Digital transformation begins with people as Vietnam steps up transition

As the country accelerates its shift to digital governance and a technology-driven economy, policymakers warned that infrastructure and platforms alone are not enough. The decisive factor lies in developing digital skills, reshaping workplace culture, and ensuring citizens can access and adopt new technologies.

They added that Vietnam’s large, young workforce gives the country a strategic advantage, but only if investment in training, institutional reform and public-private cooperation keeps pace with the speed of the transition.

Building trust through real-world results

In an interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on the sidelines of the forum, director of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) India Purushottam Kaushik emphasized that the human-centered approach should be preferred over the technology-first one.

“Technology is important, but unless we have people, it is not going to be sustainable,” he said.

According to Kaushik, India has been building its digital public infrastructure (DPI) around two main pillars: the Aadhaar identification system and the Unified Payment Interface (UPI).

Aadhaar gives every citizen a unique digital identity linked to biometric data that can be used across all services, while UPI connects all financial transactions.

But for digital governance initiatives to be truly embraced by the people, they must build trust by demonstrating real-world effectiveness.

Kaushik shared that the World Economic Forum (WEF) has been working with the Telangana state government to deploy an AI solution helping chili farmers in a remote district diagnose crop pest infestations.

“The farmers don't have to do anything complex. They just click on the app and upload the images.

"The images are transferred to the central server and then the advice is given,” Kaushik explained.

This means even those with virtually no technological knowledge can use it. After two years of implementation, income per acre for farmers using the application has nearly doubled.

Many farmers saw the results and proactively sought out the technology, bringing the number of users to one million today.

The government has also expanded the application to five different crops.

“When they see the result, more and more farmers get attracted to using the technology.

"They are very smart. If it is helping them, they will learn. But if it is not helping them, they may possibly not find the value,” Kaushik said.

He also emphasized the role of businesses, especially startups, in expanding DPI.

“The role of the government has been to provide more public infrastructure which can be used. But it is the role of startups and private businesses to build applications on top, to build the layer where the usability can increase,” he noted, while acknowledging that digital transformation inevitably has some negative impacts on certain groups.

Elderly citizens, for instance, often struggle to get accustomed to devices, as smartphones are not easy for everyone to manage. This is where the government plays a crucial role in building and expanding digital public infrastructure.

“In remote areas, India has deployed 'extension workers' to help people access digital healthcare and education services,” Kaushik said.

People's needs must be the priority

During the panel discussion on Smart Governance in the Digital Era at the Autumn Economic Forum, director of Ho Chi Minh City's Digital Transformation Center Vo Thi Trung Trinh acknowledged that digital transformation is not easy, not just for the city but for many places around the world.

Implementation faces many difficulties due to lack of interoperability between central and local systems and among departments and agencies, leading to fragmented data that is difficult to integrate.

Digital transformation must therefore ensure sustainability, which requires setting both short-term and long-term goals.

Trinh argued that “small wins” are important for building project credibility.

In the long term, resources must be allocated to create technology systems that are effective for many years, not just a short period.

Ultimately, the digital transformation process cannot focus solely on technology.

“When all technology projects, all digital transformation projects focus too much on the technology factor, we forget about improving processes, forget about supporting policies, forget about allocating resources to sustain those projects,” Trinh said.

Meanwhile, Vu Minh Khuong, professor at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore, noted that the two-tier government structure in Ho Chi Minh City and Vietnam presents an opportunity to better listen to and serve the people.

“We must start from people's needs! People must be the priority,” Khuong emphasized.

In Singapore, according to Khuong, citizens themselves are a tremendous resource for solving problems.

With the One Service app integrating all public services, residents can photograph an illegal dumping site and send it in, and the issue will be forwarded to the relevant authorities and sanitation companies.

For this system to work effectively, proper management, governance, accountability and efficiency must be ensured.

When asked how Vietnam can catch up with other countries, Khuong said that beyond determination - as seen in Japan and China - Vietnam can learn from Singapore in leveraging international cooperation with tech giants like Google and Meta.

Finally, there must be a clear strategy, building comprehensive strength, addressing issues promptly, and above all, the government must always lead.

“Even if it's not perfect, if you don't dare to act and just wait for everything to be perfect, you'll never get anything done,” Khuong affirmed.

Dang Van Tu, vice president and chief technology officer of CMC Corporation and CEO of CMC Open AI, also raised the issue of digital workforce training, not just for young people but also for those already in the workforce - a very large labor force in Vietnam.