Canada backs Vietnam’s green transition with AGILE project

Canada backs Vietnam’s green transition with AGILE project

The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with Global Affairs Canada, and the Embassy of Canada in Vietnam, launched the project “Advancing Innovation, Growth and Leadership Capacity for Vietnamese Enterprises” on February 6.

Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung

The event was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance Do Thanh Trung and Canadian Ambassador to Vietnam Jim Nickel.

Deputy Minister Do Thanh Trung noted that after nearly 40 years of economic reforms, Vietnam’s business sector has steadily developed in both scale and quality, becoming one of the key drivers of the socialist-oriented market economy.

At present, Vietnam has more than one million enterprises and over five million business households in operation, contributing around half of GDP, more than 30 per cent of total state budget revenue, and accounting for approximately 82 per cent of total employment.

The business sector plays an important role in encouraging innovation, improving labour productivity, enhancing national competitiveness, contributing to poverty reduction and social stability. Many Vietnamese enterprises have grown strongly, built recognised brands, and expanded into regional and global markets.

Deputy Minister Trung said that Vietnam was among the countries most severely affected by climate change. Rising temperatures, sea-level rise, and increasingly complex extreme weather events and natural disasters are intensifying in both frequency and severity. These impacts not only seriously affect key economic sectors, but also directly impact people’s livelihoods, posing threats to food security and the country’s sustainable development goals.

“The development of climate enterprises is of great significance, as they both contribute to economic growth and job creation, and provide environmentally friendly products and services. Supporting and encouraging climate enterprises will help expand their positive impact, thereby making more practical contributions to the country’s sustainable development goals,” Trung said.

AGILE project launch ceremony

However, in practice, and according to recent studies, climate enterprises continue to face numerous problems. These include limited access to finance and a lack of necessary technical support to scale up operations and enhance competitiveness.

Many climate enterprises, particularly those in the early growth stage, encounter difficulties due to unproven business models, unclear product–market fit, and limited research data to support innovation. These factors increase risks for investors and create barriers to capital flows into the climate sector.

In addition, while domestic and international investors are showing growing interest in the Vietnamese market, there remains a shortage of information, a lack of high-quality, investment-ready projects, and insufficient mechanisms to effectively connect investors with local enterprises.

Many investors also lack a comprehensive understanding of specific opportunities in climate change adaptation and mitigation in Vietnam, resulting in the market’s potential being underexploited.

Trung highlighted that the documents of the 14th National Party Congress reaffirm and clearly define the Party’s commitment to sustainable development, with a stronger emphasis on green and inclusive growth, not trading the environment for economic growth, and placing people and quality of life at the centre of development.

In parallel, Resolution No.68-NQ/TW in 2025 of the Politburo affirms that the private economic sector is one of the most important driving forces of the economy, serving as a pioneer in encouraging growth, job creation, improving labour productivity and national competitiveness, and restructuring the economy towards a green, circular and sustainable model.

“The private sector is at the heart of the Vietnamese government’s efforts to transition towards a green economy, by mobilising private investment to drive innovation and improve real efficiency,” he said.

The deputy minister said that in recent years, with a strong commitment to leading enterprise support efforts, the MoF had implemented numerous initiatives to encourage business development, building an enterprise support ecosystem through training, consultancy, technical assistance and resource mobilisation.

“The MoF is very pleased to receive the partnership and support of the government of Canada in jointly launching AGILE," he said.

" We hope that the project will not only serve as a testament to the long-term, trusted strategic partnership between Vietnam and Canada, but also make an important contribution to the Vietnamese government’s efforts to encourage private sector innovation and sustainable growth.”

Canadian Ambassador Jim Nickel

Speaking at the launch, Canadian Ambassador Jim Nickel affirmed Canada’s commitment to supporting Vietnam’s green transition through innovative financial solutions. He said that under the project, Global Affairs Canada will work in partnership with Vietnam’s MoF, the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), and Sarona Asset Management, using official development assistance as a catalyst to de-risk and mobilise private investment.

The core focus of the initiative is to strengthen the capacity of domestic business support organisations, enabling them to deliver more effective services to climate enterprises, particularly women-led businesses, so that these enterprises are better prepared to receive investment and scale up.

“The initiative also aligns with Canada’s renewed approach to international development assistance, which aims to boost shared prosperity by strengthening investment, connecting green supply chains, and expanding trade opportunities for both Canadian and Vietnamese enterprises,” the ambassador said.

VIR