AIM Spearheads 2013 Performance in Asia Conference in Cebu

The Asian Institute of Management (AIM) organized the 2013 Enterprise Performance in Asia Conference held in Cebu last November 7-9 at the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Resource speakers from the government sector, business, bank, non-government organizations and the academe shed light on the topic to the attendees.

One of the salient discussions during the three-day conference was on giving emphasis on the Philippine MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) to be given close consideration, to attain inclusive growth in the upcoming ASEAN Economic Community (SEC) which is poised on 2015.

Dr. Juzhoung Zhuang, deputy chief economist of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said that improving access to finance, providing support for technology marketing and training, and addressing constraints in broad growth for MSME can sustain its development.

AIM President Dr. Steven DeKrey on the other hand said that creating an inclusive growth needs MSMEs to play a bigger role to drive the country’s economy to heights.

Jay Mitra likewise, professor of the University of Essex–Essex Business School, mentioned that MSMEs are considered global though small in size, since they maximize the economy.

In the Southeast Asian region, MSMEs contribute a lot to the economy as it is said to employ 50 to 99 percent of the total workforce. The industry also makes a contribution of between 32 to 77 percent of the total domestic output in the respective economies in the region.