There is a big difference between completing a course and actually putting the learning into practice.
That was very much the focus when participants from Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam came back together in Laos for the post-course component of the Mekong-Australia Partnership Regional Masterclass on Building Inclusive and Resilient SMEs in the Mekong Subregion.
Earlier in the year, the two-week Masterclass in Luang Prabang brought together SME, government and ecosystem leaders to explore inclusive finance, financial management, climate resilience, market access, policy and regulation, innovation and Gender Equality, Disability and Social Inclusion (GEDSI). The program was delivered by UQ International Development on behalf of the Mekong-Australia Partnership with Wendy Perry from Workforce BluePrint leading the program alongside Graham Poon.
But the Masterclass was only one part of the program.
Participants returned home, undertook mentoring and developed Work Based Projects addressing real SME challenges in their own countries. The post-course program on 29–30 September was about bringing everyone back together, seeing what had happened since June, sharing those projects and, importantly, identifying what could happen next.
Starting With The Ecosystem In Vientiane
Rather than beginning the post-course workshop in a conference room, the first morning began with the Laos Innovation Corridor – Innovation Ecosystem Roundtable at the Lao National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Vientiane.
The premise was simple: innovation starts with an enabling ecosystem.
The roundtable brought MAPS participants together with Lao leaders to examine how finance, business support organisations, digital platforms, accelerators and technology companies can work together to support businesses from start-up through to growth and internationalisation.
The discussion explored questions such as What do SMEs need for growth in 2026? What programs are actually working? How can access to finance and capital improve? How do we make entrepreneurial ecosystems genuinely inclusive and collaborative? How do SMEs build resilience? And where can organisations collaborate rather than working separately?
It was deliberately designed as an exchange rather than a series of presentations, building on the collaborative approach established through the earlier Masterclass and connecting participants with local business and ecosystem leaders. Invitation letter Networking Ev…
Learning From Businesses That Have Actually Done It
One of the strongest themes throughout this program has been the value of learning directly from businesses, entrepreneurs and ecosystem leaders.
The Innovation Corridor then continued towards Vang Vieng with the Inthira story, exploring the growth from one restaurant in Vientiane into businesses spanning hospitality, tourism and experiences.
That conversation brought another set of very practical SME questions to life: knowing when to grow or diversify, testing ideas before committing significant resources, attracting and retaining good people, making sustainability commercially valuable and identifying the capabilities entrepreneurs across Laos and the Mekong will need over the next five to ten years.
These are exactly the sorts of conversations that make SME development programs useful - real businesses, real decisions and lessons that can be adapted rather than simply copied.
From A Masterclass To Getting Stuff Done
This practical emphasis has been there from the beginning. During the June Masterclass, a one-day Growth Hack challenged teams to take immediate action. Collectively, participants generated outcomes including 100 sales, meetings with Unilever and investors, new branding and packaging, customer validation through surveys, events, partnerships, business plans, action plans, pitch decks and other forms of market traction.
After returning home, the emphasis shifted to mentoring and Work Based Projects.
UQ Global Partnerships described this phase as moving “from learning to action”, with participants applying their learning to real challenges including SME capability, economic opportunities for women and marginalised groups, access to finance and digital tools.
That is an important principle for SME development more broadly. Training has greater value when it is connected to a real problem, followed by implementation, mentoring, feedback and accountability.
Work Based Projects: Where The Learning Became Real
The second day in Vang Vieng brought the focus firmly back to participants. The morning began by drawing out lessons from the Laos Innovation Corridor and considering how approaches to finance, innovation, infrastructure, entrepreneurship, agriculture, tourism and community enterprise might be adapted within participants' own countries.
Participants then presented the Work Based Projects they had refined through mentoring.
This wasn't simply a final assessment. Each presentation created an opportunity to receive targeted feedback from peers and mentors and to identify pathways for continued regional collaboration.
And that peer-to-peer element matters.
There is extraordinary knowledge within a group of people working on SME development across five neighbouring countries. Someone working on access to finance in Vietnam may have an idea relevant to an entrepreneur in Laos. An approach to women's economic participation in Cambodia may spark something that can be adapted in Myanmar or Thailand. A digital solution developed for one market may have applications elsewhere.
