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Grow seaweed - add value - win markets
SEAPlanet Foundation
The South East Asia Seaplant Network
Tuesday, Jun 09, 2026
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SEAPlant.Net Fundamentals
Table of contents | Introduction | Value chain structure | Foundation links | Process links | End links  | Anatomy of an enterprise | Features of SME | Specialty crops & trust | The nature of transactions | The nature of governance | Types of governance | Governance games | Alliance structure | Forming alliance networks | Enabling solutions | Crop production tools | Value-adding solutions | Metamediary functions | SEAPlant.Net websites | Glossary | Acknowledgements
Table of contents

 Eucheuma Seaplant Value Chains and SME Alliances
 SEAPlant.Net Technical Monograph No. 0804-6a
Introduction and overview

Page 3

This monograph is fifth in a series that is intended for use by anyone interested in eucheuma seaplants in particular and seaplant value chains in general. It is also intended to be of use to people who are interested in the economic development of coastal communities in tropical regions. The purpose of this monograph is to explain what SEAPlant.Net™ does in the context of seaplant value chain structures. Emphasis is laid on alliance network linkages among small-medium enterprises (SME) and and micro-enterprises (ME). Such enterprises are the foundation of seaplant value chains and are also the focus of IFC PENSA, which supports SEAPlant.Net™. Some of the material presented here originally appeared in “The ABC of Eucheuma Seaplant Value Chains” by Iain C. Neish (SuriaLink Monograph No. 1-0104 - ISBN 983 2893 03 8). That monograph is now out of print and with support from the IFC PENSA program it is being supplanted by the present series of monographs.
 
Opportunities with SEAPlant.Net™ exist today because:
1.

Core seaplant technologies are creating business opportunities at an unprecedented and accelerating rate.
2.

South East Asia has comparative advantage for the application of tropical seaplant technologies.
3.

Organizations such as international financial institutions (IFI), government agencies (GO) and non-government agencies (NGO) have come to understand and support the critical role of SME in driving economic development.
4.

Enabling technologies in the fields of information, communication, transport, alliance management and process control provide tools that permit SME alliances to operate on a “level playing field” with large companies.
 
SEAPlant.Net is helping SEAsian SME to cash in on these opportunities by:
1.

Providing effective facilitating tools and enabling solutions that assist SME in translating comparative advantage into competitive advantage.
2.

Providing means for building competitive advantage based on sustainable value chains that function in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
 

Globalization and rapid change are the norm in today’s business world. Seaplant enterprises must capitalize on these trends – not be defeated by them.
Basic concepts that underlie the development of SEAPlant.Net™ include:
1.

Developing a common vocabulary. For many seaplant technical and business people uncertain definitions seem all too common in the business literature. Consequently SEAPlant.Net™ maintains a sets of definitions for key concepts that can be used as a basis for unambiguous communication.
2.

Being guided by clear, effectively communicated and fully vested missions, visions and principles. This is the message of "Built to Last". This is the message of Jack Welch. This is a recurring principle of success in all fields of goal-oriented human social action.
3.

Understanding value chains means understanding "what is really going on" in any project or venture. In seaplant business as in all business it is a well-tested maxim that if you "take care of the cash flow the profits will follow". Value chains ARE the cash flow - and much, much more.
4.

Realizing that micro, small and medium enterprises were, are and always will be a major driver of global resource utilization and economic activity. SEAPlant.Net is an SME and we at SEAPlant.Net are fully engaged with the concept that SME alliances are the best way to conduct seaplant business.
5.

Recognizing the need for sorting out the plethora of present and potential SME present as "jumbled links" available for assembly into organized seaplant value chains.
6.

Understanding that strategic business alliance networks are an increasingly prominent form of business model that is suitable for SME. They are also proven as a successful business formula as demonstrated by the "Lords of the Rim". SME managers must understand how alliance networks function in value chains and build business around the opportunities to be found there.
7.

Understanding that facilitating governance is an important resource for strategic alliance network facilitation. Proper governance balance is crucial for effective strategic alliance networks among SME.
8.

Knowing that the first links of many value chains are specialty-crop SME. Special locations and specialized knowledge are key sources of their comparative advantage. Understanding how specialty-crop features function and capitalizing on location-special characteristics will give seaplant enterprises competitive advantage.
9.

Understanding that "globalization" is here to stay and capitalising on it is essential for the “race to the world and to the future” of SME in seaplant value chains.