OSMEP Launches the New Mobile Application “SME CONNEXT” Bringing Thai SME Entrepreneurs onto the Digital Platform and Establishing the National Business Foundation under the Born-Digital Concept

          OSMEP launches a new mobile application "SME CONNEXT" on the slogan "One Click for SME", expecting to promote Thai SME entrepreneurs in the 4.0 era under the Born-Digital concept with the use of digital platforms as means of mobilizing Thai SME business to ensure strong business growth and capacity development for future international competition. OSMEP aims to offer this application as a channel of communication to disseminate news, information, activities and benefits as well as to provide over 3 million Thai SME entrepreneurs as well as potential business owners across the country with the opportunity to strengthen and grow their business.
          Mr. Suwanchai Lohawatanakul, Director-General of the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP), reveals that the government has given precedence to the promotion of small and medium enterprises by including the SME promotion in the national agenda. According to the 2017 survey, there were 3,004,679 SME entrepreneurs in total, which increased with the growth rate of 1.3% over the previous year, and this number was 99.8% of all enterprises across the country. There were 3,028,495 small enterprises and 18,298 medium enterprises, which were in line with the total number of 12,155,647 employed workers or the 2017 SME employment rate of 82.2% of total national employment. This reflected that SMEs were mechanisms that connected economic activities in all business cycles and that they served as the essential foundation of Thai economic system.
          "Nowadays, technology plays an important role in the business world in terms of cost reduction, production optimization and trade communication channel, resulting in fast and effective setup of new businesses. Due to the OSMEP's realization of the importance of technology, various digital platforms have been developed and implemented to support and mentor SME entrepreneurs. For the application "SME CONNEXT" which is launched today, the OSMEP expects that the application will be a complete resource for SME entrepreneurs as it comes under the slogan "SME CONNEXT … One Click for SME." The application will serve as a channel of communication to disseminate news, information, knowledge, activities and benefits as well as provide SME entrepreneurs with the opportunity to strengthen and grow their business."
          In addition, SME CONNEXT will help enhance the capability and competitiveness of SME entrepreneurs and strengthen the business growth amidst the changing world of technology under the born-digital concept. This digital platform will mobilize the businesses of four entrepreneur groups, including start-up entrepreneurs, regular entrepreneurs, strong entrepreneurs and potential entrepreneurs. The OSMEP Director-General also adds that the born-digital concept will create new business models in response to social needs as the promotion of manufacturing innovation and the unlimited creativity of Thai people can help propel the business forward and add distinctive features to the business, especially for start-ups. The born-digital concept, therefore, focuses on SME entrepreneurs and start-up entrepreneurs who use technology as essential tools to develop their business, build their business capability and improve their business competitiveness. As a result, they will be ready to enter the international market in the future. 
          In 2018, the number of SME entrepreneurs tends to increase gradually as today's young generations are interested in becoming entrepreneurs, technology advancement makes business operation run smoothly, and SMEs have been supported by the government and all stakeholders. In 2019, the government will give precedence to micro SMEs, bringing about an increase in the number of entrepreneurs in Thailand.
          SME CONNEXT consists of 5 sections: Section 1 News serves as a channel of communication to directly and promptly receive news and updates from OSMEP as well as Thai and foreign SME entrepreneurs; Section 2 Knowledge provides essential information useful for SME entrepreneurs and their business; Section 3 Activities publicizes related events and activities, such as exhibitions, trainings and seminars, conducted by OSMEP as well as other government and private sectors; Section 4 Business gives SME entrepreneurs the opportunity to grow their business by creating an up-to-date business or company profile to be included in the directory of SME entrepreneurs as well as to be conveniently and efficiently connected with other entrepreneurs anytime; Section 5 Benefits informs the members of all member privileges granted by OSMEP, such as loans and subsidies. The membership is divided into 4 categories based on the information provided by members as follows: 
          1) Bronze Member – a member who provides his/her first name, last name and email address.
          2) Silver Member – a member who completes Part 1 of OSMEP's Registration Form. 
          3) Gold Member – a member who completes all parts of OSMEP's Registration Form. 
          4) Platinum Member – a member who completes all parts of OSMEP's Registration Form and responds to the survey. 
          Gold and Platinum members can choose to participate in any activities free of charge by clicking on the activities they are interested in. The confirmation email will be sent to the given email address. In the future, QR codes will be used to give access to the activities and events. 
          The goal of this launch event is to publicize SME CONNEXT to SME entrepreneurs and people who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs across the country. Using this mobile application, the users can apply for a membership which will provide them with news and updates on OSMEP's activities as well as other benefits. Besides, SME CONNEXT will serve as a substantial hub for entrepreneurs nationwide to seek information useful for their business analysis and planning. This application will be able to systematically support the entrepreneurs by addressing their needs more directly in the future. 
          If you wish to become an entrepreneur in the future, you can now apply for an SME CONNEXT membership free of charge. SME CONNEXT for smartphones and tablets is available on both AppStore and Play Store. By opening the application and filling up the membership registration form, the whole SME business world will be in your hands as stated in the slogan "SME CONNEXT … One Click for SME."