As one of the efforts for promoting business partnerships between Vietnamese and Finnish companies, Embassy of Finland, Finnpartnership, Energy and Environment Partnership Mekong, Finpro and Innovation Partnership Programme organized together a side-event seminar to the GreenBiz 2011 on September 16th, 2011 at White Palace in Ho Chi Minh City.
The seminar offered the local private sector and business facilitators a useful opportunity for learning: About Finland as partner, advantages of Finland as a target market, and about different support instruments to private sector development. Finnish business partnership cooperation instruments are invented to facilitate and promote private sector partnerships between Finnish and Vietnamese companies in various fields, clean technology being an example.
As a GreenBiz side-event, clean technology was one of the topics: Finland’s strengths, expertise and innovative solutions to clean technologies are impressive – also for the local private sector in Vietnam. Cleantech Finland was introduced to Vietnamese actors. Here it aims to promote partnerships on clean technology solutions between Finnish and Vietnamese companies to address environmental problems and pollution in Vietnam.
Speaking at the seminar, the Deputy Head of Mission, Ms. Terhi Bunders emphasized that “trade promotion activities are a clear priority at the Embassy. We stand ready to facilitate partnerships between Finnish and Vietnamese companies, and open doors where need be”. “The Embassy also contributes to improving the business environment and market access issues in Vietnam, funding, matchmaking, traditional trade promotion and other advisory services”, she added.
Useful information and practical answers
The seminar presented financing opportunities and innovation support. It also provided answers to questions like how to find partners and get support to new partnerships and how to apply for funding to realize the project ideas. Encouraging examples were also shared. The participants got to know more about current tools, which are designed to support the private sector at all levels and different fields – globally (Finnpartnership Program, Concessional Credit), regionally (Energy and Environment Partnership Program for Mekong region – EEP Mekong) and bilaterally (Innovation Partnership Program – IPP).
These support instruments are expected to create a better access for the local private sector to financing sources in general and also to Finnish cleantech expertise. The combination of support instruments and Finnish clean technology expertise helps to address environmental problems in Vietnam.
