Digital transformation is progressing at a heightened speed all around the world as it helps enterprises increase the value they deliver to customers and be better positioned to meet customers’ demands and expectations. However, COVID-19 has accelerated the need for digital transformation and is key for Vietnamese SMEs to retain a competitive edge. On December 3, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project and Ministry of Planning and Investment’s (MPI’s) Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) held a launching ceremony for the “Supporting Enterprises’ Digital Transformation from 2021 to 2025” program in Hanoi.

MPI Minister Nguyen Chi Dzung and USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Ann Marie Yastishock co-chaired the event, which was attended by approximately 300 participants from central and provincial government agencies, enterprises, business support organizations, and the media. The event highlighted the current status of enterprises’ digital transformation in Vietnam and the government’s plan to support enterprises’ digital transformation from 2021-2025. Over the next three years, USAID LinkSME will continue collaborating with MPI so that by 2025: 100 percent of enterprises are aware of digital transformation; at least 100,000 enterprises are supported to use a digital transformation readiness evaluation tool and other digital solutions; and at least 100 manufacturing and processing enterprises successfully adopt digital transformation. A network of at least 100 digital transformation experts and agencies will also be established to assist in providing digital consultancy and services for enterprises.

So What? This strategy and action plan for SMEs’ digital transformation will help Vietnamese SMEs strengthen their operational capacity in the post-COVID-19 context, enhance their competitiveness, and take Vietnam one step further in its Journey to Self-Reliance.