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Challenge fund seeks business ideas
The Viet Nam Business Challenge Fund (VBCF) – a 7 million pound (US$10.87 million) programme funded by UK Department for International Development (DFID) officially announced yesterday its second call for proposals in HCM City.
Private businesses – both national and multinational - operating in Viet Nam have been invited to submit innovative and inclusive business ideas in three sectors: Agriculture, Low Carbon Growth: and Infrastructure and Basic services from April 24 to August 30.
A series of road shows will be held across the country to provide further information on Viet Nam Business Challenge Fund (VBCF) in Dak Lak, Hue, HCM City, Ha Noi, Nam Dinh and Tuyen Quang.
Nguyen Hong Ha, deputy director, HCM City branch of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry said many Vietnamese businesses, especially in the private sector, are lacking access to the market because they do not have sufficient capital.
VBCF, set to function from September 2012 to December 2015, is a specialised fund designed to support the private sector in Viet Nam by developing innovative, inclusive business models that deliver both commercial benefits for the company and social impacts for the low-income population segment.
"It aims to create sustainable growth for private businesses and contribute to poverty eradication," Ha said.
Tu Thu Hien of the DFID in Viet Nam said VBCF is managed by the SNV Netherlands Development Organisation.
The funding provided by VBCF ranges from $100,000 to $800,000, depending the project , small, medium or large.
Projects are selected based on several criteria including innovation, long-term commercial feasibility and sustainability, benefit for low income beneficiaries and the level of benefit generated.
vietnamnews
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