Commerce Ministry to open ‘New Economy Academy’ for start-ups
THE COMMERCE Ministry has announced a “New Economy Academy” (NEA), the government’s first ever training institute for the private sector, to strengthen start-ups as well as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Commerce Minister Apiradi Tantraporn said the institute would provide training courses for enterprises free of charge as the government wanted to promote strong business growth.
The establishment of the NEA resulted from Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak’s visit to Alibaba’s head office in China, where the company has successfully trained small enterprises in many provinces to trade online.
Apiradi said the NEA would be located at the International Trade Promotion Department’s office on Ratchadaphisek Road in Bangkok. The academy will also house a call centre to provide consultation to SMEs and start-up enterprises.
The institute will cooperate with educational institutes to provide training programmes for enterprises on doing businesses in the “digital economy” era. Enterprises will be encouraged to adopt new technology.
The Board of Trade of Thailand, the Federation of Thai Industries and the Thai Bankers Association are also involved in the venture, which will provide financial support for enterprises that pass the training courses.
The courses will cover such subjects as the government’s “Thailand 4.0” and “SME 4.0” policies, the digital economy, and business fundamentals.
The NEA is expected to start the first training course by the third week of next month. About 1,000 trainers will be supported to train 30,000 enterprises in local communities nationwide next year.
