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APEC App Challenge launched in Vietnam, targeting to facilitate SMEs

Xinhua, May 16, 2017 Adjust font size:

Asia Pacific's most talented software and web developers will arrive in Vietnamese capital Hanoi on Thursday and Friday to participate in a 24-hour "APEC App Challenge," a joint initiative by Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), The Asia Foundation and Google.

According to a statement released Tuesday by the MoIT, the marathon session will take place in conjunction with APEC's Second Senior Officials' Meeting and the 23rd APEC Ministers Responsible for Trade Meeting in Hanoi this month.

As many as 11 teams of developers from APEC member economies will attempt to build a new mobile or web solution to one or more key challenges faced by medium, small, and micro enterprise owners who are interested in expanding their businesses through cross-border trade.

Lai Viet Anh, deputy chief of the MoIT's E-Commerce and Information Technology Department, said she hoped "these creative young developers will encourage APEC policymakers to learn how to apply technology to some of the real concerns people face when they want to expand their businesses."

Developer teams are encouraged to think creatively about the challenges faced by local SMEs, the opportunities afforded by online tools and marketplaces, and the practicalities associated with developing and implementing their new product.

"The topic of APEC App Challenge is particularly important for the Asia-Pacific region, where SMEs make up roughly 98 percent of all businesses and employ two-thirds of the region's labor force," said The Asia Foundation's Senior Director of Digital Media and Technology Programs John Karr. "For example, even though Indonesia's SMEs contribute nearly 60 percent of gross domestic product, their share of total exports is only 16 percent."

"The APEC App Challenge is a unique effort to generate learning and share new ideas across APEC by concurrently building potential solutions to help small businesses overcome existing barriers," Google Asia Pacific's Head of Trade and Economic Affairs Andrew Ure said.

"Ultimately, the goal of the APEC App Challenge is to highlight new ways of promoting inclusive, innovative, and sustainable growth in Asia-Pacific economies and stipulate policies that will promote more innovation to address trade issues," Alan Bollard, the APEC Secretariat's executive director, added.

Teams will compete to win cash and special prizes which will be awarded to three teams through first, second, and third prize awards. The announcement will take place alongside the APEC Symposium on Trade and Innovation on Friday.

In addition, teams competing in the APEC App Challenge will also be considered for the APEC Digital Prosperity Award, a special prize for the creation of a new digital product that uses innovation to expand inclusive growth across economies in the Asia-Pacific region, said the statement. Endit