Prioritizing digital connectivity and digital economy in MSMEs sector as key element of post-pandemic resilience in LMC. Regional cooperation plays an important role in support MSMEs to participating digital transformation. Existing of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation focus on digital connectivity is one of the priority areas to provide opportunities for the region to cope with the current COVID-19 crisis and overcome long-term development challenges. As well as, Global Development Initiative which focuses on digital economy and digital inclusion is foundational to inclusive economic growth. Boosting regional cooperation on digital transformation, adopting digital technologies to leverage existing ties and create new ones, and focused investment into regional interoperable digital infrastructure will help accelerate COVID-19 recovery and sustainable economic resilience.

Recognizing this background, access to digital connectivity remains an important task. Through this strategy, Mekong Institute (MI) continues to work with the government, private sector, and academia to catalyze innovations and scale digital solutions that address systemic constraints in MSMEs digitalization for post-pandemic resilience. Since the early onset of pandemic, MI has been embracing digital connectivity by facilitating a platform to share good practices and lessons-learned on experiences in applied digital technologies among government officials, MSMEs, and development practitioners. MI recognizes the promising role that digital connectivity could play in inclusive and sustainable COVID-19 recovery in region.

In this context, MI propose to implemented one-year project on “Scaling-Up Digital Connectivity for Micro, Small, and Medium-sized Enterprises in the Lancang-Mekong Countries for Post-Pandemic Resilience”. The project aims to identify digital technologies and solutions that can be successfully scaled up in the LMC and promote feasible policies and strategies that could best support in scaling-up digital connectivity in MSMEs sector, with focus on showcase public and private sector initiatives to support MSMEs, and discuss how governments and development partners can further engage with the private sector to pave the way for a quicker economic recovery in LMC, which provide a pathway to contributes to achieving goal of the Lancang-Mekong Cooperation, the Global Development Initiative, and the SDGs.