Innovative Startup Project: Encouraging Investor Cooperation

According to the project to Support the National Innovative Startup Ecosystem (IEC) by 2025, Ho Chi Minh City aims to support 300 IEC projects and 100 IEC enterprises by 2025, of which 20 IEC enterprises will successfully raise capital from venture capitalists.

To achieve this goal, Ho Chi Minh City has implemented many activities to seek accompanying investment funds.

Prioritize many areas

According to the Vietnam Technology and Innovation Investment Report 2024, Vietnamese startups received a total investment of 529 million USD in 2023, down 17% year-on-year.

This decline shows that the technology investment landscape in Vietnam continues to be affected by the volatile global economic situation.

Startups call for investment at an event on innovative startups recently held in Ho Chi Minh City.

Meanwhile, Ho Chi Minh City continues to pilot a number of policies to promote the innovative ecosystem, including a number of specific policies for the innovative sector implemented according to Resolution No. 98/2023/QH15 of the National Assembly .

Specifically, Resolution No. 20/2023/NQ-HDND of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council stipulates priority areas, criteria, conditions, content and support levels for innovation and creative startup projects in Ho Chi Minh City.

According to Ms. Phan Thi Quy Truc, Deputy Head of the Department of Intellectual Property Management and Innovation, Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, the department is implementing the tasks of Resolution No. 20/2023/NQ-HDND to promote the development of innovative activities. The subjects of application are individuals, groups of individuals, enterprises with innovative projects, innovative projects in priority areas of Ho Chi Minh City and other related organizations and individuals.

This resolution stipulates nine priority areas, including: e-commerce, financial technology, logistics, education technology, healthcare and health care, high-tech agriculture , sustainable development, digital transformation, and cybersecurity.

In addition, the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City is implementing the Program to support innovation projects, creative startups (SpeedUp), finding innovative solutions in the public sector in 2024 (Gov.Star 2024), and the Program to incubate innovation projects, creative startups in the cultural industry of Ho Chi Minh City in 2024 - 2025 (InnoCulture 2024).

Desire to cooperate with investment funds

At the workshop “Connecting and cooperating with investment funds in the field of innovative startups” recently organized by the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the innovation ecosystem of Ho Chi Minh City is considered the most dynamic in the country. For better development, the Department of Science and Technology wishes to cooperate and coordinate with investment funds in supporting innovation projects in the city's priority areas.

Specifically, the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City calls on investors to continue supporting innovation and start-up projects after they have been incubated by the Department of Science and Technology; participate in the review and acceptance councils of innovation and start-up projects supported by the Department; provide counterpart funding with the Department of Science and Technology in incubating innovation and start-up projects; coordinate in organizing training courses and building a network of angel investors and venture capital funds, etc.

Investors believe that it is appropriate for the State to support startups in the early stages, and then have investment funds participate in matching funding. This not only helps the funds expand the number of startup projects that need investment, requires the funds to be responsible for supporting startups to successfully raise capital in the next rounds, but also helps the State achieve positive results after supporting the projects.

Mr. Vuong Nhat Anh, representative of DO Ventures Investment Fund, said that the fund is managing a capital of 50 million USD, supporting about 30 technology startups in Vietnam, and is ready to participate in matching capital to promote the development of startup projects.

In 2024, Ho Chi Minh City will rank 111/1,000 cities in the world in terms of the most dynamic startup ecosystem index (up 3 places compared to 2023). One of the factors that has a certain impact is the State's policies to promote startups and the strong cooperation of the social community and businesses.

“With the desire to coordinate with investment funds in supporting innovative projects in the city's priority areas, the Department of Science and Technology really needs community consultation, continues to listen to suggestions and recommendations from investors, investment funds, etc. to more effectively implement policies to support innovative projects in Ho Chi Minh City,” Mr. Nguyen Viet Dung, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized.

Ho Chi Minh City is in the process of building a capital trading floor for startup projects.

This model aims to mobilize capital from investors for startups in the early stage, the seed stage, and is referenced from many foreign sources.

The model is oriented to be built with many key points, in which transparency is a condition for startups and investors to participate in the exchange; applying advanced and safe technology platforms to ensure security, scalability to process large volumes of transactions accurately and effectively... to attract startups to participate in the exchange.

KIM THANH

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/du-an-khoi-nghiep-doi-moi-sang-tao-khuyen-khich-nha-dau-tu-hop-tac-post759615.html