Germany helps improve Vietnam’s SMEs via innovation programme
The Central Innovation Programme for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), also known as ZIM, was introduced to Vietnamese and German firms and organisations at a workshop in Berlin on June 12.
The workshop to intrduce the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs in Berlin on June 12 (Photo: VNA)
Berlin (VNA) – The Central Innovation Programme forSmall- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), also known as ZIM, was introducedto Vietnamese and German firms and organisations at a workshop in Berlin onJune 12.
The ZIM programme has been carried out withinthe framework of a letter of intent on scientific and technological cooperationsigned in December 2012 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science andTechnology (MoST) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs andEnergy. It looks to help transfer advanced technologies and improve thetechnical capacity of SMEs and scientific-technological organisations inVietnam.
Tran Dong, Counsellor for Science and Technologyat the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, said the workshop was one of the threesimilar events held by the MoST to introduce the ZIM programme. The twoprevious events took place in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in late May.
The Berlin workshop aimed to give instructionson the approval process, financial mechanisms and methods for supporting theconnection of Vietnamese and German scientists and businesses.
He added that during the Vietnam visit lastMarch by German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier, PrimeMinister Nguyen Xuan Phuc asked the European country to assist Vietnam todevelop SMEs and some other fields, including digital technology, startups andinnovation.
Meanwhile, Counsellor Dang Chung Thuy at theVietnamese Embassy highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation inresearching, developing and commercialise technologies in the two countries’SMEs.
He noted that with a dynamic economy, theGovernment’s efforts, the private sector’s investment and human resourceadvantages, Vietnam is becoming a startup and innovation hub in Asia-Pacific.
Felix Richter, Coordinator for InternationalCooperation at AiF Projekt GmbH, said apart from Vietnam, the ZIM programme hascooperated with 25 other countries. Each year, it issues announcements toinvite businesses to propose feasible projects to seek funding.
He expressed his hope that the programme willexpand its sponsorship scope to attract more SMEs and foster cooperationbetween the two countries. -VNA
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The workshop to intrduce the Central Innovation Programme for SMEs in Berlin on June 12 (Photo: VNA) 
