Enhancing the capacity of national innovative startup ecosystem subjects

On March 28, in Hanoi, the Steering Committee of the Project "Supporting the National Innovation and Startup Ecosystem to 2025" (referred to as Project 844), the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) held a plenary meeting to evaluate the results achieved by the Project in 2023, approve the 2024 action plan and orient the Project's action plan in the following years.

60/63 provinces and cities issued decisions to implement Project 844.

Reporting on the achievements of the Project, Mr. Pham Dung Nam, Director of Project 844 Office, said: 2023 marks many fluctuations in the macroeconomic environment in general and the creative startup ecosystem (KNST) in particular in Vietnam.

The period of 2022 - 2023 is a difficult period worldwide , associated with efforts to recover the economy after Covid-19, the Vietnamese creative startup ecosystem continues to be promoted with many policy-making activities, connecting to attract international resources, developing creative startups in industries, fields, and localities.

In 2023, although still maintaining its ranking in the top 60, Vietnam dropped 4 places in the global startup ecosystem ranking (StartupBlink), ranking 58/100 compared to 54/100 in 2022. However, Vietnam still maintained its previous ranking in the Asia-Pacific region as well as the Southeast Asia region.

Vietnam has moved up two places in the Global Innovation Index (GII), ranking 46th out of 132. With this ranking, Vietnam is maintaining its 2nd position in the group of lower-middle-income countries, just behind India. In the ASEAN region, Vietnam ranks behind Singapore (ranked 5th), Malaysia (ranked 36th) and Thailand (ranked 43rd).

According to WIPO, Vietnam is one of the seven middle-income countries that have made the most progress in innovation over the past decade, and is also one of three countries that have outperformed their development level for 13 consecutive years.

Currently, many units supporting startups have been established nationwide from the private sector, the public sector and international organizations, under many diverse models. Up to now, 60/63 provinces and cities have issued decisions approving the implementation plan of Project 844 locally; about 20 localities have established and are establishing innovation startup support centers; 84 incubators and 35 business promotion organizations are operating nationwide. In the past year, many international innovation startup support centers have opened branches or coordinated to open innovation spaces in Vietnam, typically the appearance of the "Da Nang - Seoul Innovation Startup Space" in Da Nang, or the K-Startup Center under the Korea Small and Medium Enterprise Support Agency (KOSME) in Hanoi...

There are currently 208 venture capital funds operating and investing in Vietnamese startups, including nearly 40 domestic investment funds. The number of angel investors, although not too large, is increasing gradually. Currently, there are 3 large organizations operating most actively, including: Vietnam Silicon Valley Accelerator, CLAS ExparaVietnam Accelerator and Vietnam Startup Acceleration Fund.

However, the aspect of capital investment for Vietnam's Science - Technology and Innovation activities has not been improved, the level of investment in Research and Development (R&D) activities is still low and has tended to decrease in recent times. Capacity building for the subjects of the national creative startup ecosystem is the key goal and urgent need in the initial stage of implementing startup support projects of the Ministry of Science and Technology as well as ministries, branches and localities.

In order to continue implementing tasks and removing existing difficulties and obstacles in the creative startup ecosystem, Mr. Pham Dung Nam said that the Executive Board of Project 844 will continue to improve the legal framework and policy mechanisms; strengthen the coordination mechanism between ministries, departments, branches and localities from the central level to the specific implementation level to unify directions and share appropriate resources for the creative startup ecosystem. Continue to strengthen coordination, clear and attract resources in terms of capital, finance, infrastructure, experts from both the public and private sectors and overseas Vietnamese experts for creative startups.

At the same time, promote investment connection activities, attract investment resources from individuals, organizations, domestic and international venture capital funds, especially Vietnamese investment funds and foreign investment funds operating in Vietnam.

There are special preferential policies for large, core organizations.

Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh said: Through the assessment of activities in 2023, the startup ecosystems have developed strongly, the basic elements have been formed. However, there are two major problems: the formation and management of organizations in terms of policy mechanisms to promote innovative startups are still entangled. There are no regulations on support for innovative startup organizations; localities have not been able to put facilities into operation...

Besides, in recent times, we have introduced many concepts of creative startups, innovation... Using concepts incorrectly sometimes causes misunderstandings and confusion in management, especially in building information and policies...

According to the Deputy Minister, building a legal corridor for innovative startups is very important. Based on the proposal of the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises, it is necessary to organize an assessment of Project 844 and urgently develop a Government decree to remove obstacles in the entire system, including specific preferential policies for large organizations and core organizations.

Mr. Pham Hong Quat, Director of the Department of Market Development and Science and Technology Enterprises, proposed to complete the legal corridor to have a general overall mechanism to avoid the situation where we have a specific mechanism but lack an overall mechanism for innovative startups.

At the meeting, experts also said that currently, many units supporting creative startups have been established nationwide from the private sector, the public sector and international organizations, with many different operating models. Startup support programs and projects signed by the Prime Minister, assigned to ministries, branches, localities, and socio-political organizations (Project 844, Project to support women in starting a business - Project 939, Project to support students in starting a business - Project 1665, Project to support youth in starting a business...) are actively implemented, with coordination and linkage with each other towards the common goal of building a sustainable and comprehensive creative startup ecosystem.

In the next phase, to develop and implement effective support policies, perfecting the legal framework, especially clarifying the content of innovation and creative startups, and issuing regulations on types of organizations, functions, tasks and related activities, is a policy priority.

The Executive Board of Project 844 also discussed and proposed key incentive and incentive policies to promptly remove difficulties and obstacles for innovation organizations and creative startups in ministries, branches, localities, educational and training institutions, socio-political organizations, enterprises and corporations in a comprehensive, synchronous and unified manner. Especially mechanisms and policies to attract venture capital, unlock available financial resources from within the country and abroad, promote open innovation, develop ecosystems of industries and fields; specific financial mechanisms for training and incubation activities for creative startups./.

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