Wind power turbines in Bac Lieu (Source: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Incentives areneeded to encourage small- and medium–sized enterprises (SMEs) to join greengrowth projects, said Hoang Thi Hong, Director of the SME Development Fund(SMEDF) under the Ministry of Planning and Investment.
According to Hong, while SMEs account for 98percent out of over 500,000 operational enterprises, not many are interested insustainable development because they think green projects have higher costs andthus require big investment, which is SMEs’ weak point.
However, with improved living condition and deepintegration into the international economy, consumers have increasinglystricter requirements for products, Hong said, adding that implementing greengrowth projects will help SMEs save resources and shift to creativity.
Meanwhile, Adam Ward, Country Representative ofthe Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) said Vietnam is slow at implementingthe National Strategy for Green Growth. He attributed the delay to the lack ofknowledge of sustainable growth among Vietnamese firms.
He said the SMEDF is collaborating with the GGGI andrelevant bodies to develop a handbook on green credit access for SMEs, whichwill guide them on conditions and procedures to receive credit support forgreen development from the fund.
It will also help SMEs in developing their greenand sustainable development projects.-VNA
VNA
