At a workshop in Hai Phong on Elevating Small and Medium Businesses into Industrial Revolution 4.0 and Inclusive Global Value Chain, US Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel J. Kritenbrink highlighted the cooperation between US companies and Vietnamese SMEs.  

The workshop, held by the US-ASEAN Business Council, focused on the role of the digital economy, trade facilitation, and partnership opportunities with US corporations for 200 SME owners, the US embassy said in a statement.  

Addressing the event, Ambassador Kritenbrink stated: “I am so pleased to see representatives of world class US companies here – Microsoft, Cisco, FedEx, Coca-Cola, and Visa. These great companies are also promoting the integration of Vietnam’s leading small and medium enterprises into the global supply chain. And they are leveraging Industrial Revolution 4.0 technologies to help your companies succeed. Like my government, they too are invested in Vietnam’s success.”

As a token of the US’s commitment to working with Vietnam to help Vietnamese SMEs adapt to the modern global economy, the USAID recently awarded the new five-year, $22 million Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project to International Executive Service Corps.

LinkSME aims to improve and expand the supplier-buyer relationships between Vietnamese and foreign firms. This project will raise productivity and increase Vietnam’s capacity to supply products to larger companies both inside and outside Vietnam. Foreign firms will reap efficiency benefits from increased local sourcing. LinkSME will help Vietnamese entrepreneurs up and down the value chain pursue new opportunities and provide new jobs for their communities.

Chairman of the Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Team Vu Viet Ngoan, GE General Manager Vu Thu Trang, Ambassador Daniel Kritenbrink, Senior Vice President of the USABC Michael Michalak, Deputy Regional Managing Director of USABC Vu Tu Thanh and the GE Team tour GE factory. Photo: US Embassy

Ambassador Krintenbrink and the USABC delegation visited General Electric’s (GE) “Brilliant” factory in Haiphong, one of GE’s most advanced manufacturing facilities, where they learned about GE’s long-term partnerships with local Vietnamese suppliers.

GE supports its Vietnamese partners through sharing how to improve their management capabilities and use advanced technology. Twenty percent of GE’s manufacturing inputs are sourced from local Vietnamese suppliers. GE hopes to raise that number even higher.