2018, pivotal year for start-up nation building

Ho Chi Minh City has led Vietnam’s start-up movement, allocating US$43 million from the municipal budget to aid start-up projects. By the end of 2016, 200 registered projects had received support. The city aims to help 2,000 start-up projects by 2020.

Tran Thi Binh Minh, deputy director of the municipal Department of Planning and Investment, said, “The city will set up start-up support centers. These centers will offer advices and connect projects with investment funds.”

Vu Tien Loc, President of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said 5 years from 2016 to 2020 are designated as start-up nation years. 

“Start-up has become a movement and trend of Vietnam’s economy. The future of our economy can be described in 5 words: “Facilitating government and all-people start-up.” So innovative start-up is becoming the most important requirement of the Vietnamese economy. By 2020, we should have at least 1 million businesses. This means that in 5 years the number of businesses should double. The workload is equal to what we did over 30 years of renewal. This is a breakthrough in Vietnam’s business development policy,” said Mr Loc. 

4.0 revolution opportunities seized for success

Vietnam is ranked one of the most entrepreneurial countries in the world. The 4th industrial revolution has created major changes in business and production, which will be opportunities for start-up in Vietnam. 

Economist Pham Chi Lan called on enterprises to map out sustainable development strategies and steady steps to take advantage of this revolution. She said, “Technology should serve sustainable development goals. The most important infrastructure of the digital era is database. Vietnamese enterprises, mostly run by young people, should work with each other and with other partners.”