PRESENTATION BY DR. KIO CHUNG KIM, Korea

Support of APEC o­n this project

•‘Initiative for APEC Women’s Participation o­n Digital Economy’was presented at 9th APEC ECSG and was endorsed at 10th ECSG as a SOM project.

•Strong support o­n ‘Initiative for APEC Women’s Participation o­n Digital Economy’was included at the recommendations of both 9^th and 10^th APEC WLN (Women Leader’s Network) Meetings and 3^rd APEC GFPN (Gender Focal Point Network) Meeting.

•At the Joint Statement of the 16th APEC Ministerial Meeting, in Santiago, Chile, ‘They recognized the need for women-specific programs to develop technical and digital skills, as well as to strengthen women's business development at all levels, and welcomed the recommendation to support the APEC project "Initiative for APEC Women's Participation in the Digital Economy.’

•At the Joint statement of 17^th APEC Ministerial Meeting in Busan, Korea, ‘Ministers noted the need to improve the implementation of the Framework for the Integration of Women in APEC and caleed upon fora and economies to take measurable steps to apply and advance the Framework. Ministers welcomed the Initiative for APEC Women's Participation in the Digital Economy 2005 Training for Women's IT Capacity Building in APEC economies’.

APEC Women’s e-Biz Center (http://webiz.women.or.kr )

APEC Women’s e-Business Center was established in August 22, 2005 to conduct the APEC project, “Initiative for APEC Women’s Participation in the Digital Economy” for five years from 2005 to 2009. The center is located within APWINC, Sookmyung Women’s University. The Center has four functional teams: Research team, Training team, Community team, and the Forum team. Each team has partners of APEC economies and international agencies.

The research team consists of a research advisory committee, coordinator, and 15 research focal points.The training team consists of advisory committee, trainers, and 21 coordinators for selection of trainee and promotion of training . The community team has partners of member economies for reliability of the community.

I. Research

I-1. 2005 Research : Whitepaper o­n Women Enterprises and e-Business in APEC

Achievement /Output

Whitepaper o­n APEC Women owned Business and e-Business was published in Korean version in May 2006 as a result of research in 2005 [refer to ECSG13th documents-004, 004a, 007]and a symposium was held to promote the publication of the Whitepaper.The white paper includes the gender analysis in each of 11 APEC economies as a result of in-depth survey. English version of the whitepaper is in a draft status.

Publication of Booklet Series were published for Indonesia, Vietnam, Peoples Republic of China, and the Philippines: APEC e-Business :Opportunities for Women in Indonesia (2005.12), APEC e-Business :Opportunities for Women in Viet Nam (2005.12), APEC e-Business :Opportunities for Women in China (2006.1), APEC e-Business :Opportunities for Women in Philippines (2006.2). The small book includes the women owned business and e-business, APEC Forum o­n Digital Economy for women, Recommendation for each economy.

I-2. 2006 Research : Roadmap of e-Business for Women Enterprises in Korea

A roadmap of e-Business for women enterprises in Korea will be studied and the roadmap will be provided as an output. The customized roadmap of two or three APEC economies will be studied in 2007.

The procedures of the roadmap study is to Identify the status of Women Enterprises, level of e-Business, readiness of e-Business, demand o­n the e-business, status of supporting policies and regulations, and supporting systems and tools of the e-Business such as Human and material resources, Educational system. E-Biz solutions. Based o­n the study, the criteria will be set up to classify the women enterprises into groups. The process of roadmap and supporting tools will be recommended to each group to activate e-Business.

Expected Achievement/ Output

ŸRecommendation a Roadmap for women-owned enterprises.

ŸRecommendation of a Roadmap for women-owned enterprises by segment

ŸProposition of a effective support from the supplier and the user.

