22 6 34 4.00 Participants’ 20% 71% 9% presentation and 7 24 3 34 3.88 plenary discussion Expert speakers 18% 67% 15% 6 23 5 34 3.97 Internet searching 27% 44% 29% 9 15 10 34 4.03 One-to-one action 29% 50% 21% plan consultation 10 17 7 34 3.91 Total 3.92 How do you think Not Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average about following Effective Effective Effective Effective Effective Rating monitoring and 1 2 3 4 5 evaluation (M&E) methods? Board of Directors 9% 35% 44% 12% 34 (BOD) 3 12 15 4 3.59 Pre & post self- 29% 56% 15% assessment 10 19 5 34 3.85 Total 3.72
11.6.5. Support from the Organizer
How do you think Not Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average about the logistics Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Rating arrangement? 1 2 3 4 5 Venue arrangement 3% 6% 38% 53% 4.41 1 2 13 18 34 Training facility 3% 50% 47% 1 17 16 34 4.44 Meal arrangement 3% 56% 41% 1 19 14 34 4.38 Coffee / tea break 3% 47% 50% 1 16 17 34 4.47 Total 4.43
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11.6.6. Overall Assessment of the Training Program
Not Partially Neutrally Mostly Fully Total Average Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Satisfied Rating 1 2 3 4 5 What is your overall 3% 68% 29% assessment of the 1 23 10 34 4.26 training program?
11.7. Curriculum Design Statement
Course Title: Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) Location: MI Residential Training Centre, Khon Kaen, Thailand
Duration: One week : November 14-18, 2016
1. Background
The countries in the Greater Mekong Sub-region have been witnessing steady economic growth in recent years leading to development of infrastructure, growth of MSMEs and creation of jobs in the national and regional economies. However, -with the significant progresses in regional cooperation under the ASEAN and GMS frameworks, several crucial challenges remained, including involvement of private sector in trade facilitation, physical and non-physical barriers to regional trade and investment, and strengthening capacity and growth of SMEs through greater linkage to the over-border and overseas clients and markets.
Against this background, the Mekong Institute (MI), an inter-governmental organization specialized in capacity building for regional cooperation and development, with the support from the Government of Japan through Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF), is implementing a two-year project on “Enhancement of Competiveness of Small and Medium-sized (SME) in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC) of ASEAN Mekong Subregion (AMS). The project development objective is to enhance capacities of the agencies involved in trade and investment activities to facilitate cross border trade, and support SMEs and Business Development Services (BDS) providers through capability development programs. To this end, capacity development for stakeholders and beneficiaries in the target countries will be developed through series of activities related to (i) capacity development for SME clusters and networks, (ii) Trade and Investment promotion through public and private partnerships, and (iii) Strengthening business development services (BDS) Providers.
As an integral part of the capacity development activities under the project framework, business research and database development play an important role in creating an business platform to enable the MSMEs, CCIs, BAs, and the respective province(s) to effectively interact and exchange information on trade and investment, promote trade linkages in the form of investors’ forum, business matching events, etc. between the SEC MSMEs and other sub-regional and international markets. Such a database would facilitate: need
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assessment and identification for technological support needed to improve product and process quality among the MSMEs along the SEC, profiling of the provinces, profiling of MSMEs, profiling of the CCIs and the respective Business Associations which in effect will enable efficient trade and investment opportunity search from the buyers, sellers and service providers’ end. All these can substantially contribute to connect the regional MSMEs to the clients and markets which are essential to boost the inclusive regional economic growth along the SEC.
In this context, Mekong Institute (MI) will conduct a one-week training titled “Business Research and Database Development in the Southern Economic Corridor (SEC)” for the project beneficiaries and stakeholders in line with the project development objectives.
2. Training Objectives
The training aims to equip the participants with the knowledge and skills on business research and development of business database that will serve as an interactive platform between and among interested business individuals and organizations. For this purpose, specific objectives of the trainings are to:
• Increase the understanding of the role of business research in trade and investment environment through online business database; • raise awareness of the BDS providers, MSMEs, and local government representatives working in the respective provinces along the SEC on searchable database and e-commerce; • have practical knowledge of e-commerce for the purpose of business diversification and development; • raise awareness of the possibility of technological cooperation from the institutional and individual buyers cum investors to raise products and services quality and thus increase competitiveness; • improve understanding of outreach activities targeting the provincial MSMEs to be registered in the proposed database within an agreed time-frame; • equip with skills necessary to register regional business associations and chambers of commerce representing the MSMEs across the sectors; • improve understanding of stronger roles of associations / chambers in supporting the member SMEs to take advantage of the online database to search for new clients, markets and / or investors; • formulate time-bound strategies to complete the activities related to formation and development of online database; and • identify relevant stakeholders, including the CCIs and BAs to sign agreements as an active partners in developing and maintaining the database.
