Private sector consultance and training is essential for the development of STI MSMEs and is implemented by entrepreneurial mentors. Entrepreneurial Mentorship is one of the general practices in APEC region, but discrepancies in effectiveness exist among member economies, which could put negative influnce on the incubation of MSMEs and therefore hinder the development of enterprises.

The project aims to define and study entrepreneurial mentors from perspective of connectivity of people, information and policies, to identify policies recommendations for enhancing link of STI start-ups to industrial experience and knowledge, and to improve STI MSMEs’ capacity building for cross boarder business.

A 3-day workshop will be scheduled in January 2018 in Xi’an, China in forms of best practices sharing, roundtable discussion, mentors coaching sessions and on-site visit. And to make the effect sustainable, an entrepreneurship supporting seminar will continue to be organized subsequently.