SME Promotion Office Denies Bias in E-Commerce Project Selection
OSMEP defended its selection process for e-commerce SME projects against bias allegations, stating all decisions followed legal requirements and transparent evaluation criteria approved by independent committees.
On August 3, 2025, the Office of Small and Medium Enterprises Promotion (OSMEP) released a fact-clarification document regarding the selection process for implementing partners in the "SME Promotion into E-Commerce and Live-Commerce Markets" and "Development and Building of Thailand's E-Commerce Ecosystem for Thai SMEs" projects. This followed a complaint filed by a representative of Silpakorn University through the Democratic Party requesting an investigation into the selection process.
OSMEP emphasized that the selection adhered to Section 34(2) of the SME Promotion Act, which provides the legal framework for projects of this nature and was approved by relevant committees. The office stated it considered not only speed but also the legal framework, project characteristics, and collaboration objectives. Although the method differed from the Central Accounting Office's e-bidding system used for standard government procurement, all steps remained transparent, auditable, and compliant with applicable laws.
Both projects employed clear evaluation criteria announced in advance. Committee members scored independently based on professional expertise without predetermined scores, and selection results were finalized by unanimous committee resolution. To ensure neutrality and transparency, OSMEP appointed a three-part committee comprising independent experts with relevant knowledge and experience, internal OSMEP staff directly or indirectly involved in project implementation, legal specialists, procurement specialists, and monitoring and evaluation staff.
