Vietnam’s economic transformation is one that holds lessons for emerging economies like Nigeria. In this interview with BusinessDay’s Lolade Akinmurele & Wasiu Alli, Oye Akinsemoyin, director-general of the Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry charts a path for Nigeria to replicate Vietnam’s success and lifts the lid on the key role the Chamber is playing to deepen the ties between both countries.
What are the remarkable strides of the Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce over the years?
The Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI) was registered in the year 2007, by the CAC Abuja, under the CAMA of 1999, as a body limited by guarantee Ltd/Gte.
Its main objective is to promote and facilitate bilateral partnerships between Nigeria and Vietnam businesses in the areas of commerce, trade, industry and investment for mutual benefits.
In pursuance of its goal the NVCCI has adopted the strategy of organizing public, private exchanges, at different levels between the two sides and in all sectors of the economy.
The exchanges have served to deepen discussions in existing areas, open business opportunities in new areas and enlarge their two-way trade balance. The balance has witnessed steady growth from about US$50 million in 2006 to US$600 million as at the last estimate.
Nigeria is recipient of the larger share of the trade activities by taking 60 percent proportion. Items involved from Nigeria include Agribusiness products such as Cashew Nuts, Cotton, Cocoa, Sesame seed, and Cassava, and from Vietnam items such as Garments, Computer, Smartphone accessories, human hair and processed food like milk sugar, coffee, nuts, and rice.
In the exercise of this partnership the two sides have relied on the bond established through strong institutions such as the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), with whom the NVCCI agreed a landmark collaboration pact on 22nd October 2008, in Hanoi, subsequently Vietnam Africa Economic Cooperation Alliance (VAECA) in December 2022 in Hanoi, after the visit made mainly in to hold a Business Investment Forum (BIF), held on 6th December 2022, 6th Floor, HQ of VCCI in Hanoi, with the theme; “Uniting Entrepreneurs”, as part of the state visit of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo in 2022, in Hanoi.
Also, another pact was signed with the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre (ITPC), in Ho Chi Minh City on the 8th of December 2017. There are programs executed by the Committees of the NVCCI, the “Products of Nigeria” (PONEx) is organized by the Trade Promotion Committee and made to coincide with the two VIETEXPO Government trade fairs in the first week of April and December every year.
The VIETEXPO attracts audiences from the Association of Southeast Asian nations (ASEAN), a vocal economic force within the SE Asia region, and Asia-Pacific Economic Community (APEC), both comprising member nations such as Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Cambodia, and Laos.
The same committee organises the Products of Vietnam Exhibition (POVEx) annually to promote the Products of Vietnam in Nigeria. The product of the Vietnam market has now been opened and made available online for easy access at expo.vn.
The Capacity Building Committee succeeded in setting up the Foreign Trade Academy Ltd/Gte a tertiary level educational institutions.
The food security and youth unemployment committee set up a Nigeria-Vietnam farm settlement pilot project programme with the food security office of the Presidency of the FR of Nigeria that targeted 400 hectares of land in Ogun State, after exchanging series of correspondences, the overture was made to Vietnam for experts to visit Nigeria and complete a workable feasibility plan.
The plan is still in the pipeline with the recent food security delegation visit of NVCCI held between the second and seventh of December 2024 to Saigon, in Vietnam held in collaboration with the Office of the Secretary to the Federation of Nigeria (OSGF), who sent out all formal letters of invitation of the program to stakeholders. The delegation visited the Saigon VIETEXPO, and had the opportunity to make a whistle-stop visit to Vietthang Corporation garment factory, in Saigon and subsequently met with many business entrepreneurs under an arranged, and controlled B2B format in the hotel.
The Nigerian administrative space is known for its bureaucratic tendencies, how has the Chamber been able to carry out its core objectives?
The issue of government red tape is not limited to the Nigerian space alone, it is present also in Vietnam and perhaps in many other parts of the world.
