Italian project to boost SMEs

Wood processing companies will benefit from a small- and medium-sized enterprises development programme funded by Italy, a conference heard in HCM City yesterday.

“SMEs Cluster Development” is funded by the Italian Government and executed by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) in collaboration with the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Enterprise Development Agency.

The 3-million-euro project aimed to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnamese firms through extensive technical assistance programmes and by addressing their main weaknesses like capacity in design and marketing, process and product innovation, technology, quality control, and managerial and technical skills, the project’s chief technical advisor, Francesco Russo, said.

It also sought to foster business partnerships between Vietnamese and Italian enterprises and associations, he told the conference held to apprise more than 30 industry enterprises about the project.

UNIDO has selected three industries — leather and footwear, garment and textile, and wood processing and furniture — for development and business-matching in the next two years.

“All individual SMEs share the same weaknesses: They don’t have enough resources to compete in global markets in terms of scale, skills, technologies, R&D, marketing information and financing,” Russo said.

“However, SMEs in a ‘cluster’ can develop collective efficiencies enabling them to compete and reach markets beyond their individual capacity.

“Italian SMEs’ strengths are design, quality, marketing, and know-how, while low costs, easy access to Asian markets and production capacity are the strengths of Vietnamese SMEs.

“By joining their complementary strengths, Vietnamese and Italian enterprises can achieve high competitiveness in global markets.”

Huynh Van Hanh, deputy chairman of the Handicraft and Wood Industry Association of HCM City, said the project’s approach matched the strategies and the goals of the association, which is increasingly committed to providing extensive support to its members through workshops, training courses, organisation of fairs, and matching business with international buyers.

“Lack of internal linkages and co-operation is a common weakness of SMEs since they do not trust each other,” Hanh said.

The project was expected to promote linkages between enterprises to resolve their common problems and increase their competitiveness, he added.

To Hoai Nam, the national project manager, said: “I expect the project to help change the mindset of local enterprises in terms of investment though it is not easy.”

In Viet Nam, enterprises tend to invest in the entire production chain, which requires major investment but for little return. They also find it hard to change their designs.

But in other countries, an enterprise specialises only in a particular process in the production chain, and joins hands with others to make products. This way enterprises do not need to make large investments. — VNS

Tags: Vietnam companies, Vietnam enterprises, Vietnam SMEs