3. Training Outcomes
At the end of the training, the participants will be able to acquire knowledge and skills on business research and database development and to:
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• comprehend the significance of trade and investment in the SEC; and the roles of state and non-state business development services (BDS) providers facilitating provincials MSMEs in regional and international businesses • increase their understanding of business research and the role of online database; • gain practical knowledge and experience through the learning from successful e- commerce models in the regional and international markets; • disseminate the importance of business research and business database to MSMEs and the local stakeholders in the respective provinces along the SEC in Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar; • increase their understanding in developing an online platform to showcase provincial products and services identifying and highlighting the bottlenecks of the SMEs to facilitate future trade integration through investment / technical collaboration; • Implement action plans through stakeholders’ meetings / FGDs to conduct dialogue on how to effectively populate the business database in an effective manner ; • build up networks with government agencies and chambers of commerce and come up with signing Memorandum of Understanding MoUs) with the respective associations; and • finalize action plans to complete all the necessary activities related to online business database.
4. Target Group The direct beneficiaries are 38 participants, comprising 1 form private sector and 1 local government institutional representative, who are involved in providing business development services to MSMEs, from each of the 19 provinces along the SEC from Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.
The important criteria for the participants to attend the training are English language proficiency with supportive translation services and commitment to requirements of full attendance and implementation of action plans through stakeholders’ meetings and collection of required information for business database development. 5. Mode of Training
The training will be conducted in a workshop mode where multimedia presentations and lectures will coincide with group work and discussions, case studies and presentations. Demonstrated business and marketing through online database will also be provided. The language of instruction will be in English though participants will be offered simultaneous translations through an audio system. In between training sessions there will be ‘energizers’ to promote collaborative learning. Participants’ involvement would also be there during the reflection session and of the day to understand the effectiveness of training delivery through the representative of Board of Directors selected by the participants themselves.
6. Duration and Location
One-week Mekong regional training program will be held from November 14 to 18, 2016 at the Mekong Institute Residential Training Center, Khon Kaen, Thailand.
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7. Training Content The training will start by introducing the project, it's objectives, planned activities and outcomes. The action plan process which is an important element of the modular training will be introduced to direct the successive training sessions and their outcomes. This will allow trainers to prepare the groundwork, break the ice and give the overview of the training and adult learning principles. In the training, the participants will explore four interrelated modules:
Module 1 Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database Module 2 Growth and Prospect of E-commerce and Scope for SMEs Module 3 Profiling Companies / SMEs, the provinces, technological requirements and CCIs / BAs Module 4 Final Template design
Module 1 Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database
The module one incorporates one afternoon session on the first day of training. The session discusses about the basic concepts of business research and practical ways in searching for required product and service and business development support / investment information. The session will also touch upon smart research around database. The mode of instruction includes powerpoint presentations, interactive discussions and case studies.
Sessions • Objectives of business research • Approach and methodology of business research • Importance of business research • Research process, tools, and techniques • Smart business research with the help of databases
Learning Objectives After the completion of module one, the participants will be able to: • understand the objectives and importance of business research; • grasp different long and quick approaches of research to derive particular product / market ideas and how the research can help in reducing uncertainty and exploring business/ market and / or investment potentials; • comprehend the practical usage of business research; • understand the concepts and methodology of business research; and • understand the importance of interactive database to connect with new clients and market.
Module 2 Growth and Prospect of E-commerce and Scope for SMEs
This module will enhance the participants’ understanding of the trends and roles of e- commerce in growing their businesses. There will be four sessions under this module. The
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first session will touch upon the e-commerce in general and its importance, advantages and also disadvantages. This session will take place on the first training day as the final session. The second session will start as the first session on the second training day. It will introduce the participants with leading e-commerce platforms in the world and the ones that are popular in Thailand. This session will also discuss about the strategy of listing products, online payments system, risks and legal issues in e-commerce. The third session will demonstrate how to prepare to start online shops and register through alibaba.com facilitated by a successful seller and trainer of Alibaba. The fourth session under this module will initiate demonstration of comparable databases developed by MI. The session will also touch upon some of the success stories in e-commerce to in a bid to motivate the participants about the prospect of e-commerce.
