Report on APEC Study Center Japan
October 1, 2021

Acknowledgments
Sponsored by: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research on Innovative Areas (A02:"Political/Economic Regional Integration" and B03 "Civilizations and Global Networks");
Chiba University Leading Research Promotion Program - Chiba Studies on Global Fair
Society: A Multidisciplinary Approach

Abbreviations
APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
ASCJ - APEC Study Center Japan
BAA - Boracay Action Agenda
CAABWA - Canadian and African Business Women Alliance
ERIA - Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia
FTAs - Free Trade Agreement
FTAAP - Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific
GVCs - Global Value Chains
ICT - Information and Communications Technology
IDE - Institute of Developing Economies
JETRO -Japan External Trade Organization
JSPS - Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
MLETR - Model Law on Electronic Transferable Records
MSMEs - Micro, Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
OWIT - Organization of Women in International Trade
PECC - Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
SMEs - Small and Medium-sized Enterprises
UNDP - United Nations Development Program
UNIDO - United Nations Industrial Development Organization

Introduction
Building on Japan’s completed project “Research on Promoting Trade in Services by SMEs
and Women Entrepreneurs” and its in-depth report analyzing to what extent services tradeliberalization could be achieved. How can we encourage SMEs and female entrepreneurs toparticipate in the services trade? In particular, existing free trade agreements such as the
CPTPP should be revised to include some legal action and digital technology. We would liketo find ways to increase access to the international supply network (especially trade inservices) by SMEs and female entrepreneurs. This workshop's goal was to make practicaland policy-related proposals for promoting the participation of SMEs and women
entrepreneurs in the services trade. By looking at establishing a digital foundation forregional development that can be used by all SMEs and female entrepreneurs and exploring
the “fixed costs” and “risks” that individual SMEs and female entrepreneurs must bear andhow they could be reduced (Ref 0.1)
1What steps can be taken by governments and industries to encourage SMEs and female
entrepreneurs to engage in cross-border trade in services? How the current trade agreement
CPTPP can be revised to launch a future "Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP, a big
free trade area proposed at APEC)" while ensuring SMEs' and women entrepreneurs' moreparticipation in cross-border business (Ref 0.4). Demonstration of the connection between
trade and finance. The current situation is that the trading system and the financial system,
including virtual currencies, are built separately while applying the same distributed ledger
technology.
Transition from passive to active feature of digital technologies used in trade efficiency
improvement (trade route decision and traders' credit side). We need to change from thecurrent stage of passively organizing big data to the stage of actively collecting information.
Along with these, it seems that major updates will be required for the laws and regulations
related to digital trade.
The online workshop was organized with a goal of (1) sharing the key findings and policy
recommendations from the aforementioned research report, (2) sharing best practices onservices trade promotion on the whole, especially by SMEs and women entrepreneurs,and (3) identifying effective policy measures and regulatory practices to promote trade inservices by SMEs and women entrepreneurs, as seen in existing FTAs, with due
consideration of the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Information and communication technology (ICT) is an important factor enabling women's
entrepreneurship, especially for growing businesses. In addition to the usual businessbenefits of adopting ICT, there are four main benefits for female entrepreneurs.
(1) Some degree of anonymity. This protects women from gender stigma;(2) Improves access to networks and knowledge sharing;(3) The flexibility to shift work time and place allows women to balance domestic andentrepreneurial activities while staying responsible and avoiding dangerous commuting; and(4) time and cost efficiency in managing your business. This benefits women
disproportionately, given that they run out of time more than men because of other nonbusiness chores. Unfortunately, poor access and use of ICT remains a constraint for women(Ref 0.3).
Due to the specific requirements and characteristics of small organizations compared tolarge companies (such as the number of employees and budget), SMEs' attitudes towards
new IT technologies usually tend to be more conservative than large companies. In mostsmall business environments, the owner is also the manager of the company, who plans thebusiness roadmap, organizes resources, including staff, performs assessments anddecisions, and functions of all parts of the organization. All management functions must be
performed, including monitoring of company performance. Given this intensive workload,
many researchers claim that managers can benefit from the support of IT technology. (Ref0.2). In particular, a focus was accorded to cross-border provision of services under COVID19 as well as the use of emerging digital technologies. Policymakers, industry experts, andservices suppliers from APEC economies were invited.

Overview
Event landing page: https://spark.adobe.com/page/wCwXKH3uLvExS/
The workshop was arranged into paneled and guest sessions as follows:2

Opening Remarks
Ms. Naoko Ueda, Director, APEC Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Japan
Introductory Presentation
Mr. Hikari Ishido, Professor, Chiba University and APEC Study Center Japan: “An overview
of the completed (previous) research project on promoting trade in services by SMEs andWomen Entrepreneurs”
Prof. Seiichi Igarashi, Chiba University: "Digital Commons and SMEs"
Session 1: Use of Emerging Digital Services for Promoting Cross-Border Business by SMEs
Moderated by Mr. Patrick Charlton, Professor, School of Business, Algonquin College,
CanadaPanelists:
Mr. Satoru Someya, Managing Director, Head of CEO's Office TradeWaltz (Japan) “Use of
Blockchain Technology for Trade”
Ms. Tamey McIntosh (Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Braiyt AI, Inc (Canada)“Cross-Border Business by Entrepreneurs in Practice”
Ms. Marie Sherylyn D. Aquia, Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines) “Emerging
Digital Services and the Boracay Action Agenda”
Session 2: Trade in Services by Women entrepreneurship
Moderated by Ms. Jaswinder Kaur, Professor, School of Business, Algonquin College,
CanadaPanelists:
Ms. Akemi Tsunagawa, Founder and CEO, Bespoke Inc. (Japan) “Use of AI Technology for
Tourism and other Services”
Dr. Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat, Associate Professor, School of Economics,
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce (Thailand) “Women’s Economic Opportunities
and Promotion of Trade in Services”
Moderator’s comment (by Ms. Jaswinder Kaur)
Session 3: Policy measures and regulatory practices
Moderated by Ms. Clarecia Christie, Professor, School of Business, Algonquin College
Panelists:
Ms. Catherine O'Connell, Lawyer, Principal and Founder of Catherine O'Connell Law,
Lawpreneur, Podcaster (New Zealand) “A Lawyer’s Perspective on the Promotion of CrossBorder Service Business”
Moderator’s comment (by Ms. Clarecia Christie)
Summarizing and closing note (organizer)

