Program launched to drive cross-border e-commerce for local goods

The cross-border e-commerce promotion program "Beyond Vietnam - Vietnamese Goods Take Off," has been officially launched at the Vietnam International Sourcing Expo 2026 (VIS), which took place in Ho Chi Minh City between September 3-5, according to a report by the Government News.

The program is a collaborative initiative between the Vietnam eCommerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA), the Foreign Market Development Department (under the Ministry of Industry and Trade), and TikTok Shop.

It aims to support Vietnamese enterprises with high export readiness in enhancing their capacity, reaching international consumers, and integrating more deeply into global e-commerce through training, intensive consulting, and market development partnerships.

In its initial phase, the program will focus on assisting businesses in expanding their operations into several major e-commerce markets before gradually tapping into other suitable markets within the Asia-Pacific region and globally. In 2026, the program expects to provide training for 500 enterprises and offer 1-on-1 intensive coaching to 50 businesses with high export potential.

The key differentiator of "Beyond Vietnam" is the application of "discovery-based e-commerce." Instead of consumers actively searching for items for which they already have a need, Vietnamese products and brands can appear organically during the user’s discovery journey through short videos, livestreams, content creators, and local user communities.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, iDEA Director General, Ms. Le Hoang Anh, emphasized that the global economic context is presenting many challenges for exports—from fluctuating demand and rising costs to increasingly stringent requirements regarding quality, traceability, and green standards. These difficulties have a more pronounced impact on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), cooperatives, and production facilities with limited resources.

“Vietnam has many excellent products with unique identities and stories, ranging from agricultural goods and food to handicrafts and regional specialties. What many products lack is not necessarily value, but rather the ability to tell the story of that value to the world,” she said.