Enhancing business opportunities for micro, small and medium sized enterprises (MSMEs) of Lao People’s Democratic Republic in China and peer learning between Lao People’s Democratic Republic and selected neighbouring country
Reference
PDF-SDG-2023-11
Implementing Entity/ies
ITC
Collaborating Partners
National governments, ASEAN-China Centre, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), Alibaba Group, Department of Commerce of Yunnan Province, China, Department of Commerce of Guangxi Province, China, SME Finance Forum
Duration
June 2024 – May 2026
Location
Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Thailand
Approved Budget
$ 795,699
Description
MSMEs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic lack business matchmaking opportunities with Chinese partners, exacerbating economic challenges post-COVID-19. Despite recovery efforts, factors like currency depreciation and labor shortages hinder growth. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic-China railway and RCEP offer trade opportunities, but MSMEs struggle with market access, quality standards compliance, and trade barriers. Well-organized business matchmaking at trade fairs and capacity-building initiatives can enhance MSMEs' export capabilities. Compliance with cross-border regulations, capacity constraints, and market access barriers present additional challenges for MSMEs' integration into global value chains.
The project will contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, mitigation of vulnerability (especially for females) and job creation in Lao People’s Democratic Republic by enhancing MSMEs’ export competitiveness to China. It will provide business matchmaking opportunities and capacity building to MSMEs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The project will contribute to identify the bottlenecks faced by the MSMEs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic and organize specific trade promotion activities to better utilize the trade opportunities provided by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic-China Railway and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) framework. The project will also analyse the trade impact of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic-China railway and trade facilitation measures to Thailand; and the export potential of Thailand to the Chinese market will also be assessed as much as possible.
The project will contribute to inclusive and sustainable economic growth, mitigation of vulnerability (especially for females) and job creation in Lao People’s Democratic Republic by enhancing MSMEs’ export competitiveness to China. It will provide business matchmaking opportunities and capacity building to MSMEs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic. The project will contribute to identify the bottlenecks faced by the MSMEs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic and organize specific trade promotion activities to better utilize the trade opportunities provided by the Lao People’s Democratic Republic-China Railway and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) framework. The project will also analyse the trade impact of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic-China railway and trade facilitation measures to Thailand; and the export potential of Thailand to the Chinese market will also be assessed as much as possible.