Japanese-funded project helps enhance capacity of Vietnamese SMEs
A conference took place in Hanoi on December 12 to review a technical cooperation project supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in production development, funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
Addressing the event co-organised by JICA and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI)’s Agency for Enterprise Development, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong assessed that after more than three years of implementation, despite the relatively small scale of the project (about US$3 million) and COVID-19-induced difficulties facing it in the initial stage, its support activities have had a positive ripple effect and achieved some encouraging results.
Such initial achievements will spread, increasing confidence within the Vietnamese business community, he said. Together with the government’s programmes and policies, this will help the group recover and develop sustainably.
Hiroaki Yashiro, the JICA chief advisor of the project, said the 35 companies receiving support have earned positive outcomes through their efforts to improve productivity. Furthermore, via management training classes for CEOs, participating firms have learned innovative thinking to apply to their operations adapting to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Dong suggested the Japanese Embassy in Vietnam, JICA, and relevant agencies continue to actively coordinate with the MPI to propose the Japanese Government further provide technical assistance for Vietnam in enhancing the competitiveness of its private sector. The focus should be on supporting capacity improvement of Vietnamese experts and consultants in consulting local SMEs based on Japanese practices and experiences, he said.