Moderators

3

Ms. Jaswinder Kaur
Professor, Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology(Canada)Jaswinder is a Professor in the Business, Management &Entrepreneurship program in the School of Business, AlgonquinCollege. She has over 20 years of industry experience ininternational business development, sales and marketing, andoperations in both private and public-sector organizations.
Skilled in entrepreneurship development, social innovation,
SME, and venture capital financing, with a specialization in thesustainability sector, Jaswinder has advised government andpublic institutions in the area of policy development around low-carbon economic growthpolicies and entrepreneurship pathways. Since 2008, she has been a consultant with UNIDO(United Nations Industrial Development Organization – headquartered in Vienna, Austria) inseveral Asian and African countries. In her capacity as a founding member of Venture
Coaches, a $50M seed and early-stage fund in Ottawa, and through a number of senior
executive roles, Jaswinder has advised thousands of entrepreneurs in the area of businessplanning and fund-raising. Jaswinder has also worked with a number of Canadian telecom,
cleantech and software firms to develop their partnership and export market strategy inSouth Asia – leveraging her global business experiences and network.
At Algonquin College, Jaswinder brings her passion for entrepreneurship and innovation to
the community of learners, bringing a diversity of perspective and experiential learning to theclassroom.
Jaswinder has an MBA from the University of Ottawa, Canada, and a BA (Honours) from
Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. She is also a graduate of the Frankfurt Business
School with a specialization in climate change finance.

Mr. Patrick Charlton
Professor & Coordinator, Algonquin College of Applied Arts andTechnology (Canada)
Collaborating with learners with the School of Business at
Algonquin College for over 10 years in the role of Professor andProgram Coordinator continues to be rewarding and challenging
as we adapt to ever-changing business environments.
Building creative and engaging learning opportunities for learners
is a top priority covering topics around Sales, Marketing, Business
Management, Social Innovation, Retail Management andEntrepreneurship.
Nominated for the Dianne Bloor Part-time Faculty award (3 years running) and part of thefaculty coaching team for the yearly Ontario Colleges Marketing Competition (2019 HistoricTeam Win). Applied Research initiatives include serving as a faculty advisor for projects like
SalesLab, Entrepreneur in Residence, Salesforce Student Group, and Adobe Digital
Portfolio Project and an Applied Research Working Group.
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Professional background includes roles working for mid-size to multinational firms in the roleof senior management covering training, sales and marketing.
As an entrepreneur, Patrick remains active with a business growth consulting practice andhas operated small businesses ranging from food services to business growth training.

Ms. Clarecia Christie
Professor, Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology(Canada)Clarecia Christie is the founder and CEO of Global Compass
Consulting Services Inc and holds the designation of Certified
International Trade Professional (CITP®). She is a Professorof International Business Management at Algonquin College.
She is a former political staffer in the Ontario Legislature, witha passion for people, photography, cultural knowledge, and women empowerment,international business in the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa. As an International Trade andBusiness Consultant with Global Compass Consulting Services Inc., she helps womenowned start-ups and entrepreneurs, in Canada and globally, navigate the export process.
Previous work experiences include training Chilean Indigenous Women -Aymara women on
business operations and exporting their traditional goods conducted focus group andpresented on “Allyship in Legislature” in women in politics workshop for ABANTU for
Development in Ghana a women empowerment organization.
Clarecia worked as the Fund Manager for the Southern Caribbean for the United Kingdom’s
Department for International Development’s Business Linkage Challenge Fund, theMarketing Officer at Caribbean Export Development Agency in Barbados, and as a Foreign
Business Advisor with the National Commercial Bank (Jamaica) Ltd. She has also served as
the President of the Organization of Women in International Trade (OWIT) Toronto Chapter
and Board Member of the Canadian and African Business Women Alliance (CAABWA).
Her studies include a Graduate Degree in International Business Management and an
Undergraduate Degree in Management Studies and Economics from the University of theWest Indies, a Graduate Certificate in Marketing of Services from Maastricht School ofBusiness, The Netherlands. In 2009 and a Certificate in Trade and Gender from UNCTAD
Virtual Institute. She was awarded the Ontario Spirit Award for her volunteer work withDavid’s Harp Scholarship Fund. Clarecia has worked in Canada, Ghana, Barbados, London,
and Jamaica.

5

Opening Session
Ms. Naoko Ueda
Director, APEC Division, Economic Affairs Bureau, Ministry of Foreign
Affairs of Japan
Speaker Topic: APEC and Services Trade Agenda“APEC Members are working towards establishing a new display of
disciplines regarding licensing qualification requirements andprocedures for service suppliers as well as technical standards. APEC
is undertaking various initiatives to support such discussions.”

Key Highlights:●●●●

The Group on Services (GOS) was established to address trade andinvestment liberalization and facilitation tasks in the area of services.
APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap was adopted in 2016 andmutually agreed on targets to be achieved by 2025.
Focused on ensuring an open and predictable environment for access toservices markets.
Ensuring an adequate supply of skills in a rapidly changing economy.

Topic Summary:
The key initiative of the APEC Services Competitiveness Roadmap was adopted by
Leaders in 2016 with the adoption of a concerted set of actions and mutually agreed
on targets to be achieved by 2025.
The targets discussed focused on ensuring an open and predictable environment foraccess to services markets by progressively reducing restrictions to services tradeand investment. As well, it aims to increase the share percentage of services exports
from APEC economies in the total world services exports so that it exceeds thecurrent share in world services exports by 2025. It also aims to increase trade inservices in the APEC region so that, by 2025, the compound average annual growthrate exceeds the historic average of 6.8 percent and the share (%) of value-added of
the services sector in the total GDP of the APEC region exceeds the global averagelevel by 2025.
The mid-term review currently underway indicates that there was mixed progress on
the targets, and APEC economies will need to do more targeted work to get back on
track to meet the targets. The enabling factors, among others, to assist in achieving
these goals are; Ensuring an adequate supply of skills in a rapidly changing
economy, helping workers adjust to change, and providing for increased participationin the workforce by such groups as women, youth, Micro Small and Medium
Enterprises (MSMEs), and indigenous businesses.

