Lao entrepreneurs sharpen their business skills
Lao entrepreneurs sharpen their business skills
An intensive training programme at the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry aims to sharpen the entrepreneurship skills of Lao business men and women from the public and private sectors, and students of the National University of Laos (NUOL).
A technical support programme from Handong Global University of the Republic of Korea is helping to focus on professional training skills for market strategy, fund management, business planning and financial access.
The programme entitled ‘Global Eco-premiership Acceleration programme 2014 in Laos' is expected to upgrade technical skills for entrepreneurs and interested business operators as well as involve an exchange of business operational skills with Korean experts.
“Over the past few months there has been intensive training at the National University of Laos, thanks to the Korean trainers and experts,” the Fund Management for Small and Medium Enterprises (FMSME) Deputy Head, Mr Phet-anong Insarn, told the Vientiane Times recently.
The FMSME is under the Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Department of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce.
Mr Phet-anong, who is also one of the trainees, said the Korean experts and trainers are working to help Lao businesspeople write business plans so they can present them to potential investors from the Republic of Korea.
“During our classes, many of the Korean trainers have told us that funding is not always a barrier for business operation, as a good business concept will be attractive to investors as well,” he said.
He said that more than 20 trainees are taking part in this intensive programme, so it is considered a good sign of boosting the business environment in Laos.
“When these participants have passed through the training successfully, they will be able to become key factors in the integration with Asean business linkage, especially for the Asean Economic Community integration next year,” he said.
The professional training programme for the Lao business sector is coincidental to the government's human resource development policy in the field of business.
It is hoped that more skilled business operators will be able to compete with their foreign counterparts in the years to come.
Director of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation Professor Gi Hong Kim said Laos can go straight on to the development of a green e conomy which is eco-friendly and sustainable.
“This programme allowed us to encourage the development of a sustainable green economy,” he said, adding that all developed countries are well versed in this.
He explained that the training course will allow people to get to know the mindset required for entrepreneurship which is sustainable and eco-friendly.
“After the training programme has come to an end in a few weeks, project presentations will be organised to which a number of Korean investors will be invited to attend,” Prof. Kim said.
A similar training course was organised in Cambodia last year. It attracted a large number of participants and many graduates are now operating their own businesses.
“Here in Laos, I hope that Lao entrepreneurs will be able to run their own businesses after they have successfully trained with us.”
“And, if we find that some of them are unable to run their own businesses, we will try to offer them a more intensive training programme later,” Prof. Kim said.
vientiane times
