Time for digital economy to grow at grass-roots

A major collaboration is reportedly taking place between the government and private sectors to educate and train Thailand’s grass-root sector on the digital economy. It’s a noble and promising agenda which must be sustained, expanded and persevered with, not least because the programme can be a game-changer socially, politically and economically.
The target group is farmers and others at community levels. The idea is to enable them to grasp the basic concept of e-commerce as well as digital networking, marketing and promotion and implement all of them using effective gadgets and highly-efficient but cheap and easily accessible Internet connections.
The programme sounds simple enough, but even the most sophisticated people are not guaranteed economic successes exploiting online channels. The government must play a patient facilitator in this case. It might feel like digging a tunnel, but when the light does come, it will certainly be shining bright.
The cooperation is between four ministries – Digital Economy and Society; Agriculture and Cooperatives; Commerce; and Education – and Total Access Communication Plc (DTAC). The project is in response to the 20-year “Thailand 4.0” strategy, which seeks to reinforce the national economy from the bottom up.
Promoting the grass-roots economy is not just morally good; it’s also the right thing economically. Thanks to the advanced and still-evolving technology, the business trend is changing more and more in favour of those at the lower ends. A larger number of “poorer” people are naturally trying to earn their living by utilising the Internet, meaning the brave new world will be full of small but successful entrepreneurs.
“Small is beautiful. Small is powerful. Small is wonderful”. Those are the words of Alibaba Group founder and executive chairman Jack Ma, a leading proponent of empowerment of the grass-roots with the digital tech?nology. Recently, he met several Thai leaders including Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and reiterated opportunities for small-scale businesses in Thailand. 
It is clear what needs to be done. Online infrastructure, availability and accessibility in this country still leaves much to be desired. For example, monthly fees that telecom firms charge remain high, especially for poor families. Prices of gadgets vary, but what really turns off rural people is what they regard as their complex utilisation.
Training, therefore, is as important as building an effective and cheap infrastructure. The collaboration seems to focus on both, which is a really good sign. When the “backbone” of Thailand can really get going with the digital economy, the country can have a really solid foundation.
The country’s current economic structure is heavy at the top, meaning that if a few big companies get into trouble, a large segment of the population can be threatened, too. Political visions must be set on how to really make a greater number of Thais rely on themselves by taking advantage of the fast-developing technology.
The current state of affairs makes any major technological leap scary. The reason why is simple: Only a small number of people are actually grappling with the changes whereas the majority don’t bother to really inno?vate because they know that whatever is achieved, they will not be able to reap the fruits. If things go on like this, it will continue to be easy for the technological changes to overwhelm human ideas.
Empowering the poor with real knowledge on self-reliance is true democracy. Like they say, we can either give fish to the poor or teach them to catch fish. The former is an old-style political, economic and social way. But the latter is unpopular because the teachers won’t get immediate returns, but it’s the right way to go.