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Organized by the Asia Pacific Women’s Information Network Center (APWINC) from March 14th to 15th March in Seoul, Republic of Korea, the Action Plan Workshop mobilized delegates from ASEAN member states to discuss and develop their action plans for the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Project on “Enhancing Digital Economy Participation for ASEAN Women Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs),” also known als the “IDEAS Project.” 

The workshop aimed to establish the Action Plans for each implementing institution and local consultant of the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Project. These plans will serve as a milestone for their project implementation until 2026, and develop closer working relationships to jointly address methods of cooperation to accelerate the digital economy participation of ASEAN women.

A total of 49 stakeholders were gathered for this workshop, including 30 delegates from 14 local implementing institutions of ASEAN Member States (Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam), 10 local consultants, and representatives from ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund and ASEAN Secretariat. 

In particular, the Workshop provided a close networking session for the delegates of implementing institutions and local consultants of each country to facilitate the dialogue and strengthen national cooperation as they work towards enhancing digital participation for ASEAN women-owned MSMEs of their own country.

“The Action Plan was a great opportunity for me to solidify the core objectives of the project and engage in peer learning,” said one of the participants of the Workshop. She added, “I expect that strengthening the capacity of ASEAN MSMEs owned by women entrepreneurs to participate in the digital economy will ultimately help ASEAN states’ economic growth.” 

The executive director of APWINC, Dr. Jungin Jo said at the opening ceremony, “The Covid-19 pandemic impinged on ASEAN women entrepreneurs but also increased the opportunity for online business participation due to higher digital accessibility. Yet, women entrepreneurs still face societal barriers,”. She additionally emphasized, “The ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Project can provide a growth engine to increase the digital competitiveness of ASEAN women entrepreneurs who own small and medium businesses and contribute to strengthening ASEAN e-Business capacity.” In addition, she encouraged the delegates’ active participation, saying, “Investing for women is the wisest investment, and if women become the main players, the entire country can change.”

Meanwhile, the APWINC, with support from the implementing institutions of the Project, will mobilize 200 potential e-Business trainers and hold ‘Training of Trainers (ToT)’ in July in Seoul, Republic of Korea. 

The “Enhancing Digital Economy Participation for ASEAN Women Micro-, Small-, and Medium-sized Enterprises (MSMEs) Project,” or “IDEAS Project,” is a 5-year project (2022-2026), funded by the ASEAN-Korea Cooperation Fund (AKCF), and implemented by APWINC, one of the UNESCO Chair in Communication Technology for Women. The project aims to build the e-business capacity of ASEAN women entrepreneurs and benefit 14 local implementing institutions, 255 local e-business experts, and 4,002 female MSMEs in ASEAN countries.