Sessions • Introduction of e-commerce: concept, importance, trend, advantages and disadvantages • Introducing to the leading e-commerce platforms in the world and Thailand. o Leading e-commerce platforms in the world and Thailand - trends, market share (trade value and geographic areas), types and key features; o Requirements and /or procedures of different types of e-commerce platform for SMEs; • Tool and techniques to start an e-commerce business o Prepare to start your online shop o Register through Alibaba.com o Tactics for designing and promotion of your own e-shop • Tips for presenting product showcase o Group work: exploring SEC-EWEC-NSEC Database for e-commerce development (MI will facilitate) o Success stories on e-commerce business models
Learning Objectives After the completion of the module two, the participants will be able to: • understand the role of e-commerce in the growth of the SMEs and the importance of SMEs in the volume of trades along the SEC; • be familiar with the leading e-commerce platforms in the world and also in Thailand through demonstration of different requirements and procedures of different types of e-commerce platforms; • understand the legal issues associated with online payment systems; • be able to prepare for starting own online shops; • gain hands on ideas on comparable online database implemented by MI through group work; • promote the prospects and benefits of e-commerce once they are back to their respective provinces to effectively engage stakeholders including provincial SMEs and business providers.
Module 3 Profiling of the provinces, technological requirements and CCIs / BAs
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This module will cover the areas of profiling provinces along the SECs and profiling technology support services appropriate for the SMEs in a particular province. The module covers six sessions: the first session will take place as the final session on the day two. Then two sessions will take place in the morning on the third training day and two sessions in the afternoon on the same day while the remaining session will take place on the fourth training day in the morning. The first session in the module is dedicated to profiling MSMEs in the provinces. The next two sessions are dedicated to provincial profiling where the first session will give the participants an idea about how to group and process information related to a particular province looking into its main products and / or services on offer, market structure and strength of the value chains, export from the region, technology used, logistics and transport system and so on. The second session will be based on group work where the participants will work on their own provinces forming 19 groups in total. At the end, some selected provincial profiles will be discussed with the comments from the facilitator and other participants. The third and fourth sessions will be conducted in the afternoon where the third session will focus on the issues relevant to profiling technology support required for a particular province. Here, focus will be on identifying key products grown / processed / manufactured in the region and the technology involved in primary and secondary processes and handling, storage and transportation which will lead to the agreement on identified technical inadequacy that would be crucial in: scaling up the production, maintaining the quality, reducing the spoilage from improper storage and handling system, reducing the lead time from farm to the point(s) of processing etc. The final session of the fourth day will again facilitate a group work to identify major technical problems in the production / process flow and properly defining and describing that technology support need. The sixth session will be conducted on the fourth day as the first session of the day. In this session the participants will learn about profiling regional business associations including chambers of commerce and sector association that are relevant to a particular province.
Sessions • Profiling MSMEs in the region; • Profiling provinces along the SEC • Profiling technology support services need for the majority of SMEs in the provinces in terms of primary and secondary processes and handling, storage and transportation which will lead to the agreement on identified technical inadequacy; • Profiling regional business associations including chambers of commerce and sector association that are relevant to a particular province.
Learning Objectives After the completion of the module three, the participants will be able to: • Identify and record the key information related to MSMEs in the region; • identify the key information related to a province and summarise the information to develop a template which can later be used a simplified questionnaire to validate the identified provincial features;
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• identify the key information related to a technological support requirement in a particular province and summarise the information to develop a template which can later be used a simplified questionnaire to validate the identified technological features; • identify key associations in a particular province including CCIs and sectoral business associations taking into account their role in the local business and support they offer to the member organisations and the negotiations they lead with the local authorities; • engage with local stakeholders after attending the training to collect necessary information in discussion with the local stakeholders including local authorities, local SMEs and associations and service providers.
Module 4 Final Template Design
This module will cover the key issue of final template design which will be used as the simplified questionnaire for collecting data from the respective provinces to create the profiles of the SMEs, provinces, technology support requirement and the regional CCIs and business associations. After engaging in the group discussion and simple exercises in the precious sessions dedicated to each of the key profiles, participants will now be guided in their group work to finalize the relevant templates in three dedicated sessions on day four where one session will be conducted in the morning and two sessions will be conducted in the afternoon.
