Vietnamese students triumph Francophone startup contest

The team, awarded 1,000 EUR, impressed the jury with their “Freem” project, which is a website connecting young freelancers with enterprises. Team leader Tran Minh Chau said the site will offer more opportunities for young jobseekers in the fields of marketing, communications and design amid the rise of small- and medium-sized startups in Vietnam.

The second prize, at 500 EUR, went to the Unitech team from Cambodia with their Sala project which aims to create a smart phone application that helps Cambodian universities spread information among students. The jury said the project can tackle the universities’ communications difficulties and support enterprises in seeking highly-competent employees. 

The competition also granted two third prizes valued at 250 EUR each.

All winners will be offered internship at Francophone companies in the region and meet potential Vietnamese and French investors. 

The University of Hanoi and l’Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (Francophone University Association, AUF) in Asia-Pacific jointly launched the competition targeting youths under 35 years of age, studying or having graduated from AUF member universities in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Thailand. The competition aims to create links between universities and socio-economic institutions in the region as well as to honour innovative business projects by French-speaking students.