6Dr. Hikari Ishido
Professor, Chiba University, APEC Study Center Japan
Secretariat
Dr. Hikari Ishido is Professor of International Economics at theGraduate School of Global and Transdisciplinary Studies,
Chiba University. He was born in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in
1969, and graduated from the Faculty of Engineering andFaculty of Economics at the University of Tokyo (with BA andBSc) and the Department of Economics at the University of
London (with MSc and Ph.D.). He formerly served as Programme Officer at theUnited Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and as a Research Fellow at theInstitute of Developing Economies (IDE) within the Japan External Trade
Organization (JETRO). In the context of APEC, he often represents Japan as anexpert on formulating the Asia Pacific region’s trade and investment regime. He has
given lectures at various international organizations including the United Nations,
Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), and the Pacific
Economic Cooperation Council (PECC). He has published various journal articles aswell as book chapters on the theory and empirics of international trade andinvestment. He serves as the Secretariat of the research network among Japanesescholars, APEC Study Center Japan (ASCJ).
Speaker Topic: Introduction to Promoting Trade in Services by SMEs and Women
Entrepreneurs“There is a need to reduce the fixed costs somehow, with the help of technology, with thehelp of... government regulation...”Key Highlights:●●●●

Overview of the results from the survey from the Research on Promoting Trade inServices by SMEs and Women Entrepreneurs.
Structure of service trade restrictiveness for a service sector and mode.
Correspondence analysis of the survey results.
Review of average scores of the online survey responses.

Topic Summary:
There are fixed costs associated with trade which creates a kind of barrier against
their services trade expansion abroad (Fig 1.1). The bulk of SMEs, as well as women
entrepreneurs cannot participate in cross-border service-oriented businesses due tothese fixed costs. There is a need to reduce these barriers where possible with helpof technology, policy adjustment and government regulation. Free Trade Agreements
are part of these barriers to entry (Fig1.2) and it is a topic that governments fromvarious economies are now undertaking negotiations on large scales.
Based on the responses from the survey (Fig 1.3-1.5), when viewed from the
combination of individual-level questions and policy-level questions there were acouple of main findings. For the category “Females not planning foreign businessexpansion”, the three policy categories were their main concern, “Barriers tocompetition”, “Other discriminatory measures” and “Safety of the area”. Alternatively,
when reviewing responses from the category “Females planning foreign businessexpansion”, the two individual level items “Funds”, and “Family”, were the main
7

concern as well as at the policy level “Restrictions to Movement of people”.
Some of the highlights of the online survey results (Fig 1.6-1.10) show that the bulkof, approximately 98% are categorized as SMEs. The main concerns on theindividual level for SMEs foreign expansion are capacity, family, and funds. The
concerns on the policy level are restrictions on foreign policy, restrictions on the
movement of people, and regulatory transparencies.

Dr. Seiichi Igarashi
Professor at Chiba University’s Graduate School of Social Sciences.
He graduated from Keio University, Faculty of Letters, Japan, in 1994.
He earned his master’s degree and Ph.D. from Waseda University,
Graduate School of Social Sciences, Japan. In 2002, he became a
research associate at Waseda University’s School of Social Sciences;subsequently, he became a postdoctoral research fellow at the Japan
Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) in 2005, an assistantprofessor at Waseda University’s Faculty of Social Sciences in 2008, a
researcher for the Global Centers of Excellence (COE) program at Kyoto
University in 2010, and a lecturer at Chiba University’s Faculty of Law
and Economics, also in 2010. In 2014, he obtained an associate professorship at Chiba
University’s Faculty of Law, Politics, and Economics. He specializes in international relations
and Asian studies. His recent research focuses on civil society in regionalism, and he isundertaking a study in the Mekong region. His main books include the following:
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From Mekong Common to Mekong Community: An Interdisciplinary Approach toTransboundary Challenges (co-authored and co-edited, Routledge, 2021).
Connecting the Local and the World (co-edited, Iwanami Shoten, 2020).
Multi-Layered Sub-Regions and New Regional Architecture in East Asia (co-authoredand co-edited, Keiso Shobo, 2020).
Peace Studies from the Periphery: A New Perspective toward Asia (co-authored,
Showado, 2019).
The New International Relations of Sub-Regionalism: Asia and Europe (co-authoredand co-edited, Routledge, 2018).
New Regionalism and Civil Society: Hegemony, Norm, and Critical Regionalism
Approach (Keiso Shobo, 2018).
International Migration and the Intimate Sphere: Care, Marriage, and Sex (coauthored, Kyoto University Press, 2018).
Military, Political Power, and Civil Society in Developing Countries (co-authored,
Koyo Shobo, 2016).
Transformation of the Intimate and the Public in Asian Modernity (co-authored, Brill,2014).
A New Perspective on Democratization and Civil Society: The Dynamism of Politics
in the Philippines (Waseda University Press, 2011).

His main articles include the following:
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“Progress and Challenges of Transboundary Fishery Management Project in the
Mekong River: Focusing upon the Case of Bordering Provinces of Bokeo, Lao PDR
and Chiang Rai, Thailand,” Chiba Journal of Law and Politics, Vol. 35, Nos. 3&4,
January 2021.
“The Re-Creation of Peace in East Asia,” Peace Studies, Vol. 46, July 2016.
“East Asia and Democratization Theory,” Chiba Journal of Law and Politics, Vol. 29,
Nos. 1&2, August 2014.
“The New Regional Order and Transnational Civil Society in Southeast Asia:
Focusing on Alternative Regionalism from Below in the Process of Building the8●

ASEAN Community,” World Political Science Review, Vol. 7, Issue 1, 2011.
“The New Northeast Asian Security Order and Transnational Civil Society:
Perspectives from Critical International Relations Theory,” Northeast Asian Studies,No. 17, October 2011.

