VCCI's SME Promotion Center: Side by Side with SMEs

On the occasion of the first Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) National Week 2008 to be held in Hanoi, HCM City and other localities from November 17- 21, Vietnam Business Forum would like to introduce the article of Dr. Pham Thi Thu Hang, Director of the SME Promotion Centre under Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

 

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry always attaches a special importance to promote small and medium enterprises, particularly in the context of the domestic and world economies meeting difficulties and unexpected turmoil.

 

According to the latest statistics of the ministry of planning and investment, the country now has 349,309 enterprises with total registered capital of VND1,389 trillion (US$84.1 billion). Of them, up to 95 per cent are small and medium enterprises. Apart from nearly 4 million private business households, the group of small and medium enterprises is considered to be very dynamic, significantly contributing to boost the economic growth and create a large number of jobs. The sector has provided jobs for over 50 per cent of non-agricultural laborers and half of million new workers every year.

 

However, small and medium enterprises face lots of challenges like the lack of business premise, the weakness in management and operation experiences, the delay in having access to market information.  

 

In addition, many enterprises also meet difficulties in obeying administrative procedures due to the high expenses, as well as in applying scientific and technical advances and information technology. Lots of them are not able to approach loans or financial sources because of lacking no mortgaged property as well as having no long-term business relations.

 

It is not easy to resolve immediately the limitations, particularly in the context of the currently financial crisis. The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, with its task to help the enterprises community, is striving to organize trade and investment promotion activities for enterprises, including small and medium enterprises.

 

The VCCI has organised many trade promotion programs for enterprises in provinces and cities across the country, including contests on mapping out business plans and creating products’ designs, Golden V award for handicrafts and fine arts, a project on supporting industry development in connection with enterprises.

 

Besides, the VCCI also cooperated with GTZ and ILO to carry out many projects, with the aim to develop local economies as well as help enterprises to raise their competitive ability and approach to the market. Through these activities, the role and status of the VCCI to the community of enterprises and localities have been remarkably improved.

 

Besides the indirect assistance through promoting projects, the VCCI also organised direct assistance programs to enterprises in remote areas. For example, the VCCI organised small and medium enterprises weeks from northern provinces of Bac Kan, Son La to southern provinces of Tra Vinh and Binh Phuoc.

 

For training assistance, the VCCI’s Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion Centre joined hands with some relevant companies and corporations to hold training courses for enterprises in order to raise their competitive ability. For example, the center cooperated with BP Corporation to build an effective competition plan for enterprises and collaborated with InWent to survey the training need and help enterprises to research and build distribution channels into the foreign markets like EU, as well as build brand names.     

 

The VCCI also worked together Intel Vietnam, Microsoft Vietnam, Vietnam Technology and Commerce Joint Stock Bank (Techcombank) to organise the program “Integration with Information Technology” in the whole country. The program aimed to give a comprehensive support to enterprises in the areas of hardware, management software, finance and training on the first-ever large scale. Under the program, some 2.7 million of Vietnam’s small and medium enterprises (SMEs) will have a chance to improve their business effectiveness thanks to Information Technology (IT) application, though which increasing the need of IT application among enterprises for better development and integration in the new era.

 

During the past days, many small and medium enterprises were not able to borrow loans owing to banks’ rise of interest rate. In front of the situation, the VCCI sent a dispatch to the Vietnam Banks Association asking for a lending interest reduction to enterprises. Accordingly, some banks have reduced lending interest rate to some certain enterprises.   

 

In parallel with proposing for financial support to enterprises, the VCCI also organised a training course to provide enterprises with necessary skills in transaction with banks. 

 

In the coming time, the VCCI plans to organise more training courses to help enterprises raise their competitive ability and through conference to propose the government for assistance policies to enterprises. 

 

Currently, the Ministry of Planning and Investment is drafting an adjustment decree on assistance policies to enterprises. On the basis of gathering opinions from enterprises, the VCCI will actively contribute to the decree to make the policies practical to enterprises.

 

The first small and medium enterprise (SME) national week 2008 is an important event chaired by the VCCI in conjunction with the ministries of planning and investment, finance, industry and trade and relevant agencies. Though the forum, the VCCI hopes the participants would offer measures to help enterprises overcome current difficulties. The organizing board also plans to organise activities on the occasion to help enterprises expand the operation and seek for domestic and foreign partners.

 

Via the event, enterprises expect to get methods in borrowing bank loans. On the contrary, banks should see enterprises as potential customers to offer suitable services.