Project “Promotion of supply and demand for Eco-fair agri-food processing products in Vietnam”

The objective of the Eco-Fair project is to support MSMEs in Vietnam’s agri-food processing sector to improve production processes and product quality in the period of international integration and, at the same time, increase perceptions and trust of the community in domestic products. Enterprises and consumers will receive useful practical knowledge about sustainable consumption and production through free online courses and direct consultancies.

Main activities of the project:

• Online learning courses built and distributed;
• On-site assessment, training, and intervention;
• Awareness-raising activities through online learning and media, and building a change maker-network;
• Stimulating sustainable consumption and production through setting up an E-platform and Setting up a network of eco-fair retailers;
• Online learning courses to build the capacity of 1.000 agri-food processing MSMEs;
• On-site training for potential investment projects at MSMEs; and
• Capacity building for eco-fair & circular economy policy for agri-food processing.

Activities in 2020:

In the first year of the project, VNCPC and partners focused on building 3 online courses to help learners actively arrange their study time through internet-connected devices such as phones, tablets, or computers.

• Course 1: Sustainable Production for MSMEs
• Course 2: Sustainable consumption for consumers\
• Course 3: Improve access to green credits for MSMEs

In 2021:

• Support 54 MSMEs to identify and apply RECP options to save energy, water, and raw materials as well as improve their waste management

In 2022:

• Continued to support 118 MSMEs to identify and apply RECP options to save energy, water, and raw materials as well as improve their waste management, bringing the total number of businesses supported in 2 years to 172;
• Organized 02 online training sessions on “Preferinitial sources of capital for sustainable production and loan application” on 30/03/2022 and
• 01/04/2022. The program has attracted 115 enterprises to participate in the training;
• Received information about the loan needs of 10 businesses, and contacted appropriate credit institutions to connect cooperation between the parties.

In 2023:

• Conducted field trips locally to continue supporting 28 MSMEs to identify and apply electricity use solutions, heat use, water use, raw material use, waste management, etc. It brought the total number of businesses supported in 3 years to 200;
• Conducted in-depth RECP assessment for 32 enterprises. Thus, during the project implementation period, 50 MSMEs received in-depth consultancy on saving production costs, lowering product costs and increasing opportunities to access the market;
• Trained and supported connecting 20 MSMEs with the loan needs to appropriate credit institutions and provided guidance on preparing loan applications; and
• Jointly developed a final project report summarizing 03-years implementation process, outcomes and results submitted to the sponsor.