Speaker Topic: Digital Commons, SMEs and Women Entrepreneurs“According to our definition, digital technology can be classified as an artificial and intangible
commons. The main challenges for this kind of commons include the underuse and a lack ofaccess.”Key Highlights:●●●●

From Mekong Commons to Mekong Community; a culmination of 5 years of
research.
Commons and its connection to the community.
Digital Commons defined and its connection.
SMEs, women entrepreneurs and APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040

Topic Summary:
From Mekong Commons to Mekong Community is a book published based on 5 years of
research considering the Mekong Region as an aggregation of various commons. It
investigates the various commons across the boundaries of the humanities, social sciences,and natural sciences. Commons as defined in this study is “some shared resource/domain
and some good/service whose overuse, underuse, and undersupply should be avoided
otherwise a community will lose or cannot enjoy it. This definition can be used in a lot offields, disciplines, and policies.
Digital Technology Commons is classified as Artificial and Intangible commons (Fig 2.3)
which suffer from the challenge of being underused and often a lack of access. Positive
resonance for this type of commons could encourage various stakeholders to implement
supportive policies for SMEs and women entrepreneurs. Unfortunately, women
entrepreneurs are most vulnerable to the economic shocks caused by Covid 19 in particular.
Consumers are changing their behaviors and turning to e-commerce for their needs. SMEs
and women entrepreneurs will need to adapt more quickly than ever to digital technology
and will need access to all the resources they can call on.
APEC Community and APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 is an open, dynamic, resilient andpeaceful Asia Pacific community. The concept of community has an affinity with the concept
of commons and the goal is to actively incorporate it in the future.

9Session Topic 1: Use Of Emerging Digital
Services For Promoting Cross border Business
Moderated by Prof. Patrick Charlton

Mr. Satoru Someya
Managing Director, Head of CEO's Office TradeWaltz (Japan)
Mr. Satoru Someya is Managing Director, Head of CEO’s Office andHead of Global & Alliance business department at TradeWaltz Inc.
He started his career at Mitsubishi Corporation in 2010. He has
engaged in projects for global trading systems and supported thelaunching of a trading subsidiary. He also has work experience as abridge engineer in India and an investor in digital startups. In recent
years, he has been assigned for digital transformation in business industries at theheadquarter of Mitsubishi Corporation and sent to TradeWaltz Inc as a Managing Director in
2020.
With a strong passion for international activities and blockchain, he has served as a
Discussion Coordinator for the Japan-ASEAN youth leaders’ summit, the cultural exchange
program organized by the Cabinet Office for 5 years, and also served as a lead organizer ofthe blockchain 2.0 meetup community in 2018.
Speaker Topic: Digital Trade Infrastructure “TradeWaltz”: Encouraging SMEs to Access
Global Trade“Company to company communication and economy to economy communication is mostly
done by paper document box, or sometimes PDF attachments, those are the kinds ofcommunication happening every day …”

Key Highlights:●●●●

Global trade comes with barriers and challenges that B2B businesses mustovercome when they think about expansion.
TradeWaltz has created a solution for the abundance of paperwork required when
operating with a limited staff.
The All in One platform is built with the idea of eliminating time wasted retyping dataand ensuring the formatting meets the criteria to send across borders.
From creating traction for TradeWaltz’s solution in 2017 to co-releasing the live linkconcept with the trade platforms of 5 economies, Japan, New Zealand, Australia,
Singapore, and Thailand.

Topic Summary:
Global trade can be a large challenge for SMEs. In international trade, many business-tobusiness (B2B) exchanges are still using paper and a great deal of time is spent on retyping
data and other manual work (Fig 3.1). Issue noted from Marie Wakino, CEO of Climbest is
stated as “We have started our own business to export our wonderful local products
overseas, but the work is too much for a few staff to do and we are currently only helping a10

large company.” TradeWaltz is a B2B communication DX platform built to assist with thisissue. Through the utilization of blockchain technology, they alleviate the pressures of thesechallenges and encourage SMEs to access global trade (Fig 3.3).
TradeWaltz’s All in One system provides a cross-industrial platform that supports a wide
variety of documents, creating an ecosystem to collaborate and utilize the accumulated data
to create a new business ecosystem. Traction for the service was first made in 2017 at the
Cross Industrial Consortium when they tested the proof of concept with NTP Singapore.
Research on AI and semantic technology and research on relevant laws (MLETR) andsubmission of a written request to government agencies (Fig 3.5). TradeWaltz then coreleased the live link concept with the trade platforms of 5 economies, Japan, New Zealand,
Australia, Singapore, and Thailand. With the aim to materialize this future collaboration andannounce the result by 2022 APEC (Fig 3.6-3.8).

Ms. Tamey McIntosh
Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer at Braiyt AI, Inc (Canada)
Ms. McIntosh is an innovative, customer-centric leader with 25 yearsof experience in both the private and public sectors. She has had aunique career that has spanned a wide variety of roles focused on
business transformation, management consulting, project
management, information technologies, and now artificial
intelligence.
Topic: Cross-Border Business by Entrepreneurs in Practice“I think one of the biggest benefits of dealing with the more human part of these challenges
is, bringing a different perspective. I was, every single time, the only woman on a call, but I
think it helped with the collaboration.”

Key Highlights:●●●●

BR[AI]T Artificial Intelligence and its 2 Steams; SaaS product and Security/Defense
Solutions.
Conducting business on an international scale.
Challenges to cross-border business.
Solutions to aid in international relations.

Topic Summary:
BR[AI]T is an Artificial Intelligence company that focuses on computer vision solutions with
two separate streams: a SaaS product that combines AI, computer vision with existing
cameras to provide businesses with real-time object detection and customer analytics
without using personal data and security/defence solution which is currently working on asolution for the Canadian Department of National Defence Object detection at Sea.
BR[AI]T made a conscious decision to conduct business on an international scale. One of
the main reasons is that different economies have different levels of acceptance towards AI,
allowing us to try various solutions where they will be accepted. By identifying potential
11

clients and partners on a broader scale, a proposal with an African economy that would use
satellite imagery and our object recognition and one with a Vietnamese company that ispiloting our automatic license plate reader was acquired.
There are many challenges to international trade, such as laws, regulations, accounting andcurrency rates. However, for BR[AI]T and perhaps many others one of the initial challenges
that are overlooked is often a human one. Challenges like language barriers, culturaldifferences, trust, and being a woman in a male-dominated industry.
There are always solutions to any challenge, with the language barrier: be mindful when you
speak, slow down and if possible have a bilingual speaker attend some meetings. Culturaldifferences can be researched, note any items that could be unintentionally offensive. For \trust, build a rapport, try to find a connection and really understand the needs and manage
expectations upfront.