8. Interface Session with Seller / Entrepreneur(s) in E-commerce
The interface session with entrepreneurs / seller on e-commerce platforms is accommodate through presentations cum case study and discussion sessions on the day two of the training. Here, participants will have the opportunity to learn from the entrepreneur(s) from real life e-commerce entrepreneur. During these sessions, participants will learn about the practical issues i.e. problems and prospects of e-commerce. Participants will also learn about the impacts the e-commerce made in the respective businesses, and also in the local and regional economy.
Objectives Through these sessions, the participants will have practical discussions about the operational issues with e-commerce, the strategies that were employed in the respective businesses and the overall experience with the clients reached through e-commerce platforms.
9. Action Plan Guidance and Preparation
On the day five of the training, participants will be guided to develop their group-wise action plans in three dedicated sessions. In the two sessions in the morning participants will be facilitated by the in-house experts of the MI to develop the actions plans and in the final session in the afternoon the same day, participants will be required to present their time
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bound action plans keeping in mind the strict time frame the project has allowed to complete the tasks. This module will mostly be group work closely observed and facilitate by MI in-house experts.
10. Training Assignments
As the participants will work in cross-sectoral / organisational groups, this will encourage sharing common challenges and operational difficulties while dealing regional stakeholders to reach agreements and also to collect information. In the meantime, specific assignments will also be given throughout the course. A team comprising of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in business research and data collection, e-commerce, local stakeholder management, reaching and signing agreements with local authorities and business associations, business match-making and investment from the region and MI staff will facilitate the sessions.
11. Curriculum Design & Methodology
The training design is drawn from capacity building needs and tailored to the Mekong regional context. The training is designed to foster greater understanding of the training contents, and to focus on practical knowledge, respect adult learning principles, use real case studies, adopt participative approaches, as well as stimulate sharing and networking among the participants. Interactive experiential learning will be employed here. The training will be delivered in English and will adopt the following methods.
• Lectures and presentations • Plenary discussions, case studies and group exercises • Interface session with entrepreneurs
As required, all training modules are to be drawn from practical experiences and tailored to the needs of stakeholders involved on SME development. It would incorporate concrete actions for follow-up activities after training.
Each training module is designed and delivered using the “Integrated Curriculum” approach. The salient features of this integrated curriculum are that competencies are carefully selected, theoretical concepts with skills practice and essential knowledge are carefully integrated directed at enhanced performance, and above all, various implicit competencies (e.g. facilitation, presentation, and communication, negotiation, and leadership skills) are integrated across the curriculum.
12. Organizational Background and Facilities
12.1 Mekong Institute (MI) MI has been serving the human resource development (HRD) needs of the Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) since 1996. Its mission is to contribute through human resource development and capacity building to the acceleration of sustainable economic and social development and poverty alleviation in the Greater Mekong Sub-region and promote
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regional cooperation and integration. The New Zealand Government conceived the Mekong Institute as a development assistance project for the countries of the GMS, intended to evolve into a regionally governed, autonomous institution. MI is situated on the campus of Khon Kaen University in Northeastern Thailand.
In 2003, the six GMS governments namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and Yunnan province of China, signed a charter founding Mekong Institute as ‘a non-profit, autonomous, international organization, working in close collaboration with other GMS institutions.’ In July 2007, the Thai Government approved the MI Headquarters Agreement in Thailand and recognized the institute as an “intergovernmental organization of the six GMS countries”. The Institute is governed by the MI Council comprised of senior government representatives from the GMS countries. MI operates a Residential Training Centre in Thailand and its Coordinating Agencies in all six GMS countries.
