The APEC Micro, Small and Medium Size Enterprise Marketplace showcases small firms from APEC member economies and helps connect them with production and supply chain partners. It also details tariffs and trade regulations and provides a portal to help small businesses in the region conduct transactions.Philippine Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon M. Lopez said the marketplace will make it easier for APEC small businesses to trade and thereby boost their competitiveness.The platform caters to small firms that account for nearly all businesses and the majority of employment in the APEC region, most of which have substantial room for export growth, he said, adding that they range from handicraft suppliers in Luzon and auto and machinery parts producers in Ohio, Nagoya and Ho Chi Minh City, to coffee growers and processors in the highlands of Papua New Guinea.APEC economies aim to grow the APEC marketplace’s directory of small businesses with export potential and, in turn, open up opportunities for firms in Asia-Pacific through business matching with companies seeking value-added goods and services suppliers.