Promotion of the Technology Transfer Network for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises in the Asia and the Pacific Region

Vijh R¹*

1. United Nations- Asia and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (UN-APCTT) New Delhi, India

The liberalization and globalization of the economies in the countries of the Asian and Pacific region have exposed the region’s small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs) to the simultaneous challenges of innovation-led growth and competition. To prepare SMEs for increasing domestic and global competition, policy makers are devising and implementing new strategies and support programmes. The emphasis is shifting from the physical aspects of modernization to promoting strategic alliances and networking for technical innovation, technology acquisition and technology management.

Most SMEs in the region still have difficulty in sourcing, assessing, and acquiring technologies. It is, therefore, pertinent to strengthen institutional support mechanisms thereby complementing national SME support programmes. Of particular importance in this respect is intra-regional technology and information exchange.

APCTT has initiated steps to establish an IT-powered technology transfer network for SMEs and intermediaries in member countries, in cooperation with relevant agencies, with the goal of promoting regional cooperation through strengthening technology transfer mechanisms and capabilities to achieve sustainable development in the Asia Pacific region.

The network is expected to enhance the capacity of institutions/intermediaries in member countries to deliver technology transfer services in order to contribute to the improvement of the competitiveness of SMEs and to accelerate adoption of Environmentally Sounds Technologies. The target groups of beneficiaries are business users; developers of online business solutions; business development, education and training organizations.

Sector-specific activities in selected priority areas would also need to be pursued more intensively, including the pro-active identification of the technology needs of industrial clusters.

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