Science Minister Says Small Firms Can Get Up to 3 Billion Dong for Experts to Build AI Solutions Under a Pilot
Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology is piloting a scheme that can provide up to 3 billion dong so that experts and scientists can help small and medium-sized enterprises apply artificial intelligence, Minister Vũ Hải Quân told the National Assembly on November 12, Dân trí reported. He gave the figure during the question session of the second sitting of the 16th National Assembly, in reply to deputy Nguyễn Đại Thắng of Hưng Yên province, who raised concerns that private businesses invest too little in innovation and digital transformation compared with peers in the region.
Citing a survey by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Thắng said only 8.8 per cent of businesses had carried out product innovation and just 3.9 per cent cooperated on science and technology. He asked the minister to explain the causes and how the government would encourage firms to invest in research and development, commercialise research results and push ahead with digital transformation.
What it means in practice
Quân said the model draws on Singapore’s approach. When a business has production or sales problems that AI could solve but lacks the staff to build a solution, the ministry acts as a connector, linking it with organisations, universities and expert teams able to develop applications. The ministry can then fund up to 3 billion dong for experts and scientists to work directly at the company and build AI solutions for real problems. He said the pilot is being rolled out step by step, with the aim of putting technology into production and business rather than leaving it at the stage of research results.
On visits to provinces, Quân said he typically asks each locality to choose three to five promising enterprises for focused support in science, technology and innovation, citing the possibility of using gene technology in Sơn La to improve dairy cattle productivity. The key, he said, is to start from businesses’ specific needs so that firms become the centre of innovation rather than passive beneficiaries. The scheme sits alongside NATIF’s grants of up to $120,000 for business AI projects and follows the ministry’s rollout of an AI public-service platform across all ministries and provinces. What to watch is how many SMEs join the pilot and which sectors it targets first.