The growing digitalisation is offering unprecedented opportunities for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). It is providing innovative solutions for several traditional constraints that MSMEs have been facing for a long time. For example, E-commerce platforms are allowing MSMEs to access a wider customer base and export markets without spending huge amounts on logistics. The next-generation technologies also have the potential to facilitate MSME integration in Global Value Chains by simplifying cumbersome custom procedures. However, gains for MSMEs from the ongoing wave of digitalisation are not automatic. In fact, given the prevailing digital divide, financial constraints and lack of capacity, MSMEs are often most disadvantaged and vulnerable to shocks emanating from digital transition. It has been recognised that if left to the market alone, MSMEs may lose their competitiveness due to the rapid digitalisation of society. As MSMEs are at the forefront of employment generation in India and ASEAN, the lack of digitisation among MSMEs threatens to accentuate the economic inequalities, making the digital transformation socially more painful. Against this backdrop, this session will explore the challenges facing MSMEs in India and in the ASEAN regions, and suggest areas of collaboration to promote MSME development and digitalisation.
Dr Amit Kapoor chased the session on “Digitisation and MSME Development” at the 8th Roundtable of the ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT), jointly organized by the ASEAN-India Centre at RIS, New Delhi, and the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore. The 8th AINTT roundtable will bring together prominent thought leaders, scholars, policymakers, and business leaders from the region to engage in in-depth discussions on critical areas, including Connectivity and Regional Value Chains, Green Energy Transition, Digitalization and MSME Development, Fintech and Cross-Border Digital Payments, and the International Rule of Law. Over two days, this event will explore new pathways for ASEAN-India cooperation.
H.E. Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, Foreign Minister of Singapore, and H.E. Dr S. Jaishankar, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister, Government of India deliver a Special Address and Keynote Address at the Roundtable.
The details can be looked at https://www.iseas.edu.sg/mec-events/8th-roundtable-of-asean-india-network-of-think-tanks/
