The APO Green Productivity (GP) 2.0 Roadmap highlights regulations and financial incentives as key approaches to sustainable development in response to current trends. Recognizing the gap in capacity building in micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) and their crucial role in the pursuit of green transition, the Workshop on Enhancing Access to Finance for MSMEs for Technological Upgrading and Resource Efficiency was held on 19–22 August 2025 in Vientiane, Lao PDR. Hosted by the Lao National Productivity Organization, the workshop aimed to help participants understand crucial aspects related to climate finance, gain insights into the current tax landscape in the Asia-Pacific region, and explore approaches to leveraging various financial mechanisms for technological upgrading and resource efficiency.

Twenty-five participants from 13 APO members gained insights from five resource persons: one each from the Republic of China, India, and Singapore and two from Lao PDR. Sessions covered factors nudging enterprises toward green transition pathways, the emerging climate finance policy landscape in the Asia-Pacific, and approaches to green finance in Lao PDR. They also focused on greenhouse gas protocols and carbon accounting; environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting for transparency and mitigation of risks; and building capacity in ESG reporting. Participants learned about metrics strengthening enterprises’ bottom line and environmental performance, how to leverage climate finance instruments, and cases from Lao PDR on the role of the central bank in strengthening MSMEs’ access to finance.

The site visits to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Agency of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Saleumsouk Micro Finance Institute deepened participants’ understanding of efforts made by the government to facilitate access to finance for MSMEs. On the last day of the workshop, the participants applied the knowledge they had gained into plausible solutions through group work on a case study.