From June 22-25, USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project and the Ministry of Planning and Investment’s Agency for Enterprise Development (AED) conducted a series of outreach activities in Can Tho, Ben Tre, and Tien Giang provinces and Ho Chi Minh City. USAID LinkSME and AED met with provincial departments of planning and investment and five BSOs to assess their technical competence, willingness and commitment, management and leadership capacity, and experience in building business linkages between lead firms and Vietnamese SMEs.

Through face-to-face meetings, USAID LinkSME and AED were also able to gather invaluable feedback about the provincial-level implementation of the law on support to SMEs and post COVID-19 recovery needs. After analyzing data from the BSO assessments, USAID LinkSME will identify three BSOs who will receive technical assistance to help them address capacity gaps, facilitate business linkages between Vietnamese SMEs and lead firms, and advocate for their members to participate in supply chains.

So What? By providing technical assistance to BSOs, USAID is promoting private sector-led growth in Vietnam advancing their Journey to Self-Reliance and the Indo-Pacific vision of improved trade and competitiveness.