(VOVworld) – The Da Nang Association of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises has launched a program to select 100 promising businessmen. This is one of the city’s programs to encourage students to start businesses while they are still at school.

Le Van Hieu, President of Da Nang Young Entrepreneur Association and Ly Dinh        Quan, President of the SQ-Vietnam Company, present awards for winners of a competition to look for promising policymakers. (Photo: udn.vn)

The 3-year program will provide support to 100 students who have good business ideas and at least 10 innovative projects. Nguyen Thanh Ngoc, head the representative office of the Vietnam Association of Small and Medium Enterprises in the central region, says: “Through this program, we want to encourage people to start businesses in science and technology, for example, agricultural high-tech, technology for industrial production, or IT. We will locate funding from major businesses or venture investment funds to realize creative business ideas.”

The program will help young people with creative ideas develop business plans and put them into practice. Students participating in the program will learn to create detailed roadmaps for developing their companies, share experience with their peers, and receive suggestions for their business projects. 

The program will boost cooperation between schools and enterprises and help training facilities understands the needs of businesses to improve their curriculum. Doctor Vo Thanh Hai, Deputy Rector of Duy Tan University, shares his university’s previous difficulties: “For a long time, all we could do was to organize business incubator contests. We had no way to turn good ideas into reality. But now we can help enterprises keep in touch with contest winners to help them realize their initiatives.”

Da Nang University and Da Nang City’s Center for SME support sign cooperation agreement to carry out the program to select 100 young promising businessmen (Photo: udn.vn)

Selected students are offered free consultancy courses run by Da Nang business administration experts, are introduced to large enterprises for possible internships, and are given access to financial sources from investment funds and the city’s credit guarantee fund. According to Ly Dinh Quan, head of the program’s organizing board, “the business start-up program has drawn a great response from enterprises and schools. 20 companies and 2 funds have registered to sponsor the program. They hope to find outstanding business ideas and are ready to contribute money to set up businesses with young people to profit from international integration opportunities.”