OECD: Thai SMEs self reliant but driven mainly by necessity | Bangkok Post: business

DEVELOPMENT

Despite some minor obstacles facing Thailand's small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector, the country's self-reliant entrepreneurship is the envy of developed countries, says an official with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

``From the outside, what is remarkable about Thailand is the fact that people have a will to find their own solutions. It's a country where people don't stay  idle waiting for someone else to take care of them, and self-reliant grassroots development is the best way to ensure economic development,'' said Sergio Arzeni, director of the OECD's Centre for Entrepreneurship.

Over the last five years, he noted, 98% of new job creation had been by small firms.