It has become a fact of life that the NVCCI has accepted to live with. Therefore the NVCCI in dealing with the Government makes provision of sufficient time for the gestation of its programmes, for example as a rule of thumb, usually a planning duration of eight weeks is usually allowed between the conception and execution of programmes meant for the public.
Also, strategy of public private participation (PPP) is adopted, which means the NVCCI in the conception of programmes approaches and works with particular relevant Government establishment and agrees to a collaboration formula by which the Government Ministry, Department and Agency (MDA) is cultivated in the adoption of a conceived central programme theme around which the subparts of the whole programme is made to radiate after formally agreeing to sharing responsibility for the organising of the programme.
For example, the MDA, for strategic reasons and based on agreement, is caused to send out stakeholders’ letters of invitation to the program. If for the purpose of illustration the planned program is a Trade Promotion visit to Trade Fair coupled with attendance at Special Investors’ Forum, (BIF), with field visits along program value-chains to destinations such as Farm Settlements, Industrial Parks, Company Installations or Plants, Research centers, Processing units etc, for the purpose of viewing of the organisational set-up, of the host for deliberations, or for agreement signing, which entails an agenda of activities leading to the programme.
The MDA if so disposed may be requested to set up an inter ministerial panel for sensitization of the Public sector on the specific, general, immediate, remote and inherent benefits of participating in the program in Vietnam considering the overall needs of Nigeria and its peoples for the short, medium and long term practical purposes.
If possible, a counterpart stakeholders forum is organized by the NVCCI to rally round its private sector audience and constituency for the program. The eventual overall agenda for the visit to Vietnam is usually agreed between NVCCI and the collaborating MDA at such meetings and rolled out from the results of the deliberations of both the public sector sensitization and private sector stakeholders meetings.
This result is otherwise called the overall Agenda which entails specific details of the programme theme, dates, events, time and venue of the programme. The budget of the programme is also discussed and the participation, or registration fees, and details of transportation or logistics cost with sponsorship scheme if any would be deliberated upon and attached.
These results are then condensed and discussed with the NVCCI Development partners based in Vietnam for the purpose of establishing a milestone of events, activities and action plans, which would be needed to be carried out on the Vietnam sides for success of the visit, and leading to the actual execution of the programme.
In light of the growing trade between both countries, how can the government deepen cooperation between Vietnam and Nigeria?
The government should endeavour to enter into more bilateral agreements, which would encourage and foster integration on both sides. For example, the government should encourage the youths to integrate with one another by schools educational exchange programmes from the secondary to the tertiary levels.
The interactions should not be limited to business exchanges, but also pragmatic cultural and social events attracting both sides should be encouraged. For example, youth musical, language or literary, fashion, and beauty programs should be made open as a “melting pot of cultures” to both sides. There should also be avenues for religious, vocational, recreational, or sports and touristic retreats administered and guided by relevant institutions to ensure the attainment of set targets.
The present levels of Nigeria-Vietnam integration, apart from language difficulty and banking transaction problems, show the need for orchestrated and deliberate promotion of stronger integration based on more intricately interwoven, purpose-driven exchanges of interactions at different levels.
What major events or happenings should business owners and investors look forward to from the Chamber of Commerce?
The NVCCI organises an Annual General Meeting (AGM) early in the new year depending on the disposition of its EXCO; this is for its members, which is usually followed by a stakeholders forum open to the public for networking purposes. It also holds a quarterly business meeting in the month of March every year. It is held as a PPP event between the NVCCI and in collaboration with an MDA. It is a day-long event at which invitees are served lunch at their own expense at the Movenpick Hotel Ikoyi, with a general business meeting theme, at which a session keynote speaker is invited, and similar other addresses and speeches are witnessed, including marketing presentations by commercial sponsors of the programme.
This interactive and business networking programme in March each year is usually held for the preparation of Nigerian participants at the April VIETEXPO Trade Fair held annually in the first week of April in Hanoi, Vietnam, the capital city and seat of government of the SR of Vietnam, and promoted by VINEXAD of Vietnam.
