[SME Symposium] Elevating Vietnamese SMBs to the Fourth Industrial Revolution World

Building upon three other successful Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) workshops in Vietnam throughout 2017, the Council and its partners in Vietnam are organizing a symposium entitled “Elevating Vietnamese SMBs to the Fourth Industrial Revolution World” which will be held in Ho Chi Minh City on October 23rd, 2017.

Different with the Council’s previous events, the symposium will host panel discussion sessions with focus on the most crucial and relevant topics related to issues faced by SMBs. This interactive symposium will draw speakers from US-ABC members, Vietnamese associations, as well as government institutions. Discussions will be conducted to achieve a more favorable provision of business opportunities by the government and more seamless cooperation between Vietnam SMBs and multinational companies. Overall, this symposium is hoped to create more technology-accomplished and global-oriented SMBs in facing the economic challenges of the Fourth Industrial Revolution era.

The US-ABC participating members will also have the opportunity to share their expertise and knowledge to SMBs in the company-specific workshop/consultation sessions. In this session, SMBs will have the opportunity to learn and consult directly with the US multinational companies on how to develop successful business strategies and make the best out of the current industrial reform.

Proposed topics of the panel discussions will cover:
1.    Enhancing the Participation of SMBs to the Global Value Chains (GVC)
2.    Access to Finance: Overcoming the biggest hurdle for SMBs Growth
3.    Digital Transformation and SMBs

US-ABC members are welcomed to propose topics in the panel discussions. Please find the attached draft agenda for your reference.
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Around 300 Vietnam SMBs owners and senior executives are expected to join in this event. Participants will be drawn from various sectors such as manufacturing, industry and construction, trade and services, as well as agriculture, forestry, and fishery. Many of these SMBs provide export-quality products.