Participants at the workshop introducing the Central Innovation Programme for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises in Berlin. — VNA/VNS Photo

BERLIN  The Central Innovation Programme for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), also known as ZIM, was introduced to Vietnamese and German firms and organisations at a workshop in Berlin on Wednesday.
The ZIM programme has been carried out within the framework of a letter of intent on scientific and technological cooperation signed in December 2012 between the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. It looks to help transfer advanced technologies and improve the technical capacity of SMEs and scientific-technological organisations in Viet Nam.
Trần Đông, Counsellor for Science and Technology at the Vietnamese Embassy in Germany, said the workshop was one of the three similar events held by the MoST to introduce the ZIM programme. The two previous events took place in Hà Nội and HCM City in late May.
The Berlin workshop aimed to give instructions on the approval process, financial mechanisms and methods for supporting the connection of Vietnamese and German scientists and businesses.
He added that during the Viet Nam visit last March by German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier, Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc asked the European country to assist Việt Nam in developing SMEs and some other fields, including digital technology, start-ups and innovation.
Meanwhile, Counsellor Đặng Chung Thủy at the Vietnamese Embassy highlighted the importance of bilateral cooperation in researching, developing and commercialising technologies in the two countries’ SMEs.
He noted that with a dynamic economy, the Government’s efforts, the private sector’s investment and human resource advantages, Việt Nam is becoming a start-up and innovation hub in Asia-Pacific.
Felix Richter, Coordinator for International Cooperation at AiF Projekt GmbH, said apart from Việt Nam, the ZIM programme has cooperated with 25 other countries. Each year, it issues announcements to invite businesses to propose feasible projects to seek funding.
He expressed his hope that the programme will expand its sponsorship scope to attract more SMEs and foster cooperation between the two countries. — VNS