Ms. Marie Sherylyn D. Aquia
Department of Trade and Industry (Philippines)
Ms. Marie Sherylyn “Lyn” Deleña Aquia is the Chief of theMultilateral Relations Division of the Bureau of International Trade
Relations, Department of Trade and Industry of the Philippines,
where she heads the APEC and WTO sections. She was thecoordinator for trade and investment issues during the APEC 2015
Chairmanship of the Philippines, which saw the adoption of the
Boracay Action Agenda in May 2015 and the submission of an
MSME proposal in the WTO in September. Lyn was elected as
Chairperson of the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment in 2016 and 2017. She
obtained her BA at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Philippines, and has master’s
credits from Ateneo de Manila University and Boston University. She co-owns a small
business that restores and refurbishes wooden furniture. She is married and has a daughter.
Topic: Emerging Digital Services and the Boracay Action Agenda“Women constitute more than half of our population, we're 109 Million right now and so thegender issue is very big in the Philippines. We are a big gender issue advocate. We havelaws and policies in place to support the women population and women entrepreneurs.”

Key Highlights:●●●

Boracay Action Agenda, overview and recommendations.
Capacity building that can support and encourage reforms to improve access tofinance and support MSMEs’ digitization efforts.
Providing an enabling environment in the Philippines.

Topic Summary:
The Boracay Action Agenda was created to strengthen actions taken in order to harness theopportunities presented by open and increasingly integrated markets and to take advantageof new opportunities that allow these enterprises to more significantly participate in global
12

trade. Recommendations for promotion of favorable regulatory and business environments
for MSMEs in GVCs in services by creating policies to support e-commerce and exploring
opportunities for clustering. Assistant for MSMEs to access the market, available financing
options, and customers by providing platforms for logistics and services for MSMEs. Utilizing
business-friendly tools for MSMEs such as APEC Services Trade Access Requirements(STAR) Database, APEC Virtual Knowledge Centre on Services (AVKCS), and APEC Trade
Repository (APEC TR).
Notable recommendations for capacity building can support work towards encouraging
reforms in trade and investment which could improve access to finance and support MSMEs’
digitization efforts. Online capacity-building portal featuring the use of small-scale ICT
devices for model electronic Certificates of Origin and customs-related rules and regulations.
Use of crowdfunding and other financing schemes to enable MSMEs to strengthen their
GVC participation and adoption of new technology for ICT-based services trade. By buildingon the existing regional network of MSMEs and women entrepreneurs to support enterprisecreation and increase the innovation capabilities of MSMEs.
The Philippines are already providing an enabling environment through initiatives such as
the Philippines' Internet Transactions Act (ITA) which seeks to regulate commercial
transactions on the Internet to protect both consumers and sellers from fraud and abuses.
Use of the United Nations Electronic Communications Convention will allow signatories tofacilitate the use of electronic communications in international contracts and strengthen theharmonization of e-commerce rules. Future focus on the eCommerce Philippines 2022
Roadmap which centers on market access, digitalization, and logistics integration, and lays
out the framework and strategic directions by setting 22 strategies and 22 agenda items for
2022.

Session 2: Trade in Services by Women
Entrepreneurs
Moderated by Prof.Jaswinder Kaur
Moderator’s comments:
Based on a report from the Government of Canada from July 2020 on Women-Owned SMEs
and Trade Barriers, it was found that almost 50% of women-owned SMEs are in retail trade,
professional services, information technology services, and cultural and public services.
Though women entrepreneurs tend to start businesses with a focus on the services sector,
whereas men tend to concentrate more in terms of manufacturing, there are still barriers
facing women SMEs in regards to trade and exports. This session focused on trade inservice by women entrepreneurs discussing some of these barriers faced and potential
solutions.

13Ms. Akemi Tsunagawa
Founder and CEO, Bespoke Inc. (Japan)
Akemi Tsunagawa is the Founder and CEO of Bespoke, Inc. –an AI startup founded in 2015 and located in Silicon Valley andTokyo. Bespoke is known for its AI-Powered Customer
Engagement Platform for the travel & hospitality industry todrive ancillary sales and to help with crisis management. Prior
to Bespoke, Akemi worked with Fidelity International, Deloitte,
and Macquarie Capital.

Topic: Use of AI Technology for Tourism and Other Services“The whole experience is bad enough, but not knowing what was going on, made theexperience way worse. So, today at Bespoke, we have a solution to address that issue,
which is like a real-time engagement platform in a single word. It's a chatbot to help you findinformation that you need.”

Key Highlights:●●●●

Bespoke Inc. creation for the use of AI technology for travel and hospitality industries.
There were 3 main challenges faced during its inception: being a female owner, AI
acceptance in new markets, and selling in the public sector, building trust.
Overcoming these challenges allowed them to gain contacts with hotels and airports.
Building on the groundwork already built to leverage a contract with the Government.

Topic Summary:Bespoke is known for its AI-powered customer engagement platform for the travel andhospitality industry to drive auxiliary sales and to help with crisis management. It provides areal-time engagement platform, founded in Tokyo and recently expanded to open a hub in
the heart of Silicon Valley. The concept was formed during a large earthquake in which there
was no communication to the workers evacuating the building causing chaos and confusion.
Bespoke Inc. created a frictionless and privacy-compliant AI-based solution to engage withthose seeking information when there is a crisis.
There were some challenges during Bespoke’s inception, challenges such as being a young
female in a male-dominated environment and building trust when dealing with AI and the
public sector. These challenges were overcome by understanding the hesitation behind
investing in women under 30, developing a rapport with different fundraising avenues, andunderstanding the needs of the sectors and how Bespoke can best fit these needs.
Bespoke is used in various ways by different sectors. Airports use the platform to manage
crowds and balance utilization e.g. at security screening stations Airlines can engage withtravellers during flight disruptions to reduce workload for gate agents. DMOs move from
Travel Marketers to Travel Managers by driving in-market restaurants & attraction spend
CVBs are winning more shows by leveraging Bespoke’s Traveler Satisfaction Score. Hotels
drive incremental spending at the property. Government organizations leverage the platform

14

in case of emergencies (natural and man-made emergencies) and to communicate withcitizens and tourists.