The NVCCI attends the programme in collaboration with its counterpart in Vietnam, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). The Quarterly Business Meeting and its variation, the Breakfast Business Meeting, held in the first week of November each year, is a breakfast networking event for the preparation of Nigerian participation for the December VIETEXPO, held in the first week of December each year in Saigon, or Ho Chi Minh City, a port city and the economic nerve centre of the SR of Vietnam.
You mentioned areas your Chamber has collaborated with Vietnamese counterparts. What cues are there for Nigeria to learn?
The NVCCI partnered with Vietnamese counterparts in the areas of exchanges of Nigerian delegations to visit Vietnam. This partnership has witnessed the signing of many collaboration agreements.
The following are a few of the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) signed between the Nigerian and Vietnam sides: (i) Partnership and Collaboration Pact between Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI), signed in October 2008 in Hanoi. (ii) Agricultural technical partnership agreement on food security and youth unemployment program between Vietnam Africa Agricultural Development Company led by Professor Vo Tong Xuan and Secure Trust Consulting Limited led by Oye Akinsemoyin signed in 2009 in Saigon. (iii) Trade and Investment Partnership between Investment and Trade Promotion Centre based in Saigon and Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI) for the promotion of trade and investment signed in 2017.
Others are: (iv) Seafarers Training and Sea-time berth training for Advanced CoC for cadets under the STCW convention Training of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) between the Hai Phong Polytechnic College and Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI) signed in 2020 between Captain Son of Hai Phong Polytechnic College and Oye Akinsemoyin of Nigeria Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NVCCI) in Hai Phong City. (v) Collaboration pact between Vietnam and Africa Economic Cooperation Alliance (VAECA) and NVCCI between Professor Phước Minh of VAECA and Oye Akinsemoyin of NVCCI in December 2022 in Hanoi. (vi) Tertiary level educational collaboration partnership MoA Vietnam Africa Economic Cooperation Alliance. (VAECA), Institute of Africa and Middle East Studies, and Dai Nam University with NVCCI and the Foreign Trade Academy (FTA) of Nigeria, December 2022 in Hanoi.
We have equally engaged in: (vii) technical partnership for the marketing and sales of Akido brand domestic and industrial water pumps in Nigeria between NVCCI and Akido Joint Stock Company of Vietnam signed December 2022 in Hanoi. (vii) Commercial and Technical collaboration MoA for marketing of Ceramics items and for establishing Smart City in Nigeria between NVCCI and VIGLACERA signed December 2022, in Hanoi. (viii) Environmental concerns, waste management, and climate change partnership MoA between NVCCI and DOGREEN Environmental Company signed December 2022 in Hanoi. (ix) Renewable Energy, non-woven fabric, eco-friendly skin care products, hospital supplies, and cashew nut shell liquid business concerns partnership between NVCCI and VINATOKEN JSC Framework Agreement signed January 2025 online. (x) Maritime and Blue Economy collaboration in shipping, marine vessels, port infrastructure, and logistics Framework Agreement signed online January 2025.
Some other cues and business opportunities open to Nigeria to exploit are investment in developing prototypes and commercialisation of raw cashew nut dryers; investment in raw cashew nut seed liquid (CNSL) production; investment in the patented food security programme for converting wastes to organic soil for use in farming; and investment in renewable energy.
There are opportunities in investment in nonwoven fabric for the production of nappies, wet wipes, and face masks; investment in disposable hospital supplies such as hand gloves and mouth covers; and investment in eco-friendly skin care products.
Aside from FX and image-damaging issues, what other factors are deterring Vietnamese investors from investing in Nigeria?
Vietnamese investors, like many other investors, are worried about unstable power supply, lingering insecurity such as banditry, kidnapping, and armed robbery, language and communication difficulty, absence of many essential trade and business protocols, policy somersault, and frequent changes in government policies and tariffs, duties, and taxes, and frequent fluctuation.
