Strategic Objectives 21. Support the adoption of technology by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). While the number of Internet users has grown at a brisk 16 percent annually from 2008 to 2013, a large proportion of businesses in ASEAN still lag in terms of technology readiness and usage (see Exhibit 14). There are opportunities for enabling MSMEs to fully adopt digital technologies through addressing key barriers that prevent them to do so, such as awareness of potential benefits, technology capability, ease of adoption, access to finance, and availability of different solutions and platforms. MSMEs’ adoption of digital technologies will allow them to achieve significant uplift in productivity, efficiency, and market expansion within the region. 22. Support financial access through digital technologies. A large share of the ASEAN population remains unbanked. The opportunity exists to significantly increase financial access by leveraging digital technologies. However, capturing this opportunity may require creating an enabling policy and regulatory environment that allows digital financial inclusion to flourish, which include developing new banking requirements and addressing a number of barriers, that may affect the uptake of mobile banking services (for instance, data infrastructure, regulations requiring customers to visit a branch to open accounts) as well as risks consideration. 23. Improve open data use in ASEAN Member States. Open data—machinereadable information, which may include government and private sector data, that is made publicly available to others—has generated a great deal of excitement around the world for its potential to empower peoples, change how government works, and improve the delivery of public services. At a global level, open data can help unlock US$3 trillion to US$5 trillion in economic value annually across seven sectors.35 ASEAN Member States are at different levels of maturity in terms of data production as well as open data development, which suggests a large potential for further growth (Exhibit 15). The focus of MPAC 2025 is on government-level open data. 24. Support enhanced data management in ASEAN Member States. Data management (predominantly company and individual level data), including issues relating to data privacy, data analysis and interpretation, data storage, and cross-border data transfers, has a significant implication on the development of businesses in ASEAN. Progress varies considerably among ASEAN Member States in this area and there is a significant opportunity to improve transparency and accountability on requirements and identify areas to enhance performance. 35 Open data: Unlocking innovation and performance with liquid information, McKinsey Global Institute, October 2013. 50 MASTER PLAN ON ASEAN CONNECTIVITY 2025