USAID LinkSME Project: Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises must persevere to advance.

DNHN - Mr. Nguyen Van Than, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (VINASME), shared with Enterprise & Integration Magazine that SMEs must persevere in their participation in the USAID LinkSME Project. Join the project to adv.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Than - President of VINASME, the Project Connecting Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) has completed its five-year journey (2018 - 2023) alongside the Vietnamese government, businesses, and business support organizations. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has made efforts to create, in collaboration with the Office of the Government and the Ministry of Planning and Investment, a platform to assist Vietnamese SMEs and business support organizations in enhancing their productivity.

USAID LinkSME has provided the Government with numerous research activities, reviews, and recommendations to promote business regulation reform, improve the business environment, and increase competitiveness on behalf of the Office of Government. enterprise photograph.

Supporting the Government Office, the Ministry of Planning and Investment, and other ministries and partner agencies in their efforts to continue cutting and simplifying regulations related to business activities, reforming administrative procedures, and renewing the implementation of the one-stop-shop mechanism and one-stop-shop in administrative procedure processing.

Administrative procedure reform focuses primarily on state agencies but has a positive effect on small and medium-sized enterprises. Helping businesses save time and money, promoting their participation in global supply chains and digital transformation, and facilitating their access to capital.

"The project helps businesses participate actively, support one another, and grow together. Mr. Than explained that the project helps businesses raise the bar so they can access bank capital.

According to the President of VINASME, USAID LinkSME has helped dozens of SMEs successfully restructure debt and gain access to loans totaling hundreds of billions of dong. At the same time, enhancing the capacity of bank personnel to assist SMEs in effectively gaining access to capital.

In particular, USAID LinkSME has improved the capacity of SMEs to sustainably participate in global supply chains. The output is distributed to major markets including the United States, Canada, Hong Kong, and leading foreign chain enterprises with factories in Vietnam.

The project has marginally improved the financial management and administration capabilities of small and medium-sized enterprises. As is commonly known, up to 65 percent of SMBs are micro businesses. This demonstrates the significance of USAID LinkSME.

I anticipate the continuation of UNDP funding for the next phase of project implementation. Mr. Than emphasized that even if the project does not continue, the foundation it has built over the past five years will continue to create value for the business.

According to Mr. Than, to increase the efficacy of production and business operations, SMEs must continue to participate in the project and work to improve its effectiveness.

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) supports the Connecting Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project. The duration of the project's implementation is five years, from September 2018 to August 2023. Objectives of the LinkSME project of USAID: To assist foreign businesses in locating qualified domestic product suppliers; to improve the production and supply capacity of Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs); and to strengthen business ties between SMEs and global value chains. Electronics, metallurgy, auto parts, agro-processing and trading, leather and footwear, textiles, and furniture will be considered for selection.

Thu Ngan