Asean regional (ASEAN)

The project - to be implemented by Technonet Asia, the Asian Institute of Management (AIM), and the Institute for Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) - focuses on management and technical training and problem-related technology transfer and research. In training activities, Technonet will conduct 4-week regional and local technical workshops on such industry-related problems as foundry technology, machining, and sheet metal fabrication, and will also conduct local workshops in entrepreneur development. AIM will develop new curricula and materials for 3-week training programs for SMB owners/operators in basic management skills such as finance, marketing, and technology application. Outputs include 7 management training courses for 210 individuals and 12 technical courses for 360 persons. Using its network of participating organizations in each ASEAN country, Technonet TA (60 person-months) will provide 200 requesting SMB"s with technical consultancies or technical information. Technonet experts will be deployed onsite, often assisting several firms in the same sector, and specialized technical information and manuals will be disseminated. Technonet will also expand its participating organization network to foster closer collaboration among SMB"s and business associations, small business federations, and the U.S. private sector. ISEAS will conduct 10 macroeconomic and sector-specific studies on constraints to SMB development in the region and will disseminate research results to help SBM"s improve their training and other services. Research areas already identified include cost savings; improved access to institutional credit and TA; improved linkages between larger enterprises and SMB"s; wider SMB participation in the economic mainstream; dispersal of SMB assistance efforts to nonmetropolitan areas; and creation of greater employment opportunities within SMB"s. Pre-research workshops will be held to ensure that research is restricted to high priority topics.