No.4 December 2007
Column | Interview | Feature Story | Best Practices | Opinion | Center News
Column
Changing Business Environment of SMEs in the Era of Globalization
Won-Gyu Hwang

It is widely agreed that small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are the backbone of modern market economies, thus play an important role particularly in developing countries. In most countries, SMEs are the dominant form of business organizations, accounting for over 90% of the business population, and they play a key role in driving sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Given their huge number and large share of the workforce, virtually all governments carry out a variety of programs and support measures for the development of SMEs. The potential of SMEs' contribution to growth and development is a point that has not been neglected in many countries, at least in official side. In reality, however, SMEs in many developing countries are left helpless from the global
Networking for Synergy, Survival and Growth
Dr. Arnulfo F. Itao

Henry Ford once said, "Coming together is a beginning, working together is progress, keeping together is a success." Based on our experience, this is really a gem of wisdom. We had the opportunity of working with networks and of helping establish others in the context of our development work.

A network can be described as a "formal or informal cooperation between three or more organizations with a common interest to reach a certain, implicitly or explicitly formulated, common goal together." Networking can be defined as "the process resulting from the conscious efforts of certain social actors to build relationships with each other to enhance the performance" (P. Engel, The social organization of innovation, 1997).? The definition i
Interviews with innovative SMEs
Dreaming the World No.1 through Dispersed Computing Technology and Collaborative Relations: Peering Portal

There was a fast growing Korean venture company, having been selected as one of the 'Asian Top 10 Techno Visionary' released by ZDNet U.S. in 2006, and as 100 Asian corporations designated Red Herring in 2007, one of reputable IT magazines. In this article, we'll look at the fundamental technologies of Peering Portal, which have resulted in the investments into the rapidly growing company and we will hear their plans for the future, along with the successful establishment of cooperative relations with other businesses.

Grid Delivery Technology

In 2001, Han, Bong Woo, CEO of Peering Portal, and the Parallel Processing Team of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at Seoul National University establ

Feature Stories
Technonet Asia: Network for Sharing Technology for SMEs
Dr. Arnulfo F. Itao

In the early 1970s, with the computer desktop and the internet not yet invented, development organizations promoting small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in several countries in Asia were hard pressed to seek avenues to acquire, share and exchange soft and hard technologies. At that time, the words globalization, innovation and ICT were certainly not the buzz words. Technical cooperation among developing countries (TCDC) was just starting to be in vogue. Many SME support organizations in developing countries were looking for development models and best practices for partnership on institutional capacity building.? There were no big cooperation partners. ASEAN was beginning to take off in earnest; and APEC did not exist.

In recognition of a felt need for a common forum to
Best Practices
Japan: SME Support Centers

Overview

The Japanese government has foremost comprehensive and extensive policy measures for SMEs innovations and competitiveness acquirements. The financial supports are enormous in a way that governmental direct loans consist of more than 10% of total outstanding lending to SMEs in Japan. Financial guarantees for SMEs liabilities are more than 10 times of direct loans. However, management consulting services are the area where the Japanese government has recently put its policy a priority. The government even dispatches fulltime-hired-specialists and consultants to SMEs in a specified time period. The management and technology consultation public services for SMEs in Japan should be considered as the most systematic and the most comprehensive policy measures

Opinion
Description and Case Studies of the United States Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR)
Harvey Bronstein

Overview

SBIR provides innovation funding for small businesses (SMEs) interested in helping the U.S. government fulfill its research and development needs. The program is financed by funding from 11 U.S. federal government ministries and agencies, which reserve a portion of their research and development (R&D) funds for SMEs. It is intended to allow SMEs to explore their technological potential and provide the incentive to profit from commercialization.

SBIR targets the entrepreneurial sector because that is where innovation and innovators often thrive. However, the risk and expense of conducting R&D are often beyond the means of most SMEs. B
Dear 'APEC SME Innovation Briefing' Readers,
Simona Marzetti

It is a pleasure and a honour for me, in my role of Secretary General, to have an opportunity to introduce to you the organisation I represent, the International Network for Small and Medium Sized Enteprises-INSME (www.insme.org).
Set up in 2004, based in Rome, Italy, INSME is a non for profit international organisation which aims to promote transnational cooperation and public private partnership to foster innovation in SMEs to improve their competitiveness. Our slogan is: "Making Innovation Happen".
The Network has grown till now up to 77 Members in 30 countries i
Support for SME Innovations in Hong Kong
Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC)

Innovation and technology are essential elements in enhancing an economy's productivity and competitiveness. In Hong Kong, over 98% of the business establishments are SMEs and their business performance are of crucial importance to the development of Hong Kong's economy. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government attaches great importance to encouraging SMEs to develop innovative ideas and new technologies through a wide range of supportive measures. In the long run, it is our goal to develop Hong Kong as a regional innovation and technology service hub.

INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY FUND

The Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) is an
Center News
APEC SMEIC and INSME Signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MOU) on SMEs 2007-12-31
APEC SMEIC published a guidebook for SME innovation policy makers 2007-12-31
The Audience Has Given Very Favorable Response to Korean SME Technology Commercialization Policy and Cases 2007-12-31
2007 APEC SME Innovation Leader Workshop (November 6 to 15, 2007) 2007-12-31
No.4 December 2007 (www.apec-smeic.org) Contact : apec@tipa.or.kr