I-3. 2007 Research: Customized Roadmap of e-Business for Women Enterprises in 2 or 3 member economies

II. e-Biz Training

1. APEC Women’s e-Biz Training 2006

Overview

ŸDate: July 3 - July 8, 2006 (6 days)

ŸVenue: Sookmyung Women’s University

ŸParticipants: 50participants (candidates endorsed by ADBI, rural Co-op leaders and policy makers endorsed by UNESCAP, members of ITU and women CEOs around APEC region recruited by APWINC)

Objectives

The aim of this training was to empower women of various professions in the Asia Pacific Region. Through capacity building program in entrepreneurship and e-business, the participants were able to fully benefit from the opportunities the digital economy offers.

•Understand the basics of e-Business and e-Commerce

•Learn the latest technology and tools available for e-Business

•Learn how to make a sound business plan for the product/service of their item

•Able to plan a basic marketing strategy for the product/service of their item using technologies available to them

•Know how to establish an e-shop to market product/service of their item using APWeBiz Solution

•Build an APEC-wide network of women entrepreneurs and community leaders

•Be better equipped to fully participate in the Information Society and in decision making processes and to contribute to shaping the Information Society at international, regional and national levels”.  (Reference: Tunis Commitment, WSIS Tunis Phase; Tunis, 16-18 Nov 2005)

Contents

The 6day training offered both theoretical components ICT and e-Business as well as the skills and group sessions and real-life examples in order for the participants to achieve knowledge, skills and capacity necessary in running their own e-Businesses.

ŸSharing real time experience in developing entrepreneurship in the form of incubation around the world and tools and programs available in promoting women’s entrepreneurship both from public sector

ŸIntroduction to what e-Business is, what its history and current trends are.

ŸTraining how to plan and build e-Business, by having hands-on exercise in building their own e-shops/e-stores with the solutions developed by APWINC both individually and as a group.

ŸAcademic and practical theories and tips from the experts

ŸPolicies and initiatives from governments and other players around the worlds to promote and strengthen e-Business opportunities

Achievement/Output

•50 participants were trained with 30 trainers. Participants found satisfaction in the training program and workshop organization

•Participation and collaboration of International Organizations.

The 2006 e-Biz training have received the support from UNESCAP, ADBI, ITU, BPW and with their participation and collaboration, 45 trainees were able to participate the e-Biz training and the business matching.

•Production of the e-Biz International Education contents:

E-Biz educational module, five collaborated business project, video materials for future educational use.

•Providing opportunities for APEC businesswomen to meet national IT enterprises.

Through a special session called “Introduction to Korean Venture enterprises”, the participants were given the opportunity to encounter, to collaborate and to share the marketing with numerous Korean IT enterprises such as COSCO International, Ticketlink, Suntransglobe and Loofen. It has offered the participants diverse business opportunities such as franchises.

•Offering a chance for the national e-Community solution to enter the international market

Using the WeBiz Community, the training participants were given an opportunity to build up an interactive network as sharing the e-Biz information. Also this has given the chance for the national e-Community to enter the international market.

II-2. Expansion: Customized APEC Women’s e-Biz Training

1) Vietnam (WeBiz- VN)

•Date: April 17-20, 2006

•Venue: Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry, Hanoi

•Partner: Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry

•Participants: 1. Women Entrepreneurs

2. Women Policy makers

3. Manager (This training also included male participant)

•Contents: The contents of the training were customized to suit the local context, utilizing the cutting-edge expertise from Korea.

•Achievement/Output:

1. 27participants worked in groups and produced 5+business plans that incorporate e-Business strategies and also created a pilot company website according to business plans.

2. The organizers established a concrete trainer pool within Vietnam for the future expansion of the training

2) Philippines (WeBiz-PH)

•Date: August 21-25, 2006

•Venue: The Philippines Women’s University- Computer Center

•Partner: The Philippines Women’s University

•Participants: 1. Women entrepreneurs

2. LGU officials (GAD Focal Points, Chairperson of Sanggunian

Bayan/Panlunsod Committee o­n Women, in-charge of trade and

Industries and other interested personnel)

3. Academic Institutions

4. Representatives of non-government organizations promoting economic empowerment program

•Contents:

•Achievement/Output:

1. Participants have produced 5+ sound business plans and company websites, which are now hosted at APEC Women’s e-Biz Center-managed community site (http://www.apwebiz.com)

2. Participants have also elected a committee that will help expand the training in the Philippines.

3) Indonesia (WeBiz-ID)

•Date: September 4-7, 2006

•Venue: The Clearinghouse of Information Networking for Women in Development- Indonesian Institute of Sciences (CIWD-LIPI)

•Partner: RISTEK

•Participants: 1. Women entrepreneurs

2. Managers and leaders

3. Local government officials

•Contents:

•Achievement/Output :

4) China or Taiwan

Training expected in November

 III. e-Community

(http://www.apwebiz.com)

III-1. WeBiz World in 2005

Achievement / Output

•WeBiz Community system was launched in July 2005.

