WB project aims at community innovation

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Last week the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) launched the Vietnam Inclusive Innovation Project which aims to support research institutions, universities and enterprises in researching, developing, scaling up and commercialising inclusive technologies for the benefit of the community, particularly the low-income population.

The project, to run through 2018, will focus on three priority areas that strongly impact communities – traditional medicine and pharmaceuticals, information technology and communications, and agriculture-aquaculture.

The project is divided into four components, the $12 million first part will focus on developing inclusive technologies, the $33 million second will expand and commercialise inclusive technologies, the $7 million third will be capacity building and knowledge transfer, and the last will invest $3 million into management, supervision, and evaluations of the project.

One of the project’s key objectives is supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in innovating technologies to create products and services that benefit the community as a whole.

According to MPI Minister Bui Quang Vinh Vietnamese businesses, and particularly SMEs, play a crucial role in creating jobs, increasing workers’ incomes, and driving economic development.

“There is a limited number of scientists and experts and most technologies used by Vietnamese enterprises are outdated. This project will tackle these problems and create meaningful, helpful solutions,” Vinh said at the project’s launch ceremony.

“This project is an important milestone in our engagement in Vietnam. It addresses some of the most critical problems. We look forward to it delivering positive results for the Vietnamese, and particularly the poor,” said WB representative Keiko Sato.