Hanoi (VNA)- Over th🃏e past time, the USAgency For International Development (USAI꧟D) Linksages for Small and Medium Enterprises(LinkSME) project has significantly supported the Vietnamese Government inresearching, reviewing and popularising mechanisims to improve business climate, thus enhancing competitiveness capacity of local SMEs.

Aler Grubbs, Director of USAID in Vietnam, said it has been a committed partner in Vietnam’s effort to address its key challengesin economic governance, private sector competitiveness, and workforce readinessfor the digital economy. The achievements that the two sides have made together through the partnership on the USAID LinkSME project will serve as a foundation forenhancing the capacities of Vietnam’s SMEs, facilitating trade, andcreating linkages for new successes in the future. USAID LinkSME is supporting the Office of theGovernment’s efforts to enhance the business enabling environment and reducethe cost of complying with regulatory and procedural requirements, measuringprogress on an annual basis. Further, theproject and its implementing partner organisations are helping SMEs to improvemanufacturing prowess, gain access to finance, and pursue digitaltransformation. This assistance is offered in close coordination with theMinistry of Planning and Investment. The project has supported more than 70 studies withrecommendations and guidelines to enhance the implementation of a Government programme for cutting and simplifyingbusiness-related regulations during the 2020 - 2025 period, leading to 2,392business-related regulations reduced and simplified across 194 legal documents.These efforts save enterprises’ time and compliance costs as well as facilitatetheir participation in global supply chains, digital transformation, and accessto finance.  To enhance the capacity for SMEs to sustainably participate in global supplychains, the project has conducted pre-evaluations and screenings for 180 SMEs,comprehensive audits for 11 SMEs, and provided intensive technical assistanceto 41 enterprises to participate in global supply chains. Among the 318 purchaseorders from lead firms resulting from the project assistance, 280 havebeen successfully delivered and payments made, totaling 8.6 million USD. Inaddition, the project has enhanced the capacity of business supportorganisations in Vietnam to better support their member SMEs’ linkages withsupply chains. Deputy Minister of Planningand Investment Tran Duy Dong said the project is a foundation to help SMEs andorganisations to improve capacity, bolstering trade, forwarding to new successes./.