The value isn't only in what a facilitator can teach. It is also in creating the conditions for participants to learn from, challenge and connect with each other.
Inclusion And Resilience Need To Be Built In
GEDSI and resilience were not side topics added to the program, they were embedded across it.
The original Masterclass considered financing barriers, financial capability, climate-resilient business models, equitable participation in value chains and regulatory environments through an inclusion lens.
That focus reflects a broader question for SME ecosystem development: who gets to participate in economic opportunity, who faces barriers, and what needs to change?
The post-course workshop continued that conversation, including speakers and discussion looking at GEDSI through business, creative and technology perspectives.
Australian Perspectives: Inclusion, Innovation and Systems Change
Day two also gave us the opportunity to bring two Australian voices into Vang Vieng virtually, connecting the Mekong participants with practical perspectives on GEDSI, business, creative industries, technology and systems change. The workshop was deliberately designed to combine short presentations with participant questions and discussion.
Onnie Chan, founder of Women in Creative Technologies, shared a creative technology and entrepreneurship perspective. Her work focuses strongly on increasing participation and opportunity for women in technology and designing inclusion into technology from the outset. Through initiatives including Power Her Up, she has also been supporting women to develop and grow ideas and businesses.
Onnie's contribution was particularly relevant to our conversations about what an inclusive SME ecosystem looks like in practice. It reinforced that inclusion isn't something to add once a business, product or program has already been designed; considering different people, experiences and abilities from the beginning can influence the opportunity itself.
Dr Josie McLean brought a complementary perspective around leadership, complex systems, climate, sustainability and creating change. Her work spans leadership development, organisational change and sustainability, with a strong interest in how change happens within complex systems.
For participants developing Work Based Projects in very different economic, social and institutional contexts across the Mekong, this systems perspective was particularly useful. SME development doesn't happen in isolation. Entrepreneurs operate within interconnected systems of people, culture, finance, policy, markets, technology, communities and the environment.
Having Onnie and Josie join us from Australia also demonstrated something we wanted the program itself to achieve: connections that extend beyond the classroom and across countries, sectors and disciplines. Their contributions prompted questions and conversations that participants could connect back to their own businesses, programs and SME ecosystems.
Five Things To Take Away For SME Development
For me, the post-course program reinforced five ideas.
Start with the ecosystem, not just the entrepreneur. SMEs need customers, finance, skills, infrastructure, policy settings, technology, networks and people who can open doors.
Make learning practical - case studies are useful. Actually testing an idea, talking to customers, developing a pitch, making a sale or building a partnership is much more powerful.
Stay involved after the workshop as mentoring, introductions and follow-up help turn good intentions into implementation.
Build inclusion and resilience into the business model as this should influence how opportunities are designed, financed, staffed, supplied and scaled.
Create networks that outlive the program. Perhaps one of the most valuable outcomes is the relationships between participants across Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam, and between the Mekong region and Australia.
The formal program concluded with participant presentations, evaluation, discussion about the alumni network and a closing celebration and graduation recognising achievements and encouraging continued collaboration across the Mekong region and Australia.
But hopefully that isn't really the end.
What Comes Next?
There are significant opportunities to keep building connections between SME and entrepreneurial ecosystems in Australia and across the Mekong.
That could mean introductions between businesses, shared programs, guest speakers, mentoring, trade and market connections, ecosystem exchanges, innovation partnerships or simply connecting two people working on the same problem in different countries.
After spending time with this group through the Masterclass, mentoring and post-course program, one thing stands out: there is no shortage of ideas. The opportunity now is to keep turning those ideas into action.
If you are working in SME development, entrepreneurship, innovation, inclusive economic development or business ecosystem development in Australia or the Mekong region and would like to connect with people involved in this work, please get in touch.
Khob chai lai lai, Laos… until next time.
Wendy Perry was one of the Course Leaders for the Mekong-Australia Partnership Regional Masterclass on Building Inclusive and Resilient SMEs in the Mekong Subregion and is Managing Director of Workforce BluePrint.