Facebook's findings from its survey in Thailand suggest that a good proportion of local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are quite optimistic about their futures.
The "Future of Business" survey questioned 6,418 Thai SMEs respondents in a collaboration between Facebook, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the World Bank, and found that 32% of total respondents are positive about the future.
About 13% of SMEs state that they created jobs in the past six months and 33% say that they want to create jobs in the next six months.
Other findings indicate that 74% of respondents see attracting customers as their biggest challenge, followed by increasing revenue (63%) and uncertainty over economic conditions (56%).
Up to 60% of respondents use online tools or platforms for at least four out of six purposes listed, and 79% of businesses say they use online tools to display products and services.
Of those surveyed, 25% engage in international trade, higher than the global average of 17%.
"This is high considering that 79% of these businesses have fewer than 10 employees and are no large multinationals," said Clair Deevy, Asia-Pacific head of economic growth initiatives at Facebook.
The most commonly reported challenges for small businesses engaging in international trade are finding business partners (71%), market access limitations (68%), and different regulations in other countries (59%).
Businesses run by women use digital tools for three of the six purposes included in the Future of Business survey, more than male-run businesses.
Facebook expects the survey will be a source of information for SMEs.
The partnership between the three bodies carrying out the survey is a natural fit, according to their press release.
The OECD and World Bank understand what questions to ask small businesses, and Facebook can ask those questions to one of the largest online communities of SMEs in the world, especially given that Facebook has around 41 million users in Thailand, as well as a physical office.
Facebook believes in the value that data can provide to solve real world challenges.
With more than 60 million SMEs across the world using Facebook to connect with customers, this survey is a unique window into the new digital economy, shedding light on how these SMEs operate.
"To help businesses succeed in the new mobile economy, we need to understand the current and future economic environments in which businesses operate," said Ms Deevy.
Businesses can help you understand the challenges they face and the opportunities that exist to help them grow.
This is a time to connect more, not less.
"And the more connected small businesses are to their own economy and to the international economy, the more success and growth they can enjoy. The more we can understand those connections and how they can fuel economic growth, the better," said Ms Deevy.