Digital transformation has been seen as an urgent need to help link small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with global trends.

According to the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Vietnam has approximately 900,000 operational businesses. More than 97% are SMEs that contribute up to 45% of the national GDP and 31% of the total budget collection. Together, these companies employ over 5 million labourers.

Vietnam is set to post a 31% growth in gross merchandise value (GMV) from 23 billion USD in 2022 to 49 billion USD in 2025, according to the "e-Conomy SEA 2022" report released by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company on October 27.

The report said South East Asia’s top digital economies grew faster than expected in 2022 and is set to reach 200 billion USD in total value of transactions made this year.

The six major economies covered in the report, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, will achieve the milestone of 200 billion USD by 2025 which is three years earlier than schedule.

Recent research by Meta unveils that 73% of Vietnamese consumers surveyed use Business Messaging to reach out to brands, the highest rate among the nations included in the research.

The figures reflect the readiness of Vietnamese businesses and consumers to engage in the digital economy, as well as the dynamism and efforts of the domestic firms.

Meta commits to supporting Vietnamese SMEs to increase their presence at online platforms and benefit from the digital economy, said Ruici Tio, Policy Programme Manager of Meta Asia Pacific.

Through its long-term partnership with the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), Meta has provided support for more than 32,000 SMEs nationwide, he noted.

Meta has also launched an e-handbook introducing enterprises on digital platforms, he added.

This is the sixth year the SME Support Centre under the VCCI has cooperated with Meta to roll out the Meta Boost programme. This has benefited some tens of thousands of SMEs nationwide, both online and in-person, through diverse activities like forums and training courses.

VCCI Vice Chairman Bui Trung Nghia said his chamber has coordinated with Meta to organise an array of activities aiming to raise the awareness of Vietnamese businesses to equip them with digital skills.

VCCI has released a e-handbook introducing 100 SMEs providing their information to both customers and businesses seeking potential partners. It plans to introduce the e-handbook to 500,000 domestic and foreign partners through its network, he said./.