MI partners with several training and research institutions within the region and beyond in order to increase the institute’s capacity to meet the diversified needs of these learning programs provided in the region. At present, MI works with the following partners :
• ADB missions in the GMS countries • Development Finance Network (OEDC DeFiNe), • Economic Research Institute for Trade, • Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India, • Food and Agriculture Organization, • GMS Business Forum, • Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT), • Institute for International Trade and Development, • Israel Agency for International Development Cooperation, • Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency, • Singapore Government, • Thailand International Cooperation Agency (TICA), • United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP)
12.2 MI Residential Training Centre Facilities
The MI Residential Training Centre is located within the Khon Kaen University Campus, the biggest and most beautiful university in Northeast Thailand. The centre is equipped with the following training facilities:
• Three conference rooms fully equipped with audio-visual equipment and training materials; • Four training rooms; • Twenty-four hour wireless internet service for the whole campus; • GMS Learning Resource Center with online access to Khon Kaen University Library; • Hotel services with individual computers, intranet and internet access; • Catering services; and
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• Transportation facilities
13. Contact
Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Director Program Manager Trade and Investment Facilitation Trade and Investment Facilitation Department Department Tel: +66 (0) 43 202 411-2 ext. 4061 Tel: +66 (0) 43 202 411-2 ext. 4081 Fax: +66 (0) 43 343 131 Fax: +66 (0) 43 343 131 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.mekonginstitute.org Website: www.mekonginstitute.org
11.8. Program Schedule
Monday, November 14, 2016 Venue: Mekong River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, MI Annex Building, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator / Venue 07.00 – 08.20 Breakfast @ MI 08.20 – 08.40 Participant Registration Ms. Sasiporn Phuphaploy Program Adm. Assistant, TIF, MI 08.40 – 08.50 Welcome and Opening Remarks Ms. Maria Theresa S. Medialdia (OIC), Director, Agricultural Development and Commercialization (ADC) Department, MI 08.50 - 09.00 • Mekong Institute DVD @ MI presentation 09.00 - 09.10 • Group Photo All Guests and Participants 09.10 - 10.10 • MI Facilities Presentation Mr. Seang Sopheak • Getting to Know Each other Program Coordinator, Trade • Pre-Assessment and Investment Facilitation (TIF) Department, MI 10.10 - 10.30 • Coffee break and individual @ MI photo taking for Participants’ Directory 10.30 - 11.00 • Setting Norms and Expectation Mr. Seang Sopheak • Formation of BOD Program Coordinator, TIF, MI 11.00 - 12.00 • Project Overview: ‘Enhancing Mr. Madhurjya Kumar Dutta Competitiveness of Small and Director, TIF, MI Medium-sized Enterprises in the Southern Economic Corridor of
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ASEAN Mekong Subregion (AMS)’- components, objectives and expected outcomes including database, collaboration with Otagai Forum Association 12.00 - 13.30 Lunch @ MI
Module 1: Basics of Business Research and Facilitation of Trade through Online Database 13.30 - 15.10 • Basic Concept and Objectives of Mr. Quan Anh Nguyen Business Research Program Specialist, TIF, MI 15.10 - 15.30 Coffee break @ MI Module 2: Growth and Prospect of E-commerce and Scope for SMEs 15.30 - 16.40 • Introduction of E-Commerce Ms. Wen Hao Program Coordinator, TIF, MI 16.40 - 17.00 BOD Team Discussion BOD & Organizing Team 17.00 • Campus Tour & Dinner (Self - Ms. Sasiporn Phuphaploy Onwards Payment) Program Adm. Assistant, TIF, • Free Time and Self - Study MI
