Our Services

OUR SERVICES

*Technology Transfer and Sharing*
The continued growth of SMMEs is dependent on technological development. Technonet’s technology sharing and transfer activities focus on the current needs of existing SMMEs in its member countries. The principal aim of these activities is to upgrade the technological capabilities of the SMMEs, thereby enhancing their productivity and international competitiveness. Technonet has proven that barriers to technology sharing and transfer can be circumvented and that "secret" technologies of countries or manufacture can be shared if it is accessed through the right channels. This program has put Technonet in the mainstream of technology flows, both North-South (from developed to developing countries) and South-South (inter developing countries).

Entrepreneurship and Enterprise Development

With the belief that the entrepreneur is the prime mover in small enterprise success and that entrepreneurship development is an important ingredient in SMME development, Technonet embarked on entrepreneurship development as one of its key program thrusts. The basic concept was to develop successful entrepreneurs from a pool of potential entrepreneurs through planned training intervention, supported by a socio-economic, cultural, political and technological environment conducive to successful entrepreneurial endeavours.

Technonet also realizes the dearth of skilled trainers in this field, and organizes trainers’ training courses and assists in the institutionalization of such programs.

To support entrepreneurial initiatives, Technonet has packaged several training materials on the managerial, technical, socio-cultural and psychological dynamics of entrepreneurship.

Industrial Information Dissemination

Technonet Asia has effectively established a viable network for industrial information exchange where the member organizations can freely avail of each other’s information resource and get responses readily. Technonet was instrumental in the resource build up of several POs’ industrial information services through appropriate hardware and software support. Technonet conducts special training courses for information service staff in information processing, repackaging and dissemination activities as well as to increase the competence of information services managers to run their information services more effectively through observation visits to the more advanced information centres and dispatch information experts to other member organizations.
It also provides support to the member organizations in the preparation of current awareness, technical enquiry, retrospective searching and selective information services. Technonet has facilitated continuous information exchanges via Internet facilitation. This networking process has delivered a substantial amount of relevant information to SMME users in the member countries.

Industrial Extension Service

While SMMEs need technological information for their growth and competitiveness, the entrepreneurs need guidance not only in getting the appropriate information from the right source at the right time, but also in making this information understandable and implementable at shopfloor level. This is the rationale for industrial extension.

Technonet has made an indelible mark in "institutionalizing" the industrial extension profession in the member countries. From virtually an unheralded and taken-for-granted job to a full-pledged profession, Technonet has trained specialist technology-oriented extension officers on specialized subject areas.

Technonet helped in building the industrial extension training infrastructure of several member countries so that many of them have the expertise to conduct their own local extension training courses even in their own national language, with most of the Technonet training materials translated in the local language

Technonet has prepared a special training manual on extension services that is serving as an excellent reference materials for the extension service practitioners.

*Professional Expertise & Consultancy*
Technonet Asia maintains a professional experts database. These professionals have strong academic credentials and have acquired substantial experience in a wide variety of fields related to small and medium industry development. The regionally based experts have individual areas of specialization, combined with their familiarity with national and regional issues, enable Technonet to be extremely well placed to undertake multi-dimensional consultancy assignments. Technonet is also able to call upon the services of consultants drawn from various agencies in the private and public sectors to complement its resources with any particular skills that may be needed for specific projects.
Technonet’s strong links with the governments, the academe, the small and medium business community such as chambers, federations and associations, as well as businesses, bring to the fore a dynamic network of people that encompasses the entire gamut of SMME development.

*Pollution Control Awareness Program for SMEs*
In most of the countries in the Asian countries, SME make up the majority businesses both in terms of numbers of enterprises and employment. As a result of their uncontrolled discharges, the level of pollution is increasing considerably in most of the developing countries of this region. Several studies have confirmed that SMEs are contributing a significant quantity of toxic effluents into river water that is threatening public life.
Technonet has recently embarked on a new program on pollution minimization measures to build up awareness among the SME entrepreneurs on the long term economic benefit in maintaining a cleaner environment in their production facilities. Simple measures in the framework of good housekeeping, rational use of water, raw materials and energy can make their businesses more profitable. Special training workshops, consultancy programs are organized to channel appropriate knowledge to SMEs.