Since 2000 “micro-enterprises” have been a hot topic in Taiwan, and to encourage women entrepreneurs, the government launched the Phoenix Micro Start-up Program and the Flying Geese Program. At last year’s Women and the Economy Forum, sponsored by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), Taiwan shared its experiences in fostering economic and entrepreneurial empowerment for women, and the presentation was well received by participants.

Workshop participants from ASEAN and South Asian nations visit Green-in-Hand, a woman-owned Taiwanese company.

Women’s entrepreneurship and soft power

The 12 participants in this year’s workshop hailed from Nepal, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. And the workshop’s central theme was “Women’s Enterprises Start-up.”

Aside from the course of lectures, the workshop offered participants the opportunity to visit the Kao­hsiung City Government and local women’s organizations, as well as Ane­wei (a fashion brand), Xie Xie Tea and Green-in-Hand (sellers of agricultural products) and other examples of successful companies started by women entrepreneurs. By witnessing the operations of these enterprises, participants experienced the soft power of Taiwanese society.    

Participants from different countries seized the opportunity to study in Taiwan and treasured the experience. It allowed them to build new friendship networks and deepen the relationships between Taiwan and the countries at the heart of the Taiwan government’s New Southbound Policy. 

Workshop participants from Thailand and Sri Lanka check out business practices at Green-in-Hand. They are eager to apply the lessons in their own countries.

In search of management strategies

Among the workshop’s participants was Cha­mai­porn Cha­ro­en­tang­som­but, founder of 93army Coffee in Bangkok and the granddaughter of a soldier who was part of the Nationalist forces stranded in northern Thailand at the end of the Chinese Civil War.

Her reason for returning to Taiwan was to study new management and marketing techniques to help improve her expanding business.

After experiencing some success of her own, Cha­ro­en­tang­som­but hopes to give back to society. Thailand has a serious problem with prostitution, and she wanted to study the ways that Taiwanese enterprises contribute to society. She wishes to help Thai women return to the regular workforce, and hopes her business can be a force for good in society.

Trendy retro designs featured on rice packages and other products capture the attention of potential buyers.

How to finance a business

The Phoenix Micro Start-up Program offers entrepreneurs start-up financing at subsidized rates, mentoring services, and guaranteed loans. The Flying Geese Program, on the other hand, offers customized, integrated counseling measures. Both programs provide services generally unavailable in the home countries of the participants and are therefore an extremely popular part of the workshop. 

Headquartered in Hanoi, the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) was established in 1930 to support other women’s unions in Vietnam and to provide funds and microcredit to impoverished Vietnamese families.

The two representatives from the VWU who participated in the workshop described their experiences in Vietnam and shared some details of the agency’s next ten-year plan, currently in preparation. Their challenges for effectively implementing the ten-year plan include finding a model for coordination between government and non-government agencies and deciding what services would best aid women entrepreneurs. Taiwan’s experience should provide some useful reference points. 

Diep Nguyen, a workshop participant representing the Vietnam Women’s Union, enjoys the give and take of the workshop lectures.

Finding new value in farm goods

Four of the participants were from the National Agricultural Training Center in Ban­dung, Indonesia.

Indonesia’s farming population is rapidly aging, and younger generations are often unwilling to do the work. Farmers are generally idle from the rice harvest until planting time. A workshop participant named ­Shinta attended the lectures to find ways to add value to farm products and to cultivate a business-oriented mindset among farmers.

The marketing techniques used by Green-in-Hand, which works with rice growers in Eastern Taiwan, were highly instructive for ­Shinta, and she learned much about packaging design and online sales by studying the company’s business practices. It allowed her to see rice not just as a foodstuff but also a gift item representative of local culture. ­Shinta hopes to take these lessons back to Indonesia, where she would like to offer similar courses to aid local farmers. 

Moza Pramono, from Indonesia, brims with confidence as she shows off her eyelash line. She is her company’s best marketer.

The power of marketing

Another workshop participant was Moza Pra­mono, an entrepreneur who traveled from Jakarta, Indonesia. She is the owner of three companies and was representing Southeast Asia’s oldest organization for female entrepreneurs, the Indonesian Business Women’s Association (IWAPI).

Bursting with energy, Moza took the opportunity before the lectures to introduce herself to other participants and hand out business cards.

A mother of two, Moza explores ways for her family to travel on a limited budget, and she set up a family travel site (liburkeluarga.com) to share her experiences and to give friends a platform to share theirs. Aside from attending the workshop, she took the opportunity to recommend products from Taiwan on her website and uploaded videos of notable places.

Moza was surprised by the cleanliness of Taipei City, and while visiting the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall, she couldn’t resist asking about it. “Can you tell me why there’s no garbage strewn around?” she inquired. She later made a video clip introducing viewers to the clean streets of Taipei.

A design enthusiast, Moza also founded a line of false eyelashes called “Lashes by Moza.” They differ from the common factory-made varieties because they are made by hand with real hair by Indonesian housewives. She displays the Moza brand logo not just on her products but also on accessories like handbags and phone cases. She also likes to wear Moza-emblazoned clothes, and promotes her brand wherever she goes. 

Because of the obstacles faced by women entrepreneurs, IWAPI has become a major platform for them to share experiences.

Moza also serves as the director of marketing for IWAPI and works with international companies on a plan to expand women’s entrepreneurship. Their goal this year is to assist 800 women in eight cities in Indonesia.

In Asia the issues of employment for women and women’s entrepreneurship have been met with indifference in the past. But increasing awareness of women’s rights and demands for equality have helped narrow the gender gap. Taiwan’s own progress on this front is a beacon for women in the region. 

Following the Workshop on Women’s Enterprises Start-up, the ICDF is planning further workshops this year, including one on finding new value-added for agricultural products, and one on facilitating trade. They estimate that they will be able to assist about 80 participants annually from ASEAN and South Asian countries and so deepen the ties between Taiwan and countries targeted by the New Southbound Policy.   

International participants happily pose for a group photo. The workshop’s international nature fosters cross-cultural exchanges.

(Lung Pei-ning/photos by Lin Min-hsuan/

Four participants from the National Agricultural Training Center in Bandung, Indonesia, enjoy a stroll through Taipei’s streets.

tr. by Robert Green)