Hà Nội drafts incentives to boost e-commerce and digital businesses

Hà Nội drafts incentives to boost e-commerce and digital businesses

According to documents prepared by Hà Nội's Department of Science and Technology, the draft will also expand e-commerce and develop digital products.

A customer makes a cashless payment at a WinMart supermarket in Hà Nội. The city is drafting a support scheme to accelerate digital transformation and expand e-commerce among businesses. — VNA/VNS Photo Trần Việt

Hà Nội authorities have begun consulting ministries, agencies, business associations and technology experts on a draft decision that would introduce a broad package of incentives to help small businesses adopt digital technologies.

According to documents prepared by Hà Nội's Department of Science and Technology, the draft will also expand e-commerce and develop digital products.

The draft decision is intended to implement Resolution No 59/2026/NQ-HĐND of the Hà Nội People's Council, dated June 15, 2026, which sets out policies to promote digital transformation, digital technology products and services, digital society in the locality.

It would cover assistance for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives and household businesses undergoing digital transformation, as well as support for research and development, digital technology products and exports.

One of the most notable proposals is the introduction of electronic vouchers instead of direct cash grants. Under the draft, eligible businesses would receive electronic vouchers that could be used only for products and services provided by suppliers included in an officially approved list.

The proposed support would cover a wide range of services, including the development of websites, online stores and digital sales channels, digital marketing, participation in e-commerce platforms, electronic payments and logistics, as well as legal and intellectual property advisory services related to e-commerce.

Businesses could also receive support to adopt artificial intelligence, including generative AI, for digital content creation, sales, customer service and AI chatbots.

The draft would subsidise up to 70 per cent of eligible costs, with annual support ranging from VNĐ3 million (US$115) for household businesses to VNĐ35 million for medium-sized enterprises, depending on the type of support. Businesses qualifying for both digital transformation and e-commerce assistance could receive up to VNĐ50 million a year.

Beyond digital adoption, the draft proposes incentives for enterprises developing digital technology products through research and development, commercialisation and technology transfer.

It also includes support measures aimed at helping digital technology firms expand into overseas markets by promoting exports of digital products and services.

The draft also proposes support for enterprises developing digital technology products, covering up to 50 per cent of eligible costs, with funding capped at VNĐ5 billion per project. It would also allow beneficiaries to access shared digital infrastructure, including up to 20 TB of cloud storage and 50,000 GPU-hours of high-performance computing resources each year.

Administrative procedures would also be streamlined under the proposal.

Applications, supporting documents and approvals for the support programmes would be handled primarily through electronic platforms, while participating suppliers would be required to register in an official list maintained by the city.

The explanatory report says that despite Hà Nội's progress in digital transformation, many small businesses, cooperatives, household businesses and digital technology developers still struggle to access digital tools, e-commerce services, digital skills and computing resources.

The draft decision aims to provide detailed implementation rules for Resolution No 59/2026/NQ-HĐND, helping ensure support measures are delivered consistently, transparently and through streamlined digital procedures.

The Hà Nội Department of Science and Technology is collecting comments from relevant ministries, agencies, universities, business associations and enterprises before finalising the draft for submission to the municipal People's Committee.

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