•WeBiz Community system was utilized as a tool for APEC women’s e-Biz Training.

•Catalogs and membership registration of WeBiz World are increasing. in WeBiz Community

Detailed information is as follows.

III-2. WeBiz World – 2006 for Expansion

WeBiz World (http://www.apwebiz.com) is a community site for women entrepreneurs to develop and participate in the o­nline community activities of their choice for sharing business-related information and exploring business opportunities. WeBiz World also provides an easy e-business solution for women entrepreneurs of any size to start an e-Business.

Objectives

•To provide an enabling environment for women entrepreneurs to gather information and eventually start e-Business

•To promote mutual business collaboration and e-Commerce through o­nline community

•To enhance the e-Community activities amongst women entrepreneurs through outbound promotions

•To act as a bridge between women enterprises and o­nline world of commerce.

•To serve as a information hub that offers contents o­n how to start, manage and expand e-Business

Expansion Plans

•e-Learning Center: Plans to add the e-Learning center to the current WeBiz community platform is being drafted. Various offline trainings will be reproduced into CDs and e-Learning solutions and provided from e-Learning Center of the WeBiz World.

•e-Newsletter: Quarterly newsletters will be sent out to current and prospect community users and other relevant groups to attract more traffic and awareness of the existence and activities of WeBiz Communities.

IV. Forum

IV-1. APEC Forum o­n Digital Economy for Women 2006

The Forum will be organized with the partnership of APEC hosting economy each year. This year, the Forum will be co-organized with VCCI (Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry) in Halong Bay in Vietnam o­n September 16-17, 2006, prior to 11^th WLN meeting at Hanoi. The main theme of the 2006 APEC Forum is “Innovation and Leadership”.

•Date: September 16^th-17^th, 2006

•Venue: Saigon Halong Bay Hotel, Halong Bay, Vietnam

•Partner: Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry

•Speakers: 26 speakers from Vietnam, Korea, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Australia, USA, China

•Participants: 150 participants from the Asia Pacific area

Expected achievement/output

•Enhance the leadership and innovation for Women in knowledge-based societies.

•Share the researches and its outcomes o­n digital strategies of Women enterprises

•Expose the skill development and learning experiences

•Share the national and personal experiences of Women CEOs and top leaders

•Recommendation planned to be delivered at the WLN meeting, will be able to promote the APEC WeBiz Center’s activities

IV-2. Expansion to Member Economies : APEC Forum o­n Digital Economy (DEF)

The customized APEC Forum in each economy was served as the venue for pundits from all ends of the disciplines, academia, private sectors and governments to make an enabling environment to catalyze the e-Business for women. The output of the Forum is the recommendations for the policy makers.

APEC Forum o­n DEF: E-Business and Opportunities in the Philippines

Held in Manila (2006.2.20), organized by APEC WeBiz Center and PWU, NCWP, and PFBPW.

APEC Forum o­n DEF: E-Business and Opportunities in China

Held in Peking (2006.1.17), organized by APEC WeBiz Center and e-Business Center, Peking University.

APEC Forum o­n DEF: E-Business and Opportunities in Vietnam

Held in Hanoi (2005. 12.8), organized by APEC WeBiz Center and VCCI & VWEC

APEC Forum o­n DEF: E-Business and Opportunities in Indonesia

Held in Jakarta, (2005.12.5), organized by APEC WeBiz Center and RISKTEC & LIPI

2007 beyond

The customized APEC WeBiz Training will be expanded to 21 APEC member economies.