APR works closely with governments throughout the region and with major international organizations such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the World Bank, and the United Nations on designing and implementing projects to enhance policies for supporting private sector development and upgrading firms' capacities.

We at APR position ourselves at the forefront of policy research in private sector development. With a long and successful track record, APR's principles have been the consultants of choice for many government agencies involved with industrial policy and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). We aim to implement action-oriented, long-term solutions that meet the needs of our public sector clients and support the development of the private sector.

We provide a range of services to enhance the activities of relevant government agencies and firms themselves, including:

Cambodia SME Development Program: Program to support the Cambodia government’s efforts to create a legal and regulatory environment that is conducive to business development. Focus was on establishing an SME development policy framework; developing business registration and licensing reform; and improving SMEs’ access to finance. Consulting services performed include: (i) Working with the SME Sub-Committee and SME Secretariat in revising the SME Development Framework (SMEDF) and assessing progress in implementing the SMEDF and its impact; (ii) Reviewing the availability of information on SMEs from relevant ministries, assisting the SME statistics technical working group (TWG) and SME Secretariat in preparing a plan for collecting, collating, and disseminating SME data from relevant ministries; and (iii) Proposing recommendations on how to better integrate and improve SME data collection and collation in the future.

Strengthening the Chambers of Commerce under the GMS Business Forum: Designed and helped deliver a training course for building the capacities of GMS chambers of commerce and industry so that they can serve their members better, attract more foreign investment and joint venture partners, and interface with government policymakers more effectively.  Key components included evaluating the chambers, surveying members about the chamber and its activities, and designing training modules for staff members of the chambers.

Public-Private Partnerships in Infrastructure in Central Asia: Under a regional technical assistance project entitled “Strengthening Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation,” the assignment entailed background research on the status of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) in infrastructure in eight countries. Focus was on the challenges to private sector participation in infrastructure development; assessing the policy and institutional frameworks for PPPs, and the status of the financial sectors in the eight countries.

Greater Mekong Subregion Business Support Center: Conceptualized and developed content for a virtual support center for the GMS business sector and foreign investors interested in the subregion.  The virtual center contains business, investment, and economic information about the GMS countries, provides links to major GMS-related multilateral institutions, and offers support services to GMS chambers of commerce.

Management Training Course for Myanmar SMEs: Developed a training program to enhance the management skills of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and assist them with their integration into the global economy.  Project included designing a curriculum for business short courses offered to Myanmar SME managers in agro-business, handicrafts, and tourism.  Also prepared and conducted a needs assessment survey designed to gauge the skills needed by Myanmar managers, and developed background studies for the three aforementioned sectors.