A high-tech farm in Bắc Ninh Province. Agricultural enterprises should adopt inclusive business (IB) models to create competitive advantages and breakthrough developments. — VNA/VNS Đinh Văn Nhiều

HÀ NỘI — Agricultural enterprises should adopt inclusive business (IB) models to create competitive advantages and achieve breakthrough development in the context of Việt Nam striving for net zero by 2050, experts have said.

Trịnh Thị Hương, Deputy Director of the Corporate Development Department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, said at a conference on promoting IB in the agricultural sector in Việt Nam held by the ministry and the ASEAN Secretariat on Tuesday, that climate change is heavily impacting production and business, raising a pressing need for sustainable development.

“Sustainability becomes an inevitable trend,” she said, urging enterprises to adopt the IB model.

“The IB model is a useful approach that is being promoted worldwide to enhance business competitiveness. This model helps enterprises conduct business activities that not only generate profits but also encourage stakeholders to participate in sustainable production and business, turning the burden of compliance into an advantage,” Hương said.

ASEAN has been strongly pushing the IB model. ASEAN defines inclusive businesses as those that provide goods, services and livelihoods on a commercially viable basis, either at scale or scalable, to people at the base of the economic pyramid (BOP), making them part of the value chain of companies’ core businesses as suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers.

The Vietnamese Government has committed to achieving net zero by 2050. To achieve this ambitious goal, enterprises play an important role and IB is considered a central solution for them to move forwards with sustainability.

Sharing the experience of Quang Vinh Ceramic, which won the ASEAN IB Award, the company’s director Hà Thị Vinh said that the adoption of IB has helped create significant social values and expand markets. The company’s ceramic products are now exported to more than 20 markets including Japan, the US and Australia.

According to Jason Lusk, a representative from consulting firm Clickable Impact, the IB model brings multi-dimensional benefits to the Government, businesses and low-income people. For those on a lower income, this model creates job opportunities and brings stable incomes. For the Government, IB promotes economic growth. For businesses, the model helps expand markets and enhance brand value.

However, he pointed out that IB remains a new concept to a majority of enterprises, especially small and medium sized operations. Many are not fully aware of the benefits that IB model brings.

Priority should be given to improving enterprises’ awareness of IB together with providing supports to encourage them to adopt the model in Việt Nam, he said. — VNS