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US fund backs eight projects
Eight projects have received grants worth over US$230,000 from the Viet Nam Challenge Fund (VNCF) after two years of operation, according to the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Recipients of the funds included projects in forestry, seafood, handicrafts and conservation of natural resources, the chamber said yesterday. Projects in skill development, agricultural processing and training were also selected for funding.
The VNCF is an initiative financed by the Ford Foundation. It was launched in March 2008 and is managed by the Enterprise Development Foundation under the VCCI.
The fund's objective was to encourage businesses to carry out job creation and economic stimulation programmes in marginalised areas, said VCCI chairman Vu Tien Loc.
Beneficiaries of the fund were eligible to receive grants of up to 49 per cent of total project capital, Loc added.
Financing by the VNCF aimed to reduce the risks of commercial investment in marginalised areas.
The fund would continue to support projects involved in farm produce, husbandry, processing and services in the northern provinces.
Challenge Fund was first established by the British Government's Department for International Development which began trial operations in 2000 in the EastAfrican countries of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
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