Dr. Sasiwimon Warunsiri Paweenawat
Associate Professor, School of Economics, University of the Thai
Chamber of Commerce (Thailand)
Sasiwimon is an Associate Professor at the School of Economics,
University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce. Her researchinterests include labor economics, gender economics, andinternational economics. Recently, she has focused on genderequality, female labor supply, and the impact of global value chainson the labor market. Her research has been published in peerreviewed journals such as World Development and Applied
Economics. She worked as a consultant on gender equality and human capital development
for the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Economic Research Institute for
ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). Sasiwimon received a bachelor’s degree in economics (firstclass honors) from Thammasat University, Thailand, a master’s degree in applied economics
from Monash University, Australia, and a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in economics from the
University of Colorado at Boulder, USA.
Topic: Women’s Economic Opportunities and Promotion of Trade in Services“Digital technology can empower women by creating opportunities for women to work or do
business in various locations with various flexible working hours for tomorrow with the digital
capacity. It turns services for non-trade. Both become tradable goods and digital.
Transforming the cost of engaging in and also, this allows women entrepreneurs toparticipate more in the global economy by improving the business process.”

Key Highlights:●

Trade-In services have grown rapidly during the last decades with new opportunities
for women entrepreneurs.
● Digital technology empowers women by providing new locations to apply their skills,
flexible working hours, and reduces the costs of engaging in trade.
● A barrier to entry for women entrepreneurs is a lack of access to financial capital andproductive resources.
● Government policies in regard to women in business should be mainstreamed todevelop solid policy-based solutions to reduce the barrier.
Topic Summary:Through technological change and ICT advancement, trade-in services have grown rapidly
during the last decades. This offers new opportunities for women entrepreneurs, which for
the ASEAN area a high proportion are in the service sector. Digital technology
advancements empower women by connecting them to work or businesses in various
locations with flexible working hours and through the digital transformation of the services
there is a reduced cost in engaging in trade. This allows SME and women entrepreneurs toparticipate in the global economy and improves business processes, allowing them toaccess new markets to find customers abroad, promote their new products and makeinternational payments. Promoting digital connectivity by increasing the quality of digital
15

infrastructure and decreasing the cost of access can allow women entrepreneurs to take fulladvantage of this transformation.
Women entrepreneurs lack access to financial capital and productive resources. Around 70% of SMEs owned by women in developing economies lack financial access and areunderserved by financial institutions (International Financial Cooperation, 2014). Women areunable to scale up operations & exploit the export market - limit potential growth. Women’sfund for early-stage & women-owned enterprises. Supporting women through financing;mentoring from other women entrepreneurs; and offering role models.
Government policy and regulatory environments for promoting women entrepreneurs.
Women engaging in trade in services tend to be small-scale entrepreneurs. Reducing
gender-based constraints & Improving opportunities Gender analysis and gendermainstreaming should be used to address constraints that women face in trade-in services.
The impact of service trade-related initiatives on the business opportunities of women
entrepreneurs should be analyzed.
When looking to promote women entrepreneurs in trade-in services. The key takeaways areto create supportive policies and regulatory environments. Mainstream gender in trade
policies and utilize international trade agreements.

Session 3: Policy Measures And Regulatory
Practices
Moderated by Ms.Clarecia Christie
Moderator’s comments:
When it comes to rules and regulations in regards to the digital space and trading services,
there are many barriers for women in the economic, political, and social environments. Thereis a need for more support for creativity and innovation for market access for women inbusiness, which in turn leads to better trade performance. For this session, we're looking at
policy measures and regulatory practices from a lawyer’s perspective on the service business.

Ms. Catherine O'Connell
Lawyer, Principal, and Founder of Catherine O'Connell Law,
Lawpreneur, Podcaster (New Zealand)
Catherine O’Connell is Principal & Founder of her awardwinning boutique law firm, Catherine O’Connell Law. She is
the first foreign female to set up a law practice in Tokyo andwinner of the British Chamber British Business Awards,
Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2020.
Prior to launching her commercial & corporate law practice in
2018, Catherine most recently served as Head of Legal and
APAC Regional Legal Counsel for Molex Japan LLC. She has
held senior In-House Legal Counsel positions at global brand16

name companies Panasonic, Olympus, and Mitsubishi Motors, and has extensive private
practice experience at Hogan Lovells (Tokyo and London) and Anderson Lloyd (New
Zealand).
Her business experience includes promoting legal services to SMEs and women
entrepreneurs, legal support for launching businesses/services in Japan, post-acquisition
integration of legal systems and legal literacy, bicultural and bilingual commercial
transactional support, transcultural management issues, compliance policies andprocedures, ethics investigations, in house legal department operations, management andprocedures
In addition to running her law practice, Catherine serves as Statutory Auditor on the Board of
CSL Behring K.K, President of Women in Law Japan, Vice-Chair of the Australian & New
Zealand Chamber of Commerce of Japan, and Chair of the Legal Services & IP Committeeof the American Chamber of Commerce in Japan.
Catherine earned her Bachelor of Arts in Japanese and Bachelor of Laws at the University ofCanterbury in New Zealand. She is a Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New
Zealand (1995) and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of England & Wales (2009). She is a
Foreign Registered Lawyer in Japan and a member of the Tokyo Dai-Ichi Bar Association.
Catherine has lived in Japan since 2002 and is the host of the “Lawyer on Air” Podcast
sharing inspirational stories about business and life in the law from women working in thelaw in Japan. She believes there are many ways to lead a lawyer's life and has threepassions: empowerment of women in Japan, wellness and flexible working for lawyers, andthe intersection of law and entrepreneurship.
Topic: A Lawyer’s Perspective on the Promotion of Cross-Border Service Business“Lawyers in particular love data because it gives evidence to our arguments and you can see
how this tool is going to be really useful because it has benchmarking. It exposes potential
challenges. It identifies really good practices.”

Key Highlights:●●●●

Challenges for SMEs and women entrepreneurs and in setting up a services-based
business.
Women Business & the Law 2021 Report from the World Bank measured laws andregulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies.
Data points, how they can impact decision making, and used to identify issues toform solutions.
Women's opportunities and outcomes depend very much on legal reforms.

