The province of Bac Giang is currently focusing on fostering innovation in businesses, aiming for significant progress by 2025. Specifically, Bac Giang is determined to rank among the top 15 provinces effectively implementing the innovation campaign. To achieve this, the provincial government has taken practical steps, connecting business consultants with innovative startups in the province to identify bottlenecks and strategize solutions.
1. Innovation Potential for Bac Giang’s SMEs
With ample space, diverse terrain, and a rich cultural background, Bac Giang offers numerous opportunities for developing distinctive products to attract both domestic and international markets. However, businesses need to embrace innovative approaches to enhance product quality and reduce costs. Building a brand, adopting modern business models, and establishing evaluated ecosystems are crucial components.
Currently, Bac Giang has many famous products on the market with more than 205 OCOP products of 3 stars or higher and 1,180 industrial intellectual property protection certificates. This creates opportunities for startup and innovative businesses, particularly in the culinary and local specialty sectors. The presence of numerous FDI businesses and international technology brands in the province also facilitates Bac Giang’s innovation and creativity efforts.
2. Bac Giang government’s efforts to closely align Decree 08/2021 with creative start-up SMEs
In pursuit of becoming one of the nation’s economically significant provinces by 2025, the Bac Giang provincial government is actively fostering comprehensive innovation and development across various economic sectors. Collaborative forums and seminars on “innovative startups” organized by the Bac Giang provincial People’s Committee, in coordination with provincial departments, connect SMEs to learn significantly from leading Vietnamese consulting experts.
Acknowledging valuable insights from startup experts, the Bac Giang People’s Committee is confident in proposing innovative solutions to shape an entrepreneurial ecosystem aligned with Bac Giang’s reality. When experts and leaders work together, awareness and actions across all levels, sectors, business communities, and individuals in the province will improve, aligning with the goals of economic and social development.
3. Mind Connector’s Perspective on Business Consulting
As a trusted consulting entity accompanying Bac Giang startups on their innovative journey, Mind Connector, in collaboration with members of the Industrial Department, Promotion Center, and Trade Promotion Center of Bac Giang province, organized a seminar titled “Exchange of Solutions to Boost Production and Business for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)” on September 16, 2023. The session aimed to understand the practical issues and aspirations of SMEs during their operational and business development processes.
During this session, Mr. Nguyen Phan Ngoc Hieu, Enterprise Risk Management Expert at Mind Connector, identified four current obstacles hindering SMEs in their innovation journey:
- Challenges in understanding “Input” and developing “Output.”
- Establishing operational budgets with limited capital.
- Applying technology suitable for business scale.
- Attracting and retaining talent, especially in provincial areas.
Mr. Nguyen Phan Ngoc Hieu – Enterprise Risk Management Expert.
4. Swift Implementation Actions Needed
SMEs face numerous challenges in this economically turbulent period, and the risk of encountering information disorder in innovative endeavors is high. To avoid these pitfalls, SMEs need guidance and training from experienced practical experts. Additionally, there is much work to be done, such as improving product quality, brand building, technology adoption, collaboration, human resource development, etc. However, SMEs must proactively connect, tap into resources provided by policies and experts, and swiftly take initial steps on their innovation journey.
In a 4-hour working session, the seminar successfully created a comfortable, reliable environment for managers and business owners to openly share their challenges, difficulties, and envision shortcomings with Mind Connector’s experts. Subsequent in-depth meetings with each business were scheduled shortly after the workshop at the respective companies’ headquarters.
Mrs. Van – Director of Joy VN Co., Ltd. shares problems with Marketing.
