Project profile — Small and Medium Enterprise Development in Tra Vinh province

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved competitiveness of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in selected sectors in Tra Vinh Province; (2) increased use of improved and sustainable small-scale infrastructure by SMEs in targeted communities in Tra Vinh Province; and (3) improved local government performance in support of environmentally sustainable and gender responsive small and medium enterprise development in Tra Vinh Province.

Results achieved as of (March 2020) include: at the policy level, the project successfully supported the province to develop and issue many plans that include: (1) its 2018-2020 small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) Plan that identifies essential commodities (including coconuts, peanuts) and sectors (including tourism) with value chains offering opportunities for business development; (2) two master plans on coconut and peanut value chains development; (3) the Trade Promotion Action plan 2021-2025; (4) the Business Start-up Strategy; (5) the Provincial Competitiveness Index improvement strategy; and (6) the Provincial Women Start-up Program. At the operational level: (1) the project worked to improve government officials and SMEs capacity involved in trade promotion, attracting investments and enabling business environment. More than 500 SMEs and 1000 household businesses benefitted from capacity building program, networking, trade promotion, and 245 accessed Business Development Services; (2) 22 small-scale infrastructures built, resilient to climate change and aiming to develop the coconut value chain. More than 41,000 households (of which 45% ethnic minority people) and 665 SMEs/household businesses benefitted from these infrastructure initiatives; and (3) the project interventions contributed to the creation of 13,400 jobs.