Linking small and medium enterprises with large enterprises in the capital

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood of Hanoi's economy, but to participate deeply in the value chain, they also need to upgrade their own capacity, actively participate in innovation activities, and work alongside large corporations to expand the sharing of cooperation opportunities for mutual development.

Implementing Resolution 68-NQ/TW dated May 4, 2025 of the Politburo on private economic development, with the goal of unlocking resources and protecting the interests of this sector; at the same time, realizing new development orientations of Hanoi City in the period of 2025-2030, Vietnam News Agency interviewed Professor, Dr. Mac Quoc Anh, Chairman and General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme), Director of the Institute of Economics and Enterprise Development on the major challenges and solutions to promote the process of bringing small and medium enterprises - the lifeblood of the capital's economy - deeper into the global supply chain.

Key industrial products are being supported by Hanoi City for expansion. Photo: VNA

Many opinions say that small and medium enterprises are an important foundation of the capital's and national economy . What do you think about this?

First of all, it is necessary to affirm that small and medium enterprises account for more than 97% of the total number of enterprises in Hanoi and contribute a very important part to the GRDP, budget and job creation of the Capital. Therefore, any policy to promote the development of modern urban economy cannot be separated from this enterprise force.

It can be affirmed that small and medium enterprises are the force that maintains the economic and social vitality of the Capital. This sector creates more than 50-60% of new jobs every year, contributing significantly to social security stability, reducing unemployment pressure, especially in the context of strong fluctuations in the global economy.

Not only that, small and medium enterprises are playing an increasingly important role in innovation. Especially when Hanoi is currently leading the country in the number of startups and technology enterprises; most of which are small and medium enterprises operating in the fields of software, automation, e-commerce, logistics, and high-tech agriculture. This is an important “seed” for Hanoi to pursue the goal of becoming an innovation center in the ASEAN region.

In addition, small and medium enterprises in the capital are also intermediate links in value chains. For example, in industries such as supporting industries, food and beverages, construction materials, textiles, fashion, logistics, tourism, etc., small and medium enterprises are the force deeply involved in the production - distribution - service process. The development of large enterprises or international corporations investing in Hanoi depends on the supply capacity of this private economic sector.

In addition, small and medium enterprises are also the most flexible and adaptable force. Reality has also proven that during the COVID-19 period, when many corporations had to reduce production, small and medium enterprises quickly converted to digital models, e-commerce, and optimized supply chains. This flexibility has helped Hanoi recover faster than many other localities. In other words, small and medium enterprises are the force that maintains the sustainability of the capital's economy, and is the place to absorb and spread modern economic and social values.

Linking small and medium enterprises in the capital with large enterprises with the expectation of creating a foundation for a new development model for Hanoi. However, the implementation seems to be quite slow and does not meet expectations. Can you analyze this more clearly?

This is the key to forming a linked ecosystem - a sustainable supply chain of the Capital in the period 2025-2035. However, frankly, there are many challenges that make it difficult for small and medium enterprises to link with large enterprises or foreign-invested enterprises (FDI).

There are many reasons, but it can be seen that, although small and medium enterprises are an important foundation of the capital and national economy, their common situation is small capital, old technology, management not up to international standards and lack of quality control system and especially the rate of enterprises meeting supply chain standards at level 1 is still very low. This creates a gap between them in technology, standards and management level... which is very difficult to overcome. Especially when large corporations, especially FDI such as Samsung, Canon, Honda, AEON, Lotte... all have strict requirements on quality, processes, international standards (ISO, HACCP, IATF, ESG...).

To achieve supply chain standards, small and medium enterprises need to invest in machinery, production lines, automation and human resource training. Meanwhile, the majority of enterprises in the capital often lack medium and long-term capital and have difficulty accessing credit due to lack of collateral, so they do not receive special incentives for the supply chain. Because of the lack of capital, small and medium enterprises find it difficult to upgrade production.

Not only that, the human resources of technology, automation engineers, supply chain management, product research and development (R&D) of small and medium enterprises in the capital are also very limited, making it difficult to compete with large enterprises when attracting human resources.

Another, more important challenge is the lack of transparency in databases, lack of ESG standards and traceability. In the context of the European Union (EU) business community implementing the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and the US and Japan applying the trio of environmental, social and governance criteria to assess sustainable development standards and business impacts, the requirement for data transparency has become mandatory. In fact, many small and medium-sized enterprises in the capital are not yet able to prepare ESG reports, have not yet traced the origin of products, have not yet managed carbon emissions and have not yet publicly disclosed financial and production data. This makes small and medium-sized enterprises slow in connecting to international supply chains.

In addition, there are also limitations in objective factors when the ecosystem supporting the connection between small and medium enterprises in the capital with large corporations and FDI is still fragmented because there is no connection portal, no system to evaluate supplier capacity or regular auditing - mentoring programs to support and promote strategic partnerships between large enterprises and small and medium enterprises. Therefore, it can be affirmed that although the opportunity to connect between them exists, small and medium enterprises cannot access it sustainably.

As an association, what suggestions do you have to improve this situation?

From the perspective of national policy and the characteristics of Hanoi Capital, to solve this problem, in my opinion, we need to approach it with the mindset of "linking values ​​- upgrading standards - sustainable development".

Specifically, it is necessary to form an international standard supply chain ecosystem in the capital. Hanoi needs to pioneer the development of a Hanoi Supplier Network - where large enterprises announce their needs, while small and medium enterprises register their capacity and receive training, review and standardization support. At the same time, deploy a separate technology - standards - ESG support package for small and medium enterprises on the basis of supporting them with ISO/IATF/HACCP certification costs, supporting ESG reporting, supporting digital transformation and automation; and possibly even adding chain-linked credit incentives.

The State and the Capital Government need to build a strategic partnership mechanism between large enterprises and small and medium enterprises. Accordingly, corporations such as Vingroup, VinFast, BRG, AEONMALL, Lotte... need to coordinate with Hanoi to create a "1,000 Capital Supplier Program", similar to Samsung's model with Bac Ninh's supporting industry.

As the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (Hanoisme), we will actively coordinate and lead, deeply participate in activities such as training and consulting businesses according to supply chain standards, regularly organize reviews and evaluate implementation results; at the same time, actively deploy activities to connect supply and demand and promote information transparency as well as the practice of ESG standards in the capital's small and medium enterprise community.

Small and medium-sized enterprises are the lifeblood of Hanoi's economy, but to participate deeply in the value chain, they also need to upgrade their own capacity, actively participate in innovation activities, and work alongside large corporations to expand the sharing of cooperation opportunities for mutual development.

Thank you very much!

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/kinh-te/lien-ket-doanh-nghiep-nho-va-vua-voi-cac-doanh-nghiep-lon-thu-do-20251208075641634.htm