On April 26, the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project joined the U.S. Consulate General and the U.S.-ASEAN Connect Digital Economy Series to host the "Supporting SMEs: Developing and protecting brands and other digital assets in the digital economy” workshop in Ho Chi Minh City. The workshop explained how SMEs in other ASEAN member countries can apply barcode technology to develop and protect trusted brands and digital assets. Participants learned how to adjust marketing strategies and leverage barcode technology to improve product traceability, thereby increasing opportunities to join e-commerce platforms and to access new markets. The live-streamed workshop engaged more than 250 in-person and online participants, including Consul General Marie Damour, U.S. Mission to ASEAN Chargé D’Affaires Melissa Brown, representatives from the Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Industry and Trade, technology companies (e.g., Amazon, Google, Momo, Tiki, KPMG, FPT Software, TraceVerified), business associations, and businesses. Following the workshop, USAID LinkSME connected with Vietnamese SMEs seeking technical support to integrate into the digital economy.
Integration into the digital economy is necessary for enterprises to improve their competitiveness, to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, to transition to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and to increase greater independence from non-strategically aligned actors in the Indo-Pacific.
USAID LinkSME