Tuesday, November 15, 2016 Venue: Mekong River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, MI Annex Building, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator 07.00 – 08.40 Breakfast @ MI 08.40 - 09.00 Recapitulation BOD Team 09.00 - 10.10 • Introduction of the leading e- Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin commerce platforms in Thailand Trader and Trainer, and in the world Alibaba.com 10.10 - 10.30 Coffee break @ MI 10.30 - 12.00 • Introduction of the leading e- Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin commerce platforms in Thailand Trader and Trainer, and in the world (Cont.) Alibaba.com 12.00 - 13.30 Lunch @ MI 13.30 - 15.10 • Introduction of the leading e- Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin commerce platforms in Thailand Trader and Trainer, and in the world (Cont.) Alibaba.com 15.10 - 15.30 Coffee break @ MI 15.30 - 16.40 • Introduction of the leading e- Mr. Pairuch Srinakarin commerce platforms in Trader and Trainer, Thailand and in the world Alibaba.com (Cont.) 16.40 - 17.00 BOD Team Discussion BOD & Organizing Team 17.00 • Dinner (Self - Payment) Participants
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Onwards • Free Time and Self-Study
Wednesday, November 16, 2016 Venue: Mekong River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, MI Annex Building, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator 07:00 - 08:40 Breakfast @ MI 08.40 - 09.00 Recapitulation BOD Team Module 3: Profiling Companies / SMEs, the Provinces, Technological Requirements, and CCIs / BAs 09.00 - 10.10 • Profiling Companies / SMEs Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Program Manager, TIF, MI 10.10 - 10.30 Coffee break MI 10.30 - 12.00 • Profiling Companies / SMEs Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun (Group Exercises) Program Manager, TIF, MI
12.00 - 13.30 Lunch @ MI 13.30 - 15.10 • Profiling Provinces Mr. Reza Patwary • Profiling Provinces (Group Program Specialist, TIF, MI Exercises) 15.10 - 15.30 Coffee break @ MI 15.30 - 16.40 • Profiling Technology Support Mr. Reza Patwary Services Program Specialist, TIF, MI 16.40 - 17.00 BOD Team Discussion BOD & Organizing Team 17.00 • Dinner (Self - Payment) Participants Onwards • Free Time and Self - Study
Thursday, November 17, 2016 Venue: Mekong River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, MI Annex Building, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator 07.00 - 08.40 Breakfast MI 08.40 - 09.00 Recapitulation BOD Team 09.00 - 10.10 • Profiling Technology Support Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Services Program Manager, TIF (Group Exercises) 10.10 - 10.30 Coffee break @ MI 10.30 - 12.00 • Profiling CCIs / BAs Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun • Profiling CCIs / BAs (Group Program Manager, MI, TIF Exercises) 12.00 - 13.30 Lunch @ MI Module 4: Final Template Design 13.30 - 15.10 • Group Exercises: Template Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun
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Design and Query on Companies Program Manager, TIF, MI / SME Profile
• Group Exercises: Template Design and Query on CCIs / BA Profile 15.10 - 15.30 Coffee break @ MI 15.30 - 16.40 • Action Plan Design with Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Timeframe Program Manager, TIF, MI 16.40 - 17.00 BOD Team Discussion BOD & Organizing Team 17.00 • Dinner (Self - Payment) Participants Onwards • Free time and Self - Study
Friday, November 18, 2016 Venue: Mekong River Conference Room, 2nd Floor, MI Annex Building, Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator 07.00 – 08.45 Breakfast @ Hotel 08.45 - 09.00 Recapitulation BOD Team 09.00 - 10.10 • Action Plan Design with Timeframe Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun (Cont.) Program Manager, TIF, MI 10.10 - 10.30 Coffee break @ MI 10.30 - 12.30 • Presentation of Province wise Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun Action Plan Program Manager, TIF, MI 12.30 - 14.00 Lunch @ MI Closing Ceremony 14.00 - 15.30 • Post – assessment Ms. Maria Theresa Medialdia • Final Evaluation (OIC) • Course Report Director, ADC, MI • Awarding of Certificates Mr. Sa-nga Sattanun • Participants’ Speech Program Manager, TIF, MI • Closing Remarks Mr. Toru Hisada Senior Project Coordinator, TIF, MI Mr. Sopheak Seang, Program Coordinator TIF, MI Ms. Sasiporn Phuphaploy Program Adm. Assistant, TIF, MI 15.00 - 15.30 Coffee break @ MI 15.30 - 17.00 • Khon Kaen sightseeing tour Mr. Toru Hisada Senior Project Coordinator, TIF, MI Mr. Sopheak Seang
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Program Coordinator, TIF, MI Ms. Sasiporn Phuphaploy Program Adm. Assistant, TIF, MI 17.00 • Dinner (Self - Payment) Participants Onwards • Free time and Self - Study
Saturday, November 19, 2016 Venue: Mekong Institute, Khon Kaen, Thailand Contents / Sessions Resource Person / Facilitator 07:00 - 08:00 Breakfast @ MI All participants depart for respective destinations.
