The Business Sector Programme Phasing out Support for the 2011 - 2013 period, signed by the Government of Denmark and the Government of Vietnam, not only creates favourable conditions for the continued growth of Vietnam, but also speeds up growth-led development of the private sector. The Danish Government granted 123 million krone (VND422 billion) of non-refundable aid to the three-year programme, which took effect from January 1, 2011.
Danish Ambassador John Nielsen said Vietnam’s strong economic performance over the past two decades reflects the increasing strength and buoyancy of the business sector which is mainly made up of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The critical challenges of the next decade for Vietnam are to improve the quality of production, achieve and sustain global competitiveness and at the same time make sure that the poor are being taken along the growth path. To this end, Business Sector Programme Support has been designed to assist the Government of Vietnam in achieving its development objectives.
Previously, Business Sector Programme Support for the 2005-2009 period funded by the Government of Denmark attained certain successes. Vietnamese enterprises benefiting from the programme did business effectively and initially positioned their brands on the market.
With the development objective of strengthening the competitiveness of Vietnamese growth- and export-oriented enterprises and creating decent jobs (which Denmark has rich experience in), following the completion of the Business Sector Programme Support for the 2005-2009 stage, the ambition of the BSPS 2011-2013 is to help create conditions for continued strong private sector-led growth. This programme includes three components: Strengthening innovation and adaptation of new technologies in Vietnamese SMEs (Component 1); Supporting measures to fortify the national system of occupational safety and health (Component 2); and Enhancing the understanding of the SME sector through economic research (Component 3). Component 1 targets six central provinces and two southern provinces, including Nghe An, Thanh Hoa, Khanh Hoa, Phu Yen, Lam Dong, Dak Lak, An Giang and Can Tho. Component 1 will take the largest funding of VND216 billion, while Component 2 and Component 3 will be funded VND172 billion and VND31 billion, respectively.
The programme is expected to support 40 - 50 projects with average funding of VND4 billion for each project, targeting export-oriented agriculture, agricultural processing, fisheries, seafood, handicraft and tourism. Priorities are given to sectors with wider involvement of targeted private sector and women. Direct beneficiaries are private enterprises and organisations which are providing services to SMEs and farmers participating in export-oriented value chains. Indirect beneficiaries are SMEs, business households and farmers. Notably, the programme will fund only about 40-75 percent of total project value, the rest will be contributed by partaking enterprises aiming to boost their responsibility for the projects.
The new support has built on the achievements and experiences of the Danish assistance to the Vietnamese private sector during 2005-2009. Denmark’s further involvement in supporting Vietnam’s business sector in 2011-2013 is in line with the principles of more streamlining, alignment with national structures and sustainability to improve production quality and maintain global competitiveness. The programme’s objectives are fully consistent with Vietnam’s Socio-Economic Development Plan (SEDP) 2011-2015, the country’s main policy framework for development and poverty reduction.
The BSPS 2011-2013 will be applied like the BSPS 2005-2009. Ambassador John Nielsen said: "We deal directly with businesses; eligible enterprises will work directly with the Danish programme operator. This unit is also responsible for all stages from project evaluation, capital allocation and disbursement monitoring to performance of businesses.”
The Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Central Institute of Economic Management (CIEM) continue to be key partners of the BSPS 2011 - 2013 in order to continue and promote the results of the cooperation programme with Denmark in support of the Vietnamese business sector in 2005 - 2009. The support to improve labour protection under Component 2 will be implemented by MOLISA through sector budget support to the National Programme on Occupational Safety and Health 2011-2015. Component 1 and Component 3 will continue to use the successful implementation arrangements of the first phase of the programme and will be implemented by the Global Competitiveness Facility (GCF) and CIEM, respectively.
With many significant and practical activities, the BSPS 2011-2013 will make an important contribution to helping Vietnam carry out the modernisation and industrialisation process, as well as sustain economic development in the process of international integration.
Viet Dong
Vietnamese
