2026 OECD Southeast Asia Regional Forum

As AI technologies become more accessible, they offer new opportunities to improve business processes, develop new products and services, and strengthen firms’ ability to adapt to disruptions. However, many MSMEs continue to face barriers to adoption, including gaps in skills, finance, infrastructure and digital capabilities. Against a backdrop of rapid technological change and evolving AI governance, policies are needed to support the responsible and trustworthy adoption of AI while ensuring that businesses can build the capabilities needed to adapt and remain resilient. Drawing on the OECD’s background paper on Digitalisation policies in ASEAN and AI taxonomy for SMEs, as well as recent international policy developments, this session will explore how policymakers can foster an enabling environment for AI adoption. It will highlight OECD and G7 initiatives, practical tools and policy approaches to help ASEAN MSMEs harness AI to boost productivity, innovation and competitiveness, while strengthening their capacity to adapt to future economic and technological disruptions.

The year 2026 has highlighted ASEAN’s vulnerability to energy, transport and supply-chain disruptions, underscoring the need to strengthen the resilience of its economies and businesses. At the same time, the region's rapidly expanding digital economy and AI ecosystem are providing new sources of growth that are less directly dependent on physical trade routes. Strong growth in digital trade and digitally deliverable services, accelerating e-commerce and digital infrastructure investment, and rising AI-related demand are helping diversify ASEAN's growth model. Building on the research conducted in partnership with the ASEAN Coordinating Committee on MSMEs, the session would look at the challenges facing MSMEs and the policy responses adopted across ASEAN Member States to mitigate their effects. As digital technologies and AI increasingly underpin productivity growth and economic dynamism, periods of disruption can also accelerate their adoption, enabling enterprises to enhance resilience, adapt to changing market conditions and unlock new opportunities for growth.

Building on the key insights throughout the Forum, this closing session will address elements of recommendations for implementation of SME digitalisation and AI policies in Southeast Asia. It will also present areas for continued cooperation and knowledge exchange in support of enterprise development and digital transformation across the region.