Chinese Taipei and Indonesia Accelerate Women Entrepreneurship through Virtual Workshop

Staying Connected During the Pandemic

On 26-27 August, more than 40 participants from Chinese Taipei, Indonesia and other APEC economies connected through their digital devices and took part in the "APEC Women-Led Start-Up Accelerator Workshop". Despite the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Small and Medium Enterprise Administration (SMEA), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) of Chinese Taipei and Ministry of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (CSMEs) of Indonesia successfully co-hosted this event through virtual means, signifying the bonds and connections between APEC economies, SMEs and women entrepreneurs will not be broken by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The participants of the event were mostly women entrepreneurs who came from various backgrounds including NGOs, industries, policy makers and start-ups from the APEC economies. Together these key stakeholders shared their experiences and insights on how to empower female entrepreneurs, strengthening the cooperation among SMEs in APEC.

Empowering Women and Building Capacities
The workshop began with opening remarks delivered by Ms. Pei-Ti Hu, Deputy Director General of SMEA, MOEA and Mr. Hanung Harimba Rachman, Deputy Minister for Financing of CSMEs. "As women entrepreneurs' role in economic development become more and more important, it is clear that every government need to ensure a gender friendly entrepreneurial environment in their respective economies," said Ms. Pei-Ti Hu.
"We know that the potential of women entrepreneurs has not yet been fully unleashed, and that by empowering women entrepreneurs in the APEC economies, we can contribute to the region's overall inclusive growth and share prosperity," continued Ms. Hu, as she stressed the importance of women empowerment and the essential goal of the workshop.

APEC Women-led Start-Up Accelerator Initiative
Although women's capability on access to market and capital in the APEC region has improved over the years, it was shown on a 2019 report by the APEC policy support unit that in terms of capital access, it is still harder for women to access credit in comparison to men; while in terms of market access, women's entry still faces regulatory and legal barriers.
With the goal to increase women's access to capital and market, Chinese Taipei, co-sponsored by Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines proposed the APEC Women-led Start-Up Accelerator Initiative. This workshop is the first event held under the initiative. A second workshop will be hosted in October in Malaysia, followed by a third workshop to be hosted in November in Taipei. Finally, a concluding APEC Women-led Start-Up Accelerator Forum will be hosted in November in Taipei.
Through these events, Chinese Taipei will continue to strive for women's empowerment and for the advancement of women's economic participation to create a more enabling environment toward inclusive growth.

For further details, or to arrange possible media interviews, please contact:

Ms. Pei-Ti Hu
Deputy Director General, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2368-0816 #202
bdhu@moea.gov.tw

Ms. Hsin-Yi Tseng
Section Chief, Incubation Division, Small and Medium Enterprise Administration, MOEA
02-2368-0816 #257
thy@moea.gov.tw