Within the cope of a project funded by Danish Embassy in Vietnam, the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri - DI) will provide assistance and advice to Vietnamese young entrepreneurs with its purpose of helping them find innovative methods to meet the challenges they face.
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| Mr.Mads Eggers |
Within the cope of a project funded by Danish Embassy in Vietnam, the Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri - DI) will provide assistance and advice to Vietnamese young entrepreneurs with its purpose of helping them find innovative methods to meet the challenges they face. On the occasion of visit of Mr. Mads Eggers from DI to Dong Nai, Dong Nai Newspaper’s Kim Loan interviewed him.
Could you explain what your organization does?
The Confederation of Danish Industries (Dansk Industri - DI) is a private organization funded, owned and managed entirely by currently 6,400 companies within the manufacturing and service industries. Representative of the Confederation of Danish Industries in Denmark and EU in various councils, committees and work groups, among others. Among our services to these members are assistance within international trade and market development, where we work in close cooperation with Entrepreneur Associations of India, Africa, South America, East Europe … DIs management oversees the daily activities of the 400 employees. DI is funded through contributions by its members and collected fees from our service offerings.
What level of support does DI provide to Vietnamese young entrepreneurs?
Within the cope of a project funded by Danish Embassy to Vietnam, we will visit Hai Phong and Da Nang Cities, as well as the provinces of Hai Duong, Thua Thien- Hue and Dong Nai to learn about the operation and goals of young Entrepreneurs Associations at the above localities. We will offer support to help Vietnamese young entrepreneurs develop professional knowledge and skills in their organization or professional industry for improving organizational effectiveness. In acting "as a bridge", in a variety of ways, too, the DI has its aim the facilitation of co-operation between Vietnamese companies and its members for development and innovation.
How much do you know about Vietnam as well as the operation of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneur Association before you pay a visit to Vietnam? According to your opinion, what challenges do Vietnamese young entrepreneurs face?
I have been here three times. In 1997, I had an opportunity to work with the Ha Noi young Entrepreneur’s Association. I think that Vietnamese companies have still lacked competitiveness, especially in the international markets. Thus, Vietnamese companies should diversify their product offerings and improve product quality in order to substantially enhance the competitiveness of businesses in the regional and international markets.
Danish businesses seem not to know much about Vietnam. What do you think about this matter?
Yes, that’s right. As I know, however, some Danish businesses have invested in Vietnam in various fields such as textile and garment, pharmaceutical product, pottery and seagoing transportation. I think that there will be more opportunities for co-operation between Vietnam and Denmark in the next time because many Danish businesses are much interested in Vietnam’s investment environment. Besides, the Danish government will also encourage more of its businesses to invest in Vietnam. Had I known that Danish Embassy in Ha Noi provided Vietnam’s investment programs to our businesses for reference.
According to you, what I should do to approach to Danish market if I was a Vietnamese entrepreneur?
I think that you will have more chances to enter our market if you have a big company. Denmark is a fairly small country with a population of approximately 5 million inhabitants. However, Denmark is one of the most consuming countries in the world and its marketplace requires high standards on quality and hygiene safety of imported products. It’s difficult for you to invest directly to Denmark due to its high labor cost. Therefore, Vietnamese young entrepreneurs should cooperate with Danish businesses to set up joint venture companies aiming to succeed in getting the operation performed. Vietnamese young entrepreneurs can learn the experiences of Indian and Chinese enterprises that are exporting their products to Denmark.
By Kim Loan