11.9. Participant’s Directory
Cambodia (16)
Banteay Meanchey (2) Mr. Sokh Sina Banteay Meanchey Mobile: +855 012 571505 Department of Industry and Email: Deputy Director Handicraft [email protected]
Sophy Village, BMC, Cambodia
Mr. Toem Sinna Banteay Meanchey Mobile: +855 178 34283 Chamber of Commerce Email: Secretary bmcchambercommerce@g Banteay Meanchey, mail.com Cambodia
Battambang (2) Ms. Eng Samphors R&D, Tel: +855 779 93288 Vimeansovannaphoum Mobile: +855 124 06049 Business Resort Email: Development Rocheck 4, Rattanak [email protected] Manager Commune, River East Bank Website: Battambang, battambang vimeansovannaphoumresor Province, Cambodia t.com
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Mr. Koeung Battambang Department of Mobile: +855 012 469231 Sokkheng Industry and handicraft Email: [email protected] Chief Office Kompong Krobei Village, om Svaypor commune, Battambang City, Battambang Province
Pursat (2)
Mr. Bun Saoratt Pursat Department of Tel: +855 11 698 666 Commerce +855 16 41 0055 Chief Officer Email: Trade Management Peal NhekII Village Sangak [email protected] Office Phteah Prey, Pursat city, Prusat Province, Cambodia
Ms. Kim Channary Pursat Chamber of Tel: +855 092 569775 Commerce Email: Administrator [email protected]
Kampong Chhnang (2) Mr. Sar Piseth Kampong Chhnang Tel: +855 92 192 692 Department of Industry and E-mail: Chief Officer Handicraft [email protected]
Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia
Mr. Ngoy Sastra Kampong Chhnang Tel: +855 69 464945 Department of Commerce Email: Officer [email protected] Kampong Chhnang Province, Cambodia
Svay Rieng (2) Mr. Chea Sopheara Svay Rieng Department of Tel: +855 096 730 3063
Commerce Email: Finance and Admin [email protected] Officer Rong Ban Le Village, Svay Rieng Town, Cambodia
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Mr. Im Mesa Svay Rieng Department of Tel: +855 97 2211 007 / Industry and Handicraft +855 11 321 007 Chief office of Clean Email: Water, Standard Street No.114, Rongbanlae [email protected] and Metrology Village Sangkat Svay Rieng Supervisor , Svay Rieng city, Svay Rieng Province, Cambodia
Koh Kong (2) Mr. Hor Sinourn Koh Kong Department of Tel: +855 081 888 034 Industry and Handicraft E-mail: Staff [email protected] Koh Kong Province, Cambodia
Mr. Kaov Kimya Koh Kong Chamber of Mobile : +855 15 705097 Commerce Email: Deputy Director [email protected] Phum1, Sangkat Dang Website: Toung, Krong Khemarak Kohkong.ccc.org.kh Phoimin, Koh Kong Province,
Cambodia Preah Sihanouk (2) Ms. Sokha Mardy FASMEC Sihanoukville Tel: +855 077 333 798 Branch Secretary Mobile: +855 081 333 498 Phum3, Sangkat4, Email: Sihanoukville, Cambodia [email protected], [email protected]
Mr. Phorn Rattanak Preah Sihanouk Mobile: +855 93/017 288 Department of Industry and 555 Chief of Office Handicraft Email: [email protected] Village 1, Songkat 1, Preah Sihanouk city / province Kampot (2) Mr. Chamber of Commerce - Mobile : +855 319559966 / CHHON Chhang Kep, Kampot & Takeo +855 12872370 Zone Email: Vice President [email protected] Website: www.palmhousek ep.com
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Mr. Koeng Kampot Department of Tel: +855 12 93 8351 Sonthean Industry and Handicraft Fax: Mobile: Head Officer Khanng Cherng Village, Email: Office Ambel Sangkat Aunding Khmer, [email protected] Kampot City, Kampot Province, Cambodia
Myanmar (2) Tanintaryi Region / Dawei (2) Mr. Zaw Thura Dawei District Fisheries Tel: +95 9254 700 635 Federation Email: Consultant [email protected] No(486) Seikkanthar Road, Talinehtain Quarter, Dawei, Tanintaryi, Myanmar
Mr. Win Naing Tanintharyi Region Chamber Tel: +95 59 21590, 22290 of Commerce and Industry Mebile: +95 09 5199511, Chief Executive (TCCI) +95 450 990 774 Committee (CEC) E-mail: Room (1/2), Top of Mingalar [email protected] Market, U Kyaw Yin Street, West ward, Dawei Tsp, Tanintharyi Region, Myanmar.
