HCM City (VNS/VNA) - Vietnamese small and medium-sized businessesneed more help to enter major global supply chains, experts told a workshop on October16.

Marie C. Damour, US consul general in Ho Chi Minh City, said SMEs are importantto Vietnam's economic growth, contributing over 45 percent of its GDP andemploying around 63 percent of the population.

"However, relatively few Vietnamese SMEs participate in this country'slarge manufacturing supply chains. We believe that greater integration of SMEsinto major supply chains can help generate high-quality jobs, drive economicdevelopment and help Vietnam move up the manufacturing value ladder."

Ron Ashkin, project director of the United States Agency for InternationalDevelopment (USAID) Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises programme, saidonly a few Vietnamese businesses are able to take part in global supply chainsand the use of local content in Vietnam is low by regional and global standardsdue to many reasons like low technology adoption, shortage of skilled workers,managers and limited finance.

Businesses seeking to link up with supply chains need to understand buyers'requirements, which could include global trends and individual buyers’ criteriaand behavioural requirements, identify gaps between customers' needs and their owncapabilities and upgrade themselves, he said.

Vietnamese SMEs need more training in various areas including foreigncompanies’ expectations, customer service and production-related issues such asISO standards and lean manufacturing, he said.

The USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises project helps improvebusiness relations between Vietnamese SMEs and businesses heading supplychains, improve the quality and quantity of linkages and enhance Vietnamesebusinesses' ability to partake in supply chains, he said.

Once an SME is connected to a potential buyer and understands the latter’sneeds, it would have a clear incentive to upgrade, he added.

The workshops were held as part of the 2019 American Chamber of Commerce inVietnam (AmCham) Supplier Day, an exhibition organised by AmCham Vietnam, USAIDand the Ministry of Planning and Investment to help connect Vietnamesebusinesses with multinationals.

Held annually for the last six years, it attracted over 100 businesses fromvarious industries and around 1000 visitors this year./.