IBM INITIATIVE HELPS SMALL COS MAKE IT BIG IN EMERGING MARKETS

Ashish Rukhaiyar, Danang, Vietnam
The Economic Times

Mai Vsan Quang started his shipping company — Asiatrans Vietnam — in 2003, a firm which is into handling logistics and port operations for many foreign and domestic shipping majors. Quang, however, had a problem. His firm was just one of the many small and medium enterprises (SMEs) operating in Danang. He wanted to bring his company on the national map and needed guidance for it.

Help, luckily, was not far away. His firm’s membership with Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) proved helpful. VCCI is the local partner of global technology major IBM that is working with various SMEs in Vietnam, giving them recommendations on efficient use of resources. “Through VCCI I got in touch with Pradeep Setlur of IBM who worked with my staff for four weeks and suggested some important changes,” said Quang.

Setlur is one of the many IBM volunteers who are part of the Corporate Services Corp (CSC) initiative of IBM. These volunteers are full-time IBM employees and are selected through an in-house screening process. Once trained, they are sent to different countries, mostly emerging markets, to work with local companies.

“CSC is IBM’s response to globalisation,” said IBM’s senior program manager (corporate citizenship) Kevin Thomson. With this program, IBM helps in creating leaders, he added. CSC volunteers are currently working in many emerging countries including Ghana and Philippines.

IBM, said Thomson, has a very competitive online application procedure with baseline eligibility conditions. “Only the top-25 percent employees are eligible to apply,” he said. There were around 55,000 applications for 100 volunteer positions. While the first batch has already started work, the next batch would be out in 2009. Over the next three years, IBM intends to send 600 professionals to emerging countries.