Topic Summary:
There are challenges facing SME business owners and women entrepreneurs when it
comes to global expansion in a service-based business. It is quickly realized that theresources are limited and trying to find them can be tedious. Once found the common finding17

is that everything costs more than you think or hope. There is also an immense cost for greatideas sitting on the shelf and speed matters, the faster you can go from idea to action the
better. Regulations are plentiful and paperwork and administration suck up time immensely
before you can even commence trading. Harder still is to take your service business crossborder to trade.
A report produced in 2021 by the World Bank in regards to Women’s Business and Law
measured laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190 economies(Fig 4.1). It showed eight indicators that coincide with the various milestones a typical
woman may experience in her lifetime and her interactions with the law as she progresses
through and ends her career. This report also looked at the 10 economies that scored100/100 but only one economy in APEC scored 100/100, Canada (Fig 4.2-4.4). The Index
serves as a way to gauge the regulatory environment for women as entrepreneurs.
This kind of data is needed to make sense of the issues before we can tackle solutions. Data
gives an evidential basis for creating benchmarking, it helps expose challenges andidentifies good practices. Lessons can be learned from investigating the data and will be able
to be leveraged to better position yourself. Women's opportunities and outcomes dependvery much on legal reforms and economies with a greater female representation in thenational legislature are more likely to pass laws on laws that affect women.
Along with legal reforms, a discussion should be had on domestic social norms and theirimpact on female empowerment. Social norms in business that restrict participation based on
gender can impact younger females' perspective on what paths they can look to in
entrepreneurship and business opportunities.
Possible solutions to combat these barriers would be to have economies commit to action on
the reported data. Enact policy changes and capacity building international organizations.
Promote gender equality advocates, investors, researchers established SMEs, and Women
Entrepreneurs. Use of data to inform legislative change towards more inclusive workplaceenvironments in our economies.

Appendix
Introduction References
Ref 0.1 - Page 19
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=scschcomdis

Ref 0.2 - Page 22-23
https://arrow.tudublin.ie/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=scschcomdis

Ref 0.3 - Page 6
https://www.spf.org/awif/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Womens-Entrepreneurship-and-ICTSE-Asia_2017_en-2.pdfhttps://www.spf.org/awif/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/WomensEntrepreneurship-and-ICT-SE-Asia_2017_en-2.pdf

18

Ref 0.4 - The current legal text for CPTPP
https://www.mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements-inforce/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnershipcptpp/comprehensive-and-progressive-agreement-for-trans-pacific-partnership-text-andresources/

Dr. Hikari Ishido Figures
Fig 1.1 - Removal of service trade restrictiveness with SMEs and women
entrepreneurs in focus

Fig 1.2 - Structure of service trade restrictiveness for a service sector and
mode

19

Fig 1.3 - Online Survey Results
Respondents who are not considering foreign investment seem to have moreconcerns over their capacity and family matters.
As for the availability of funds, the respondents belonging to SMEs (firms with a sizeof fewer than 100 workers) are more concerned about it.
Fig 1.4 - Table. Average Scores of the Online Survey

Note: Average figures for effective respondents have been calculated for each category in thetable.Source: Online survey for this research.

Fig 1.5 - Correspondence analysis of the survey results

20

●
●

●

●

When viewed from the combination of individual-level questions and policy-level
questions, the following are the main findings.
As for the category “Females not planning foreign business expansion”, the threepolicy categories, “Barriers to competition”, “Other discriminatory measures” and“Safety of the area” are their main concerns, rather than individual-level concerns(e.g., Family).
Concerning “Females planning foreign business expansion”, the two individual level
items “Funds”, and “Family”, as well as “Restrictions to Movement of people” at thepolicy level are the main concerns. On “Male not planning foreign businessexpansion”, No closely associated components are observed.
Regarding “Males planning foreign business expansion”, “Capacity” (at the individuallevel) as well as “Restrictions on foreign entry” (at the policy level) are the mainconcerns in considering their business expansion abroad.

Fig 1.6 - Average scores of the online survey responses by the size of companies andby the intention of foreign investment (barriers against foreign business expansion in21

terms of individual factors)

Fig 1.7 - Average scores of the online survey responses by the size of the companies
and by the intention of foreign investment (barriers against foreign businessexpansion in terms of policy factors)*Those respondents who are not considering foreign investment seem to have moreconcerns over their capacity and family matters.
*As for the availability of funds, the respondents belonging to SMEs (firms with the size offewer than 100 workers) are more concerned about it, while those with larger firms are notso much concerned about it.
*“Safety of the area” for foreign investment is not a big hurdle for those respondents who are
not considering an investment.

Fig 1.8 - Average scores of the online survey responses by the size of the companies
22

(barriers against foreign business expansion in terms of policy factors)

Fig 1.9 - Average scores of the online survey responses by the size of the companies(barriers against foreign business expansion in terms of individual factors)

Fig 1.10 - Average scores of the online survey responses (total of all responses)

Dr.

Seiichi
IgarashiFiguresFig

2.1 - From
Mekong23

Commons to Mekong Community Toward a Synergetic Study - Chapter Breakdown
Introduction: From Mekong Commons to
Mekong Community Toward a Synergetic
Study Seiichi Igarashi
1. Innovation and Technological
Connectivity in the Mekong Region Sudam
Pawar
2. Public Health and Health Literacy in the
Mekong Region Chanuantong Tanasugarn
3. Traditional Medicine in the Mekong
Region Nara Oda
4. The Impact of Road Development on
HIV/AIDS Transmission in the Greater
Mekong Sub Region Liwa Pardthaisong
5. Green Freight and Logistics in the
Mekong Region Sanga Sattanun
6. Advanced Agricultural Technologies andInnovations in the Mekong Region: DNA
Markers, Plant Tissue Culture,
Hydroponics, and Plant Factories
Chalermpol
Kirdmanee and Michiko Takagaki
7. Dissemination of a Water Saving
Irrigation Technique for Sustainable Rice
Farming in the Mekong River Basin
Takayoshi Yamaguchi and Luu Minh Tuan
8. Regional Cooperation on Water
Resources in the Mekong Region: A
Perspective from the Mekong River
Commission Masashi Yokota
9. Labor Migration and Civil Society in the Mekong Region Seiichi Igarashi and Hari Prasad
Ghimire10. Anti-Human Trafficking Measures for Human Security in the Mekong Region Yuko
Shimazaki
11. Counterfeiting in the Mekong Region: A General Equilibrium, Product Variety Analysis on
Primary Markets Toshihiro Atsumi
Conclusion Seiichi Igarashi
Fig 2.2 - What is the Commons?
●From Mekong Commons to Mekong Community○ Commons = essential concept in examining, imagining, and constructing the
Mekong Community○ Our definition：‘‘some shared resource/domain and some good/service
whose overuse, underuse, and undersupply should be avoided otherwise acommunity will lose or cannot enjoy it’’○ Can be used in a lot of fields, disciplines, and policies
24Fig 2.3 - Digital Technology Commons●●●Classified as Artificial and Intangible commons
Main challenges underuse and lack of access
Positive resonance encouraging various stakeholders to implement supportive
policies for SMEs and women entrepreneurs

