The programme to assist businesses in digital transformation for the 2021-25 period of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the USAID-funded Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project have announced a support package to help enterprises promote digital transformation.

The support aims to help at least 100 businesses successfully conduct their digital transformation process by 2025.

Its objectives also include enhancing all businesses’ awareness of digital transformation, and the setting up of an expert network comprising 100 organisations and individuals providing consultancy and solutions to promote the process in enterprises and supporting them in developing digital platforms.

Eligible companies should have 50-500 employees and at least five-year operations in one of the prioritised sectors such as mechanical engineering, electronics, agriculture and agricultural product processing, wood processing, furniture production, garment and textiles, pharmaceuticals and packaging, and have their own orientations in digital transformation and restructuring.

Enterprises engaging in supply chains related to export activities and having female owners and managers will be also prioritised.

Do Hoang Hai, a digital transformation expert, said that it may take several years to conduct digital transformation in a company depending on its scale and level of readiness. He advised businesses to design clear strategies and a detailed roadmaps in the work, while being prepared for difficulties and challenges during the process.

WB to support SMEs

About 600 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam will get support in applying technology solutions to improve labour productivity and their competitiveness as part of a project launched on July 22 by the World Bank (WB).

The project will focus on four contents including assessing the health of businesses to identify problems that cause a decrease in their performance and competitiveness; raising awareness of digital transformation and digital transformation strategies; applying technology solutions to help businesses digitise their operations; and measuring the effectiveness of digital transformation application.

In addition to supporting knowledge training on digital transformation and information access services, the project also provides financial assistance to SMEs in applying three technological solutions on sale and personnel management and internal communication.

There will be two digital transformation funding packages for Vietnamese SMEs, namely Digital Express and Digital Prime.

Speaking at the launching ceremony for the project, Shawn Tan, a WB expert, said the project focused on supplying a set of enterprise resource planning (ERP), allowing businesses to collect, store, manage and interpret administrative data from its operation. — VNS