USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (Linksme) Project
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USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) Project Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (USAID LinkSME) Project Annual Progress Report – Year 1 Covering the Period September 5, 2018 to September 30, 2019 Submitted October 31, 2019 This Annual Progress Report was made possible through support provided by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The opinions expressed herein are the sole responsibility of IESC and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. Prepared under the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (USAID LinkSME) Contract No. 72044018C00002 managed by International Executive Service Corps IESC Contact Ronald Ashkin USAID LinkSME Project Director 6th Floor, No. 10 Chu Văn An, Ba Đinh Hà Nội 10000, Vietnam Tel: +84 358 021 163 Email: [email protected] Chad Ford Associate Vice President International Executive Service Corps 1900 M Street, NW Suite 500 Washington, DC 20036 Tel: (202) 589-2643 Email: [email protected] Front cover photograph: Worker at Vietnamese SME Tung Lam Production and Commercial Company Limited, Ba Ria - Vung Tau Province (Photo: USAID LinkSME) USAID LinkSME Year 1 Annual Progress Report Page 1 Table of Contents List of Acronyms ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Executive Summary .................................................................................................................................. 5 I. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................... 6 II. Progress Against Planned Activities ................................................................................................. 7 TA 1: Establishing One-to-One Relationships Between Lead Firms and SMEs .......................... 7 TA 2: Supplier Days ................................................................................................................... 15 TA 3: Outreach and External Communications .......................................................................... 18 TA 4: SME Advisory Group ....................................................................................................... 22 TA 5: Baseline Assessment......................................................................................................... 24 TA 6: Phase 2 Sector Selection Process ...................................................................................... 24 III. Progress related to Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning ......................................................... 24 Table of Indicators ...................................................................................................................... 25 Analysis of Indicators as Applicable .......................................................................................... 25 IV. Risk Assessment ......................................................................................................................... 26 V. Project Management ....................................................................................................................... 26 Mobilization ................................................................................................................................ 26 USAID LinkSME Registration, Organizational Registration, and Local Offices ...................... 27 Management Approach and Structure ......................................................................................... 28 IESC Home-office Oversight and Support ................................................................................. 29 Communications and Outreach ................................................................................................... 29 IESC Reporting ........................................................................................................................... 30 Environmental Plan ..................................................................................................................... 31 Annex A: Updated Implementation Plan .................................................................................................... 32 Annex B: USAID LinkSME Indicator Table .............................................................................................. 33 Annex C: Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 35 Annex D: Annual Financial Status Report .................................................................................................. 38 Annex E: Summary of Electronic Attachments .......................................................................................... 43 Annex F: Project Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 44 Annex G: Technical Assistance Activities .................................................................................................. 47 Annex H: Workshops, Forums, and Trainings ........................................................................................... 48 Annex I: Inventory List ............................................................................................................................... 50 Annex J: Media Coverage of USAID LinkSME Project in 2019…………………………………………51 USAID LinkSME Year 1 Annual Progress Report Page 2 List of Acronyms AED Agency for Enterprise Development AmCham American Chamber of Commerce AMELP Activity Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Plan APCA Administrative Procedures Control Agency ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations AWP Annual Work Plan BSO Business Support Organization CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CLA Collaborating, Learning, and Adapting COR Contracting Officer’s Representative CRM Customer Relationship Management DO Development Objective EG2 Economic Growth and Governance ERC Environmental Review Checklist ERP Enterprise Resource Planning GVN Government of Vietnam HCMC Ho Chi Minh City HEPZA Ho Chi Minh City Export Promotion Zone Association HO Home Office IESC International Executive Service Corps IIE Initial Environmental Examination IMC Innovative Marketing Consultants ISO International Standards Organization IT Information Technology ITPC Investment and Trade Promotion Center USAID LinkSME USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises LOP Life of Project MEL Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning MOIT Ministry of Industry and Trade MOU Memorandum of Understanding MPI Ministry of Planning and Investment ODA Official Development Assistance OOG Office of the Government PD Project Document PO Purchase Order RFQ Request for Quotations SECC Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center SME Small and Medium-sized Enterprise STTA Short-Term Technical Assistance TA Technical Activity USAID United States Agency for International Development VAMI Vietnam Association of Mechanical Industries VASI Vietnam Association of Supporting Industries VCCI Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry USAID LinkSME Year 1 Annual Progress Report Page 3 VEIA Vietnam Electronics Industry Association ViEF Vietnam Economic Forum VINASME Vietnam Association for Small and Medium Enterprises VME Vietnam Manufacturing Expo VSQI Vietnam Standards and Quality Institute USAID LinkSME Year 1 Annual Progress Report Page 4 Executive Summary The purpose of the USAID Linkages for Small and Medium Enterprises (LinkSME) project is to spur systemic changes in relationships between Vietnamese SMEs and lead firms and thereby achieve significant increases in the quantity and/or quality of business linkages between Vietnamese SMEs and lead firms. The cost-plus-award-fee contract is valued at approximately $22.1 million, not including the award fee. USAID LinkSME runs from 2018 to 2023. At the end of its first year of implementation, USAID LinkSME exceeded all its applicable performance indicators, as shown in Table 1: Year 1 Code Indicator Target Actual G1 Number of linkages created within targeted 0 16 industries and sectors O1 Value of private sector contributions $100,000 $610,135 EG.2.2-1 Number of firms receiving USG-funded technical 800 823 assistance to export GNDR-2 Percentage of female participants in USG-assisted 20% 41% programs designed to increase access to productive economic resources Table 1: Summary of USAID LinkSME Year 1 Performance Indicators, Target and Actual At the end of Year 1, USAID LinkSME received both Official Development Assistance (ODA) project approval and registration from the Government of Vietnam (GVN), per GVN Decision 1203/QD-TTG dated September 16, 2019. The Project Document (PD) was approved by the GVN on September 23, 2019. On September 24th, U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink, USAID/Vietnam Mission Director Michael Greene, Office of the Government (OOG) Minister and Chairman Mai Tien Dung, and Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) Minister Nguyen Chi Dzung officially launched the project at a ceremony in Hanoi. The OOG is the project’s official government counterpart while MPI serves as co-counterpart. In the first year of implementation, the USAID LinkSME Project registered 1,340 individuals into the project database, including 599 in the focus sectors of electronics and metals. Of these, 106 firms were assessed for linkage readiness and 69 passed. Fourteen MOUs were signed