JAKARTA, 14 October 2021 – Today, the “Social Entrepreneurship as a Path to Resilient Post-COVID-19 Recovery” Regional Webinar was held to discuss the role of social enterprises in the region’s recovery effort from COVID-19 pandemic.

Following the COVID-19 outbreak, there is strong momentum to support more inclusive and sustainable growth. According to Dato’ Suriani Binti Dato’ Ahmad, the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (ACCMSME) Chair and Secretary-General of Malaysia’s Ministry of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives (MEDAC), the pandemic is an opportunity for governments in the region to reassess their policies and move towards resilient and sustainable recovery.

Social entrepreneurship has been supported around the world. In ASEAN, the social entrepreneurship ecosystem varies, with the ecosystem in some ASEAN Member States more mature than in others. 

The webinar featured a panel discussion on sharing good practices on the implementation of social entrepreneurship policies and programmes in ASEAN and several ASEAN Member States, specifically Malaysia and Thailand, as well as in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. 

 “Since 2016, Canada has partnered with the OECD to build a more integrated, competitive, resilient, and innovative ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) through more effective and coordinated SME policies,’’ said Vicky Singmin, Counsellor at the Mission of Canada to ASEAN, in her opening remarks.

OECD Policy Analyst Max Bulakovsky moderated the panel discussion. The panellists included Syahirah binti Hamidon, Undersecretary of the Policy and International Relations Division, MEDAC; Sudarat Rojphongkasem, General Manager of the Social Enterprise Thailand Association; and Barnev Theodore Soukotta, Project Coordinator of the ASEAN Social Enterprise Development Programme, ASEAN Foundation.

At the webinar, OECD introduced the Better Entrepreneurship Policy Tool (BEPT), an online self-assessment and learning tool targeted to people designing and implementing inclusive and social entrepreneurship policies and programmes. Through guidance notes, case studies and self or group assessments, the tool can help policymakers and stakeholders understand how best to support inclusive and social entrepreneurship.

“To support systemic change, policymakers should develop enabling ecosystems that help social enterprises thrive and grow. The Better Entrepreneurship Tool is a tool which was developed in collaboration with the EU specifically to facilitate this task, and the OECD stands ready to support”, said Antonella Neya, Head of the OECD Social Economy and Innovation Unit. Gabriella Gandel, Executive Director of the Impact Hub Network, provided first-hand account of the Network’s experience in utilising the tool.

The regional webinar was an activity of the ACCMSME, organised in cooperation with the OECD and supported by Canada through the Canada-OECD Project for ASEAN SMEs (COPAS).

ACCMSME is the sectoral body under the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) pillar coordinating MSME development in the region guided by the ASEAN Strategic Action Plan for SME Development 2016 – 2025.

Click here for further information on the MSME development agenda in ASEAN.