Thailand (12) Kanchanaburi (2) Ms. Kanyada Siam Banana Tel: +66 34 659 078 Incharoen Fax: +66 34 659 193 22 Thungsamor Village, E-mail: Panomtuan District, [email protected] Kanchanaburi, Thailand. m
Mr. Paiboon Cooperative Promotion Tel : +66 3 451 1587 Jiratanun Department Fax: +66 3 451 6093 Mobile : 086-891 8359 Senior Professional Kanchanaburi Provincial Email: Level Cooperative Cooperative Promotion [email protected] Technical Officer Office
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Ratchaburi (2) Ms. Wantamat Organic Fruit Product Tel: +66 83 160 4265 Tantrarak Ratchaburi Thailand Email: ratchaburi.organics@gmail. Gardener Bangpae, Ratchaburi com 70160, Website: Thailand www.fruitratchaburi.com
Mr. Wichai Promyou Ratchaburi Provincial Tel: +66 32 31 5404 Agricultural Extension +66 89 254 5344 Agricultural Office Fax: +66 32 31 5059 Extortionist E-mail: Udomsirt Road, Amphoe [email protected] Production Mueang, Ratchaburi, Promotion and 70000, Product Thailand.
Management Group Prachinburi (2) Nakham Organic Rice Tel: +66 95 890 7890 Community Enterprise E-mail: Mr. Somchay nakham.organicrice@gmail. Leahasingha 71/1 Moo 3, Nakham com Kabinburi, Prachinburi, 25110, Thailand.
Prachinburi Chamber of Tel: +66 86 8415627 Mr. Kriangyos Commerce +66 81 751 551 Tongchoung Email:
156/7 Moo 7 Kokmailai Sub [email protected]
district, Suwanasorn Road,
Muang Prachinburi District,
Prachinburi, Thailand
25230 Sa – Kaeo (2) Ms. Aoytip Jumjod Aromatic Herb Cooperative Tel: +66 82 211 2399 Sakaeo Email: [email protected] 543, Suwannasorn Rd., Baan Nong Nok Kao, Tha Ka-sem Sub-District, Muang District, Sa-Kaeo Province, Thailand. Ms. Waraporn Community Development Tel: +66 80 256 1802 Khaigon Sa-Kaeo District Office Email: [email protected] Suwannasorn Road, Taka- sem Sub district, Muang District, Sa-kaeo, Thailand
Chanthaburi (2)
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Ms. Kanita Chanthaburi Provicial Tel : +66 39 326093 Petchakong Cooperative Promotion Mobile: +66 96 564 2132 Office Email: Cooperative [email protected] Academic Special
The Promotion and Development of Cooperative Business Ms. Preechaya Makham Agricultural Tel : +66 39 389 095 Petkong Co.,Ltd. Fax: +66 39 389 363 Email: Cooperative Officer 229/2 M.1, Makham sub- [email protected] district, Makham District, Product Integrate Chanthaburi, 22150, Department Thailand
Trat (2) Mr. Nijtawat Office of Commercial Tel: +66 39 511 283 Pakdeepasit Affairs Trat Fax: +66 39 520 023 Email: Government Officer 322/1 Moo. 8, Mueng [email protected] District, Trat Province, Thailand
Mr. Subin Ko Kut Ao Phrao Beach Tel: +66 39-525211-2 Boondaeng Fax: +66 39 525 213 Resort Mobile: +66 89 7481 907 Owner Email: 45/37 Tesaban 5 Road, [email protected] Muang, Trat 23000 Thailand
Vietnam (4) Tay Ninh (2) Mr. Ha Chi Mang Agriculture Cooperative Tel: +84 913 955070 Thanh Tan Custard Apple E-mail: Director [email protected] Alley No.10 Thanh Trung Hanler, Tanh Tan Ward, Tayninh City, Tayninh Province, Vietnam
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Mr. Le Khanh Trinh Trade Promotion, Tay Ninh Tel: +84 66 3813794
Trade Promotion Center Mobile: +84 913 884035 Deputy Director E-mail: 304 Cach Mang Thang Tam [email protected] Street, Ward 2, Tay Ninh City, Tay Ninh Province, Vietnam
Ca Mau (1) Mr. Nguyen Le Thai Business Association of Ca Mobile: +84 946 800094 Mau Province Email : Secretary General [email protected] 99, Phan Ngoc Hein Street, Ward 5, Ca Mau City, Ca Mau Province, Vietnam
Can Tho (1) Ms. Vo Thi Thu VCCI Can Tho Tel: +84 710 3819091 / Huong +84 710 3819003 12 Hoa Binh, Ninh Kieu, Fax: +84 710 3819003 Vice Director Can Tho City, Vietnam Mobile: +84 908 149631 Email: [email protected]
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