There is equally no direct airline or flight link between Vietnam and Nigeria and the distance, cost of an air ticket link between Nigeria and Vietnam. Also, the high cost of surface transportation between cities and within the same city in Nigeria.
Read also: How efficient policies can drive Nigerian MSMEs
Vietnam has grown its economy majorly through manufacturing and agriculture and is on course to become the fastest-growing economy in Asia. How can Nigeria learn from the model?
The main prop of the Vietnam economy is the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME). Vietnam, being a predominantly agrarian economy, has been able to develop using the cottage industry. By using its MSME sector, Vietnam was able to transition from being a net importer of food to being a net exporter in a very short time. Vietnam earns over US$72 billion annually from the same sector.
It is the fastest-growing economy within the ASEAN and APEC axis; it is the highest exporter of rice, seafood, pepper, coffee, rubber, and one of the highest exporters of cassava, coconut, and cashew nuts globally. Vietnam is the largest buyer of Nigerian raw cashew nuts (RCN).
Nigeria has a lot to learn from Vietnam by using its model of farm settlements and integrated circular economy industrial parks, sustainable infrastructure, renewable energy, and multimodal transportation systems for rapid economic growth and development.
You mentioned that the Chamber plans a trade fair trip to Vietnam this year. Can you elaborate more on this and its significance?
The NVCCI has sketched out a plan for the next trade visit to Vietnam in April by submitting a comprehensive collaboration proposal to the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC) for an all-embracing non-oil sector roadshow for products of Nigeria (PONEx 2025), with plans to take up exhibition stands in the exhibition halls of the April VIETEXPO programme during the first week of April 2025.
The VIETEXPO trade fair has been described as the biggest, most attractive, and largest trade fair within the ASEAN and APEC region. The VIETEXPO is a government-backed annual multi-sector international exhibition featuring B2B, where companies visit specific strategic partnership breakout sessions. It is organised by VINEXAD, an agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) of Vietnam, authorised by law to conduct official marketing and promotion programmes.
First established in 1991, the Vietnam International Trade Fair (VIETNAM EXPO) is the longest-standing annual trade promotion event in Vietnam. VIETNAM EXPO is hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, directed by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), and organised by VINEXAD JSC.
Being trusted by local enterprises and international trade promotion organisations as a destination to showcase their products and explore opportunities for business expansion and investment in the Vietnamese market, VIETNAM EXPO has gradually asserted its role and influence over the past 30 years.
The 34th Vietnam International Trade Fair—VIETNAM EXPO 2025—with the theme “STEP TOGETHER IN A DIGITISED WORLD” will officially kick off at 9.00 hours on April 2nd under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam with the active participation of leaders from related ministries and governmental departments, representatives from diplomatic and consular missions in Vietnam, representatives from industry associations, exhibitors, and mass media agencies.
Vietnam organises a host of trade fairs in different sectors at which the NVCCI is invited annually; however, the NVCCI has chosen the two largest general nature trade fairs organised regularly by the government of the SR of Vietnam. The NVCCI therefore facilitates the participation of delegations from Nigeria on the two annual occasions after going through a process of thorough planning by its trade promotion committee and after having agreed to collaborate with relevant ministry departments and agencies (MDA) of the Nigerian government.
The NVCCI also collaborates with Vietnam partners with whom a suitable agenda for implementation of the delegation is agreed upon. Such Vietnam organisations include VINEXAD, the principal organisers of the Trade Fairs, and VCCI, the NVCCI’s opposite number or counterpart in Vietnam.
The VIETEXPO offers opportunities for business matching in diverse sectors, B2B for logistics, e-commerce, and trade promotion industries, and is expected to be an avenue for unique networking in digital technology, e-commerce, machinery, and supporting industries, with an international pavilion for participation of countries from the five continents in addition to Vietnam’s value and exports.
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