On August 4, USAID joined the Office of the Government (OOG) and the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) to celebrate their successes improving the business environment and enhancing the competitiveness of Vietnamese small and medium enterprises (SMEs) under the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project, which ran from 2018 to 2023. The project assisted the OOG, MPI, ministries, and business support organizations (BSOs) to reduce and simplify business-related regulations, strengthen administrative reform and Government-to-business interaction, and enhance Vietnamese SMEs’ capacity to sustainably participate in global supply chains, accelerate their digital transformation, and access finance. As an example, the project has helped reduce and simplify 2,352 business-related regulations across 191 legal documents, conducted pre-evaluations and screenings for 180 SMEs, comprehensive audits for 11 SMEs, and provided intensive technical assistance to 41 enterprises to participate in global supply chains.
As USAID is supporting Vietnam’s effort to improve economic governance, private sector competitiveness, and workforce readiness for the digital economy, the achievements made by this project will serve as the foundation for enhancing the capacities of Vietnam’s SMEs and BSOs, facilitating trade, and creating linkages for new successes in the future.
