Hanoi (VNA) - The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MoPI) haꦗs drawn up a draft project, a draft proposal and a draft decision approving the programme on supporting digital transformation in enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses du🍌ring the 2021-2025 period.

The programme aims to realise policies and guidelines of the Party, laws of the State and solutions of the Government to promote digital transformation in order to meet practical and urgent needs of production and business establishments. It is expected to help quicken digital transformation through changes in awareness, visions and strategies of enterprises, and incentives towards digitalisation in business and production activities, administration, and technological application in businesses.

Comprehensive digital transformation

Under the draft, all of the production and business facilities nationwide would have their awareness and mindset of digital transformation improved by 2025. Meanwhile, at least 500,000 of them will be enabled to receive assistance from the programme like training, consultancy and access to packages of digital transformation technology solutions. Additionally, at least 800 firms, 100 cooperatives and 4,000 household businesses, especially those operating in production, processing, manufacturing, agriculture, and tourism, are set to become outstanding models in digital transformation. A network of experts will be set up, grouping at least 500 organisations and individuals that will provide consultancy in digital transformation in enterprises, cooperatives and household businesses. A database with at least 100 digital transformation solutions for production and business establishments will be also developed.                                                                                                                                This programme targets enterprises, cooperatives and business households that are working to promote digital transformation to improve their production and business efficiency and competitiveness. Those, which will be responsible for implementing the programme, are agencies and organisations assigned by competent authorities, associations that are supporting digital transformation for production and business establishments under the programme.

Beneficiaries to be offered a 50-percent reduction of consultancy costs

To meet the set targets, the draft outlines seven groups of activities that will be concentrated in the programme. The MoPI will develop documents and tools guiding digital transformation, develop and operate the programme's portal and applications for smart phones, thus creating a digital environment for promoting interactions and cooperation between relevant sides. The programme will focus on developing and raising capacity of experts in digital transformation according to global standards and trends, and connecting them with the production and business facilities. Training courses, especially  online training programmes to support training activities at production and business establishments in the spheres of production and processing, will also be organised. It will select production facilities that have capacity and commit to adopting digital transformation, helping them put forth a roadmap for digital transformation, and offering them up to a 50 percent reduction of consultancy costs. In addition to training and consulting activities, the programme also provides support packages, including technology instructions and solutions for different target groups divided by scale, business development stage and sector. Accordingly, production and business establishments joining the programme will be given a 50-percent reduction of costs for applying digital solutions to automate and improve the efficiency of business, management, production activities and technological application and business model transformation. The funding for the programme will come from the State budget, both at central and local levels, and contributions by organisations, individuals and businesses. The draft is posted on the Portal of the Ministry of Planning and Investment for collecting public comments. Vietnamese small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are facing barriers in digital transformation and have a passive response to market changes, according to Hoang Minh Chien, Deputy Director of the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade). Digital transformation is strongly taking place around the world. But in Vietnam, the speed is still modest. A survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) in 2020 at more than 400 businesses showed that 51 percent of businesses actively transformed digitally before the COVID-19 pandemic occurred. Meanwhile 25.7 percent of businesses were not interested but when COVID-19 happened, they started to catch up and find digital technology solutions; 17.5 percent of enterprises started to pay attention but they had not yet started to apply technology. The COVID-19 pandemic is a driving force for businesses and people to change their habits and apply more technology in production, business and consumption. For businesses that do not keep pace with digital transformation, they will very quickly see their business results affected, and in the long run, they will be easily eliminated from the market./.