From the urban center to the "innovation valley"

Speaking at the scientific conference "Developing the innovation and startup ecosystem of Can Tho City to the regional and Mekong Delta region" on May 22nd, Mr. Nguyen Mai Duong, Director of the Innovation Department (Ministry of Science and Technology), stated: "With its position as the economic, scientific-technological, and innovation center of the Mekong Delta region, Can Tho City is carrying the mission of leading and spreading the spirit of innovation throughout the entire region."

In the context of a global race for data, artificial intelligence (AI), and the digital economy , and as the Mekong Delta's traditional growth model increasingly reveals its limitations in resources, productivity, human resources, and global competitiveness, this realization is a necessary requirement: Can Tho cannot develop as a regional central city in the traditional sense, but must truly become the innovation hub of the entire Mekong Delta region. The question is how the city can effectively fulfill this role, becoming the region's "innovation valley" from now until 2030, with a vision to 2045.

In its efforts to become the region's center for entrepreneurship, science and technology , and innovation, Can Tho has so far signed 30 memoranda of understanding for cooperation, connecting with 6 domestic and foreign investment funds; supporting 21 science and technology enterprises, 68 innovation startups, and more than 190 startup projects. The city has also formed 5 regional ecosystem linkage networks, 23 intermediary support organizations, and 6 co-working spaces serving the startup community. In 2025, the Can Tho City Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation was established with the expectation of becoming the coordinating hub for the innovation ecosystem throughout the Mekong Delta region. These are very commendable achievements.

However, to truly become the innovation hub of the entire Mekong Delta region, Can Tho must possess the capacity to converge knowledge and lead in addressing the region's vital issues in this new development phase. First and foremost are climate change and water security, as land subsidence, saltwater intrusion, freshwater scarcity, and riverbank and coastal erosion are occurring at increasingly serious rates. Slow growth and the risk of falling behind in the digital economy are also challenging issues for the region. If it continues to rely on the exploitation of natural resources, cheap labor, raw material exports, weak deep processing industries, high logistics costs, limited data infrastructure, and low technological innovation capacity, the Mekong Delta will increasingly lose its competitiveness in the global value chain. Furthermore, there remains an unresolved problem regarding regional linkages and the capacity for coordinated development. To date, the Mekong Delta region still lacks a common data center, a common logistics center, an effective coordination mechanism, and a "brain" worthy of its role as the leading engine for the entire region. These are precisely the gaps that Can Tho has the responsibility to fill in its role as the innovation hub of the region.

Therefore, Can Tho cannot continue to develop according to the "traditional regional center city" model, which means focusing only on expanding urban space, investing in hard infrastructure, increasing the mechanical population, and developing trade, services, and transportation extensively. In the era of AI and digital transformation, the role and stature of a regional center city are demonstrated through its ability to generate and lead new knowledge, master new technologies, connect data, attract talent, and create a strong enough intra-regional innovation ecosystem to lead the development of the entire region. In other words, if Can Tho was previously considered a "trading center," it must now become a "knowledge center"; if previously its role was primarily as a transit point for goods, it must now be a transit point for data, technology, finance, and high-quality human resources for the entire Mekong Delta region.

To achieve this, a prerequisite is that Can Tho must build a sufficiently strong knowledge and innovation ecosystem. The city needs to continue creating conditions for the development of an innovation and startup ecosystem, research and application of AI, biotechnology, high-tech agriculture, environmental technology, smart logistics, regional data, etc. To increase its attractiveness to high-tech businesses, startups, investment funds, and to attract high-quality human resources to live, work, create, and contribute, the city must truly be a leader in the entire region in institutional reform for innovation. Besides the effective and efficient operation of the Can Tho City Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Can Tho also needs to create a more open governance environment, more open data, faster procedures, and implement a more flexible regulatory sandbox mechanism in the fields of finance, healthcare, education, renewable energy, smart transportation, public administration, etc., and especially a mechanism to protect officials who dare to think, dare to act, and dare to innovate for the common good.

To become the "Innovation Valley" of the Mekong Delta, Can Tho must truly be the most livable, workable, and entrepreneurial place in the region; a place where scientists, AI experts, technology startups, investment funds, and innovation businesses feel secure in their long-term development opportunities, confidently innovate, and contribute. Only then will innovation truly become the core and sustainable driving force for the city's development as well as the entire Mekong Delta region. When Can Tho truly becomes an "Innovation Valley," creating an intra-regional and inter-regional innovation ecosystem, the Mekong Delta will be able to make a strong leap forward, breaking free from its old growth trajectory, overcoming existing challenges, and rising to become a modern, green, and sustainable developed region in the near future.

NGUYEN HUY

Source: https://baocantho.com.vn/tu-do-thi-trung-tam-den-thung-lung-doi-moi-sang-tao--a205534.html