FPT's CEO: "Make-in-Vietnam" products should be fostered from the initial steps."

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of the Vietnam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA) and CEO of FPT Corporation, Vietnamese businesses face many challenges in researching and developing "Make-in-Vietnam" technology products. Besides, companies should focus not only on quantity but need to start on small and precise initial steps to strive for greatness.
Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa shared these insights during the 3-year review conference of the Make in Vietnam Digital Product Award, organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC) on May 11, 2023, in Hanoi.

According to Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of VINASA and CEO of FPT Corporation, Vietnamese businesses face many challenges in researching and developing "Make-in-Vietnam" technology products.

Leading the event, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications, Mr. Nguyen Huy Dung, affirmed that the Make in Vietnam Digital Product Award is to seek and honor products and solutions that use digital technology to address real-life issues. These issues include lifestyle changes, work practices, business model transformations, improved customer experiences, the provision of new services, and the resolution of problems. They were previously unsolvable without the necessary tools. Many products experienced growth of 200-300% after receiving the award, such as Base.vn and MISA AMIS. Some products had attracted significant investment with substantial capital, like Base.vn. However, after three years of organizing the award - to make it more reputable and practical - the MIC needed the businesses' contributions based on customer perspectives, market insights, and internal operations.

On behalf of VINASA, an organization with many years of experience in organizing competitions to honor digital solutions and products, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa, Chairman of VINASA and CEO of FPT, emphasized the positive significance of the Make in Vietnam Digital Product Award, organized by the MIC. According to Mr. Khoa, the award from the ministry should be at a higher par than association-level awards. The award should get more reputation, reflected through media coverage and clear award criteria. "Researching and developing production processes are much more challenging than providing technology services. Vietnamese people normally perform tasks exceptionally well when we start from small and specific steps, gradually moving towards larger goals. The higher expected greatness right from the beginning may lead to lower chances of success. Therefore, I propose that Make-in-Vietnam products should be fostered from the initial steps of their life circle," Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa stated.

Drawing a global perspective, such as Microsoft, Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa pointed out that international businesses have specialized product development teams. In the product development phase, they often invest time in research and self-critique to create excellent products. However, due to economic constraints and time limitations, Vietnamese businesses have yet to be able to establish such international-standard models. Therefore, the Ministry of Information and Communications can facilitate the connection of international experts to advise and support Vietnamese businesses in developing technology products, aiming to bring Make in Vietnam products to the global market.

Mr. Nguyen Van Khoa also proposed that the MIC create incentives and mechanisms to encourage small and medium-sized enterprises with breakthrough ideas to participate and be recognized in suitable award categories.Sharing the same viewpoint as the Chairman of VINASA, Mr. Le Hong Viet, CEO of FPT Smart Cloud - a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, believed that the engineering capabilities of Vietnam were excellent, but creating great products required a collective effort, where businesses design products based on thorough research to meet user experiences. There would be a need for collaboration among corporations and learning from international experts to archive this.

Mr. Le Hong Viet, CEO of FPT Smart Cloud - a subsidiary of FPT Corporation, believes that it is necessary to establish collaborations among businesses to develop a digital technology product ecosystem.

Furthermore, Mr. Le Hong Viet suggested that the Make in Vietnam Award should evoke emotions and pride and demonstrate usefulness and advantages compared to foreign products. Also, the MIC should bring together leading technology companies with their successful result in production and other enterprises - by recognizing smaller products from them - to create a community and develop a comprehensive solution set.

From a startup perspective, representatives from Base.vn stated that the award might not directly bring products to customers but greatly supported building the image and credibility of the products and businesses. Additionally, there should be clear criteria for the award, honoring unique technologies that reflect the significance of Make in Vietnam, particularly the community's benefits and mastery of core technologies.

During the conference to review the 3-year implementation of the Make in Vietnam digital product award organized by the Ministry of Information and Communications, representatives from companies such as Viettel, MobiFone, VNPT, and Hocmai made suggestions to the organizing committee regarding the competition's name, global rankings for awarded products, award categories, and media coverage. The MIC's leadership accepted businesses' suggestions and would implement them to the award in 2023.