Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as well as micro-enterprises represent a huge amount of all businesses around the world. They employ many people and are a driver for growth, innovation, and competition in various economic sectors. If well interlinked with national, regional, and/or global value chains, they can play vital roles to generate job creation and development; therefore, they are especially important for developing and strengthening economies. However, SMEs often lack the capacity to compete with multi-national companies or finding enough funding sources for their businesses.
To support the development of SMEs, governments, organisations and institutions around the world have set up SME Service Centers, to gather information of respective policies, business opportunities, standards, market access and more. In doing so, they provide SMEs with guidance and capacity-building trainings on legal questions, trade processes or finance structures.
The GIZ SCSI Programme aims to improve SME inclusion in regional cooperation and integration processes in Asia. The focus thereby lies on improving agricultural export procedures from Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Vietnam to China. To further accompany ongoing interventions, SCSI regularly compiles overviews on available online support sources for private sector development. The following list gathers information on SME Service Centers in the region as well as additional examples to introduce good practices and respective support structures.
1. China SME Online
2. China Association of SME
3. SUCCESS-Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs
4. HKTDC SME Centre
5. SME Centre @ SCCCI
6. SME Portal Enterprise Singapore
7. Tokyo SME Support Center
8. USA.gov Small Business
9. EU SME Centre
10. ASEAN SME Service Center
1. China SME Online
The China SME Online is a public service website backed by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. Through the online trade and business community service platform, the website provides business information, online transactions, business development and other services for Chinese SMEs, and has become the service platform with the highest attention and the largest number of visits among domestic SMEs. Currently, China SME Online has more than 20 large-scale channels and over 500 columns. It publishes a large amount of commercial information on a daily basis, and undertakes activities on behalf of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), such as the survey on growing SMEs, SME-related exhibitions, information training on SMEs etc.
2. China Association of SMEs
The China Association of SMEs is a non-profit group composed of SMEs and large enterprises which support the development of SMEs and well-known experts and scholars. It serves as a bridge between government and enterprises and tries to create a suitable environment for the development of SMEs. The association provides a series of services for SMEs, such as investment information, trainings, certifications, exhibitions and policy analysis, all of which can be accessed on its website.
3. SUCCESS-Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs
Under the government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the Support and Consultation Centre for SMEs (SUCCESS) is run by the Trade and Industry Department in collaboration with various industrial and trade organisations, professional bodies, private enterprises and other Government departments to provide SMEs with business information and consultation services free of charge.
The functions of the centre include:
(1) Information on government licenses or permits for running different types of businesses and starting a business in Hong Kong; (2) Information on SME-related activities, services and facilities; (3) Free access to electronic business databases; (4) Operate a Reference Library which provides a wide collection of business reference materials; (5) Organise seminars and workshops to help broaden SMEs’ business knowledge and enhance their entrepreneurial skills; (6) Provide business advisory service and publicise the “SME Pulse” regularly.
4. HKTDC SME Centre
Located at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) SME Centre provides SMEs with various business resources, such as business contacts, up-to-date information on overseas markets, or latest industry trends. The centre is equipped with a comprehensive business library, meeting areas, function rooms, and state-of-the-art facilities. An array of workshops, business matching and networking activities are also held at the HKTDC SME Centre throughout the year to help you gain new business contacts and grow your business.
5. SME Centre @ SCCCI
The SME Centre @ SCCCI is a collaboration between Enterprise Singapore and the Singapore Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCCI). It provides holistic general business advisory and capability development services to local SMEs and aspiring entrepreneurs.
Its services are broadly classified as follows:
(1) One-to-one business advisory to address business needs and issues; (2) One-to-one productivity advisory to identify gaps for improvement; (3) Themed workshops to facilitate exchange of knowledge and ideas for capability development; (4) Business diagnostic services and group-based diagnostic workshops.
6. SME Portal Enterprise Singapore
Serving the business community since 2006, the SME Portal has been enhanced over the years to meet the changing needs of SMEs in Singapore. Through collaborations between Enterprise Singapore, government agencies and over 30 industry partners, the portal offers government and commercial information and services for SMEs at various business stages. This includes centralised information on government assistance schemes, industry insights and exclusive offers on business solutions. The Portal also serves as a point of access to key government e-services such as GeBiz Alerts and other commercial resources.
7. Tokyo SME Support Center
The Tokyo Metropolitan SME Center is a public-interest corporation established by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government for promoting the business development of SMEs in the city. It supports SMEs in various business fields to meet their levels of growth. To connect SMEs to global value chains, the Tokyo Trade Center, one of the center’s divisions, is responsible for comprehensive support of SMEs in terms of their internationalisation.
8. USA.gov Small Business
USA.gov is an official website of the United States of America Government to create and organise timely needed government information and services and make them accessible to the public. The “Small Business” page under this website provides a series of necessary information about starting a small business, such as getting financing help from the government and filing business taxes.
9. EU SME Centre
The EU SME Centre is an European Union (EU) initiative that provides a comprehensive range of hands-on support services to European SMEs, getting them ready to do business in China.
The team of experts provides advice and support in four areas – business development, law, standards and conformity and human resources. Collaborating with external experts worldwide, the Centre converts valuable knowledge and experience into practical business tools and services are easily accessible online, from first-line advice to in-depth technical solutions.
10. ASEAN SME Service Center
With the establishment of the ASEAN Community by the end of 2015, ASEAN has paid more attention to SMEs in the region. The ASEAN SME Service Center provides information and services on productivity, technology, innovation, market access, internationalization, finance, policy, human capital development etc. Latest trends and activities related to SMEs in the ASEAN region can also be found in the website.