Fig 2.4 - Some Practices in the Mekong Region●●

Mekong Institute○ The only intergovernmental organization in the Mekong region○ Trying to promote trade/investment by providing support to SMEs, especiallyin the area of technological innovation
National Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (BIOTEC)○ A leading biotechnology research institute in the Mekong region○ Implementing a program to introduce tissue culture technology to SMEs

Fig 2.5 - APEC and Commons●●

SMEs/Women Entrepreneurs and COVID 19○ Most vulnerable to economic shocks caused by COVID 19○ Consumers are changing their behaviors and flocking online○ Need adaptation more than ever by using digital technology and need help
from all quarters
APEC Community and Commons○ APEC Putrajaya Vision 2040 →"an open, dynamic, resilient and peaceful Asia
Pacific community”○ The concept of community affinity with the concept of commons○ Community― various goods, resources, and services are discussed for thecommon interest

Mr. Satoru Someya Figures
Fig 3.1 - Global Trade entails so much difficulty for SMEs

25

In international trade, many business-to-business(B2B) exchanges are still paper or PDFbased, and a great deal of time is spent on retyping data and other manual works. This is ahuge hassle for SMEs because:
1. It Takes Time: 72 hours/ import&export in Japan○ *235 hours in ASEAN, 111 times longer than EU ( digitized ) Ref - World Bank
Research
2. Analog work Cost: USD 342/ trade-in Japan Ref - World Bank Research
3. Need a big office and warehouse○ *To execute paperwork and to store paper documents Ref - ASEAN-BAC
focal meeting
4. Need special knowledge to process complex applications intra-procedurals Ref Japan Machinery Center for Trade and Investment
Fig 3.2 - Issue noted from a young Japanese entrepreneur in trade business“We have started our own business to export our wonderful local products overseas, but thework is too much for a few staff to do and we are currently only helping a large company.”- Marie Wakino, CEO of Climbest Local SME from Kagoshima prefecture, JapanFig 3.3 - TradeWaltz is a B2B communication DX platform to solve this Issue
TradeWaltz is a cross-industrial business to business (B2B) trade platform utilizing
blockchain technology and encouraging SMEs to access global trade, because:
1. Cuts Time: 44% in Japan○ *60% in ASEAN economies Ref - PoC results in 2018 - 2019
2. Cut analog work Cost: 44% in Japan Ref - PoC results in 2018 -201 9
3. Don’t need office and warehouse○ Trade operations can be carried out remotely with a PC and the Internet. Ref- ASEAN-BAC focal meeting
4. Don’t need special knowledge○ Compliance checks and applications will be followed by the system Ref TradeWaltz development roadmap
Fig 3.4 - TradeWaltz’s feature: All in One●●●

Cross Industrial Platform
Wide coverage of documents○ Structured documents (NOT PDF) on the platform
Creation of ecosystem○ Collaborate with other PFs and utilize the accumulated data to create new
business ecosystem

Fig 3.5 - Traction: Cross Industrial Consortium since 2017 for trade digitalization
Activities (2017):● Identification and sharing of cross-industrial business issues● Created TradeWaltz prototype● Proof of concept with NTP Singapore
26Activities (2018) - PoC results 44 60% efficiency improvement● Research on AI and semantic technology for L/C document check● Proof of concept in Japan and Thailand● Research on relevant laws (MLETR) and submission of a written request to
government agencies
Activities (2019) - Thailand set digital trade as ASEAN agenda● Release of the pilot version● Trial deployment in Thailand involving 24 companies
Activities (2020) - TradeWaltz● An announcement in World Economic Forum 2020 sideline event● Started commercialization

Fig 3.6 - Supporting ASEAN Economies’ Trade Consortium launch (Thailand and VietNam)
The Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan proposed a trade digitization
initiative to Viet Nam in 2020 and started consortium development activities in Viet Nam.
Fig 3.7 - Concept co-released on May 11th in APEC workshop Connecting 5 APEC
economies’ platforms in 2022

27

●
●

We co-released the live link concept with the trade platforms of 5 economies, Japan,
New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, and Thailand.
We aim to materialize this future collaboration and announce the result by 2022
APEC.

Fig 3.8 - Completed SME’s PoC (Japan Chinese Taipei) utilizing TradeWaltz in
September
Traction for SMEs PoC video: https://youtu.be/i5GIsiq563o

Ms. Catherine O’Connell Figures
Fig 4.1 - Women Business & the Law 2021 Report from World Bank●●

Measures laws and regulations that affect women’s economic opportunity in 190
economies.
Eight indicators of that coincide with the various milestones a typical woman may
experience in her lifetime & her interactions with the law as she progresses throughand ends her career.

Fig 4.2 - Women Business & the Law index - Scores
10 economies scored 100/100 but only one economy in APEC scored 100/100. (Canada)
●
●
●
●
●

New Zealand 97.5
Australia 96.9
Lowest economy score = 26.3
Average = 76.1
7/21 APEC economies are average or under28

Fig 4.3 - Example: entrepreneurship indicator for the average score of 75 (Ecuador).
The Index serves as a way to gauge the regulatory environment for women as
entrepreneurs.

29Fig 4.4 - Economies That Undertook Gender Equality reforms 2019-2020●●

Two APEC economies moved on the pay indicator. One on Marriage
No APEC economy reformed in the entrepreneurship economy

Fig 4.5 - Data
We need data to make sense of the issues before we can tackle solutions.
●
●
●
●
●

Data gives an evidential basis
Benchmarking tool
Exposes challenges
Identifies good practices
Lessons learned and able to be leveraged

Fig 4.6 - Legal and Political Representation
Legal: women's opportunities and outcomes depend very much on legal reforms.

30

Political: economies with a greater female representation in the national legislature are more
likely to pass laws on laws that affect women.
Fig 4.6 - What’s next?
Economies’ Commitment to action the report data. Enact policy changes and capacity
building international organizations, gender equality advocates, investors, researchers
established SMEs, and Women Entrepreneurs, all of us can use the data to inform legislativechange in our economies. Source solutions through Policies and Capacity Building.

31