Small businesses of Vietnam led the Asia-Pacific region in generating a quick return on their technology investments, according to the latest annual survey of the CPA Australia.

Some 76% of the businesses said their technology investments in 2023 improved their profitability, a remarkable increase from 51% in 2022.

This is reflected in strong returns from online sales, with 77% of small businesses receiving more than 10% of their revenue from e-commerce in 2023, the highest on record for Vietnam. Social media usage has also seen a marked improvement, with only 6% not using such platforms for business purposes, compared to 26% in 2022.

The survey also shows that  small businesses in Vietnam are the second most likely to innovate this year, with 44% stating they will introduce a new product, process or service to domestic or international markets in 2024. However, access to financial sources is less easy, with only 27% finding access to finance easy in 2023, down from 50% in 2022.

The businesses are confident about the domestic economic growth in 2024 with 8% forecasting that they will grow on the back of robust economic growth, according to the survey.