Innovation or reform in the face of constant change in the new era

In the new era, when the market is constantly changing and the level of competition is accelerating, businesses are forced to consider innovation or reform to grow and reach out to the world.

Many challenges for entrepreneurs and businesses

On August 22, Ho Chi Minh City Young Business Association (YBA HCM) coordinated with a number of units to organize the event Vietnam CEO Forum 2024 with the theme "Renovation or innovation - innovation or reform - what really creates sustainable growth?".

Speakers shared at the forum.

The program attracted more than 1,000 CEOs to discuss insights and strategies for innovation and business development in the new era.

According to Mr. Le Tri Thong, Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors, CEO of Phu Nhuan Jewelry Joint Stock Company (PNJ), Chairman of YBA, after a period of rapid development thanks to the advantages of cheap labor and resources as well as investment stimulus policies, developing countries will face the "middle-income trap".

Meanwhile, the National Master Plan for the 2021-2030 period approved by the National Assembly sets the goal that by 2050, Vietnam will become a developed, high-income country with an economy operating in the form of a digital economy, green economy, and circular economy; science, technology, and innovation are the main growth drivers.

Therefore, to achieve these development goals and overcome the “middle-income trap”, Vietnam and its businesses must seek new growth models where value-added based on innovation is the foundation.

“In particular, the Vietnamese economy has gone through many twists and turns with challenges in terms of increasing technology, generational transitions… Therefore, this is an opportunity for leaders and CEOs to share stories about transformation and evolution, the ability to choose the right path in a volatile business environment. From there, it creates incentives for innovation to lead businesses to grow and develop sustainably.”

Innovation is inevitable

It can be seen that with the emergence of many new development trends along with the continuous progress of science and technology and the pressure from climate change, there is a demand for innovation, creativity and sustainable development to increase adaptability. This becomes an important factor determining the existence and sustainable development of enterprises in the future.

Mr. Nguyen Quang Tri, Vinamilk Marketing Executive Director, said that for Vinamilk, changing the brand identity and packaging in 2023 was a huge innovation and created momentum for a breakthrough in the future. This is an activity to elevate the brand with a new strategy and positioning, the brand identity clearly shows Vinamilk's personality of "bold, determined, always being yourself".

Agreeing with the opinion, Mr. Pham Hong Hai, General Director of Orient Commercial Joint Stock Bank (OCB) informed that in 2012, OCB transformed from a state-owned bank to a private bank. This transformation has brought a new wave, due to innovation, dynamism, positivity and a very high entrepreneurial spirit. The past 10 years of development have also proven the successful reform of OCB.

“In the future, if we continue to maintain the current growth rate, we will not create strong growth. Therefore, businesses must re-define their strengths to have a roadmap for development and innovation. Currently, we focus on developing two key areas: green banking and digital banking. OCB Bank today is different from 10 years ago because we have the resources and people to do it,” Mr. Hai shared.

In particular, facing fluctuations in the market and the world economy, Vietnamese enterprises as well as the Vietnamese economy need new formulas to be able to come up with new growth models for the entire economy.

Ms. Nguyen Tra My, General Director of PAN Group shares the story of innovation or reform at the group.

Innovation is inevitable, but to clarify the story of choosing improvement or reform for a business, Ms. Nguyen Tra My, General Director of PAN Group, cited that Vietnam's rice industry has a low starting point in the region. 40 years ago, while some countries like the Philippines and Indonesia were proactive in food production, Vietnam still had to import millions of tons of rice every year.

However, since 1989, everything seems to have reversed. Vietnam has risen to become the world's leading rice exporter, while the Philippines and Indonesia have had to return to continuously importing rice, even though the governments of these countries have made great efforts to restore self-sufficiency in the rice industry, but have not yet succeeded.

“What makes Vietnam successful? When comparing countries in the ASEAN and South Asian regions, Vietnam’s rice industry is different in several ways. Firstly, Vietnam has a dense irrigation system of all types and sizes for all ecological regions, with many large reservoirs from North to South. Secondly, Vietnam’s rice breeding strategy based on a model combining high yield but short or extremely short growing period (90-110 days) and high quality has brought success,” Ms. My shared.

At the same time, nearly 40 years ago, the late Professor Vo Tong Xuan overcame the embargo, requested and promptly propagated brown planthopper-resistant rice varieties from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), contributing to saving the country during the days of famine.

Today, there is Labor Hero Ho Quang Cua and his colleagues with the ST25 variety that has twice won the World's Best Rice Award, along with many scientists at research institutes, universities and businesses who are constantly improving, crossbreeding and even inventing plant varieties with outstanding characteristics.

Ms. Tra My said that PAN Group also has such scientists. A typical example is a scientist who created the famous Dai Thom 8 rice variety that is favored by farmers nationwide, currently contributing to more than 30% of Vietnam's fragrant rice exports. In the fourth quarter of this year, PAN will launch a new improved rice variety with even more outstanding characteristics in terms of drought and salinity tolerance and delicious rice quality, suitable for all climate conditions of the North, Central and South, especially the harsh summer-autumn crop in the North.

“With the Government’s project to sustainably develop 1 million hectares of high-quality rice and reduce emissions by 2030, PAN assesses that this is not only an improvement but also a major reform in the rice growing sector, completely changing the method of rice production and cultivation, aiming at very high goals in terms of economy, environment, and society (ESG). PAN Group is participating in and implementing farmer linkage areas, combining improvements in varieties, cultivation techniques, etc. to achieve the goals of the Project,” Ms. My affirmed.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/cai-tien-hay-cai-cach-truoc-su-bien-doi-khong-ngung-trong-ky-nguyen-moi-d223089.html