WASHINGTON, May 13, 2013 – The World Bank Board of Directors today approved a US$55 million credit for the Inclusive Innovation Project in Vietnam, which will help provide affordable technological solutions in areas such as traditional herbal medicine to improve the quality of life for the poor.
The project aims to achieve this goal by: (i) strengthening Vietnam’s capacity to undertake inclusive innovation, including financing development, adaptation, adoption, scale-up and commercialization of inclusive technologies; and (ii) improving research and development institutions’ and small and medium enterprises’ technological and innovation capabilities. It will also strengthen capacity in program development, policy coordination, program implementation, monitoring and evaluation for related policy making agencies.
The three priority areas where development of innovations will be financed are traditional herbal medicine, information/communication technology applications and agriculture/aquaculture technologies. Vietnam has a strong tradition, capacity and strategic interest in these areas, as reflected in the country’s Socio- Economic Development Strategy 2011-2020. It is expected that focusing in these three areas could yield a quick and significant impact on the poor.
The project will be conducted in partnership with the Enterprise Development Agency of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) as the primary executing agency, and with selected participating financial intermediaries and the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) as the implementing agencies.
The credit comes from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s fund for the poorest.
