JICA supports capacity building for young entrepreneurs
JICA supports capacity building for young entrepreneurs
Laos is set to develop the business capacity of and make improvements to existing businesses for young entrepreneurs ahead of regional integration and the competition that will create.
Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) last week supported the 6th Business Forum on “Business Plan Competition” - an Approach to Enhancing Young Enterprise Capacity in Laos.
The forum was organised at the National University of Laos (NUOL) by the Laos-Japan Institute.
Speaking at the event Vice President of the NUOL, Associate Prof. Dr Saykhong Saynasine, said that capacity building for young entrepreneurs is critically important for new business operators as it is related to human resource development.
“This project will be a key essential for the skills of business management as well as fulfilling the integrated skills for the public and private sectors,” he said.
In the hope of creating more viable young entrepreneurs in the era of Asean economic integration, many experienced entrepreneurs from Laos as well as Japanese experts also gave presentations at the forum.
This business plan forum provided a good opportunity for those responsible for running young enterprises to exchange experiences with one another and also learn about business plans and how to easily access finance and investment.
In addition, the development of young business entrepreneurs will also contribute to participation in the socio-economic development of the country as well as helping Laos to compete with business sectors from other countries when the AEC comes into being.
Currently the Lao government is constantly improving business capacity as well as providing guidelines for local entrepreneurs, along with removing barriers to business connection.
A senior representative of the JICA Laos Office said that Laos is in transition, moving from a landlocked to a land-linked country which creates a lot of business opportunities.
“So it is necessary to increase the capacity of young Lao business enterprises because they are the pioneers of the new growing fields in industry, which will lead to job creation and innovation,” he said.
At the forum, the winners of the business plan competition also received certificates and prizes. Most of the participants were policymakers, businesspeople, students and bankers.
