Page 39 - ASEAN BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT SUMMIT 2019

ASEAN Business & Investment Summit 2019 39

Empowerment And Development, we have fully supported and are very close to the heart
of Myanmar. As our country redoubles its efforts to be more aligned with our more advanced
brothers and sisters in ASEAN, we fully agree that we have to ensure that investing in our human
capital should take priority to ensure success. Specifically, we should be mindful of our MSMEs
who serve as the bulk of our total enterprises not just in Myanmar but across the region. As the
new engine of inclusive growth, they should be able to adopt and adapt the skills and know-how
needed to link up to the digitally transformed global value chains. We need to strengthen private
and public partnerships for this purpose to speed up the reforms and allow MSMEs to flourish and
participate in this new business landscape. Either we embrace the 4IR, especially for the MSMEs, or
we stagnate and fade.
Congratulations to ASEAN-BAC Thailand and more power!

PHILIPPINES

The ASEAN-BAC Philippines accords a well-deserved
congratulations to ASEAN-BAC Thailand for elevating the 2019 ASEAN
Business and Investment Summit (ABIS) and the ASEAN Business
Awards (ABA) Gala Night to a level we can be truly proud of. We salute
the Chairmanship of Khun Arin Jira and the whole ASEAN-BAC Thailand
team for the immensely enriching programs and activities they have
JOSE MA. A. undertaken this year in support of AEC and its theme “Empowering
CONCEPCION III ASEAN 4.0” which now culminates in our ABIS 2019.

The AEC journey has been made more meaningful with ASEAN-BAC Thailand’s launching of
its Legacy Project “AHEAD”, or ASEAN Human Empowerment And Development. We, in the ASEAN-
BAC Philippines, have aligned our Legacy Project of AMEN, or ASEAN Mentorship for Entrepreneurs
Network, with AHEAD’s two pillars on Digitally Empowered Workforce and Digital Access to Finance
for MSMEs. Together with the Council, it is our strong belief that digital transformation is the way to
go in bringing prosperity for all in this day and age. We are happy to inform that for the Philippines,
together with the strong support and partnership with our government, we have adopted the
digital framework of bringing together the digital transformation of access Money, Markets and
Mentorship to serve the MSMEs with strong emphasis in tourism and agriculture. These are game
changers that we hope will bear fruit much sooner than later to bring many of our MSMEs and
those in the lower levels of the economic pyramid out of poverty.
Congratulations once again to ASEAN-BAC Thailand!