Keep creativity support, urge SMEs
Small and medium-sized enterprises want the government to continue support for product creativity development as well as put more emphasis on helping them approach sources of funding to survive in the uncertain economic situation.
The Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) in 2011 got a budget of Bt60 million from the previous government to organise the project aimed at developing prototype creativity products and seeking markets for SMEs.
The budget for 2012 is yet to be approved by Parliament, as the new government first had to tackle the flood crisis, after being in power for only two months, hence it has not had time to consider the central budget.
Sutthikan Masamran, OSMEP’s director for project administration and coordination, said proposals for the project in 2012 were before the Budget Bureau. It is uncertain whether the project can be continued.
“The government has a policy to continue supporting the creative-economy policy. We’re hopeful that the project to help SMEs develop creativity in their products can be further supported,” she said.
Under the project, from January to September, OSMEP collaborated with five universities in each region to help SMEs develop prototype products from their existing ones.
Chiang Mai University handled SMEs operating in the North, Silapakorn University in the Northeast, Chulalongkorn University in the East, Kasetsart University in the Central region, and Prince of Songkhla University in the South. Sixty SMEs from all five regions have been screened from more than 100 to join the project.
All of them have their own businesses, but they want to develop their products further and find new markets.
Sutthikan said the project was aimed at helping SMEs improve their knowledge on developing and manufacturing products, followed by seeking new markets for them.
Financial support is not included in the project. OSMEP has organised training, with experts from the business sector transferring their knowledge, sharing their experience, and giving updated information about the market both domestically and internationally to SMEs joining the project.
After the prototype products are developed, OSMEP will make a catalogue, which the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will translate into English before distributing to Thai embassies in the targeted markets.
“Thai SMEs have their own knowledge. We’ve just helped them to extend their knowledge,” she said.
Pumipak Sanyong, executive director of 3-D Art, a maker of three-dimensional picture frames for export, said he had operated his business for 10 years, which is doing well in the export market. However, the company’s designers have had limited scope. Even taking them abroad to study those markets did not help much. Hence he decided to join the project handled by OSMEP.
