Entrepreneurial culture - A new lifeline for the aspiration of a strong and prosperous Vietnam.

On the occasion of Techfest Vietnam 2025 and the time when the Government is preparing to issue the National Strategy for Innovative Startups, after a year of reviewing Resolution 57-NQ/TW, a reporter from Nhan Dan Newspaper had a conversation with Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem - Deputy Director of the Department of Startups and Technology Enterprises, Ministry of Science and Technology.

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem - Deputy Director of the Department of Startups and Technology Enterprises, Ministry of Science and Technology .

Reporter: Sir, the Techfest Vietnam 2025 Innovation and Entrepreneurship Festival is taking place in the context of the Government preparing to issue the National Strategy for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. How do you assess the role of entrepreneurial culture in the current national development strategy?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem: Entrepreneurial culture is not just a social phenomenon, but has become a strategic foundation in national development thinking. In the context of Vietnam's strong transformation towards a knowledge-based and digital economy , entrepreneurial culture is the new lifeblood – a place where the spirit of dedication, aspiration for advancement, and community responsibility converge.

The national strategy for innovative startups that the Prime Minister is preparing to issue is not simply an action program, but a concretization of development ideas based on three pillars: science and technology, innovation, and digital transformation. A startup culture is the catalyst to transform these pillars into practical driving forces.

Reporter: Could you elaborate on the concept of "entrepreneurial culture" in the current context of Vietnam?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem: Startup culture is the sum total of values, beliefs, and behaviors that shape the spirit of pioneers. It's the courage to try what no one else has tried, the acceptance of mistakes to find the right path, of researchers and individual entrepreneurs. It's the shared responsibility and tolerance of the community and discerning consumers who dare to accept imperfect products, technologies, services, and models, thereby nurturing, cultivating, and creating market and investment opportunities for businesses with high growth potential.

In Vietnam, the startup culture is undergoing a strong transformation. We can observe this culture at various levels: large cities are becoming "incubators" and "technology and finance hubs" for technology companies; rural areas are seeing the emergence of young entrepreneurs practicing clean agriculture according to international standards; groups of high school students are experimenting with robotics models; and ethnic minority communities are selling their local products on e-commerce platforms.

A group of eight final-year university students in a sweltering room patiently writing line after line of code to create a product, or construction workers toiling day and night on a construction site, are all expressions of entrepreneurial culture: hard work, perseverance, three shifts, overcoming sun and rain.

A women-run cooperative keeping its promise to the community by providing livestock to poor households, transferring technology free of charge, and sharing markets despite facing numerous difficulties themselves, has created a unique aspect of Vietnamese entrepreneurial culture: a culture of love and sharing, of helping those in need, and of helping those less fortunate. These are subtle yet powerful undercurrents, accumulating over time before suddenly erupting to shape a new Vietnam in the future.

The entrepreneurial culture is not just within businesses; it lies in how each individual cultivates discipline, self-confidence, and kindness in everything they do.

National Innovation and Entrepreneurship Festival (Techfest Vietnam) 2024.

Reporter: One year after Resolution 57 was issued, how do you view the changes in Vietnam's innovative startup ecosystem?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem: Resolution 57 has created a significant institutional impetus, which we jokingly call a "dream come true" for scientists. We have witnessed a strong shift in management thinking, openness in policies, and a substantial increase in the number of innovation centers, venture capital funds, startup accelerator models, and especially the increase in the scale and number of high-growth potential startups.

However, for the startup ecosystem to develop sustainably, the startup culture needs to be nurtured more deeply. This includes strategic patience, a disciplined work ethic, trust and social consensus; transparency in governance and the ability to collaborate long-term. These elements cannot come solely from policy thinking, but must be cultivated from within each individual and organization, and permeate the entire institutional framework.

Reporter: In the context of Techfest 2025, what are your expectations for the development of a nationwide startup culture?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem: I believe that Techfest 2025 is not just a festival for startups, but a symbol of Vietnam's aspiration for innovation. I expect the entrepreneurial culture to spread even more strongly, becoming a "national spirit" - where every citizen, including farmers and "one-person enterprises," can become an agent of development.

We need to break down outdated legal barriers, activate national potential, and shift our mindset from "risk" to "opportunity," from process-based "management" to "management based on goals and outputs." Then, entrepreneurship will not just be a movement, but a development strategy – a driving force for Vietnam to achieve prosperity and strength by 2045.

Reporter: You just mentioned "one-person businesses." Is this a new trend in Vietnam in the near future?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem : The idea of ​​a "one-person enterprise" is a heartfelt concern of the leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology. Currently, the "one-person enterprise" model is beginning to take shape in a few developed countries and is considered an inevitable trend in the digital age. Thanks to the explosion of AI, automation, and digital technology platforms, an individual today can completely run a business from finance and marketing to management, sales, and customer service.

This model is becoming a major policy of the Party and Government, simultaneously developing the economy and ensuring social welfare effectively and sustainably. "One-person businesses" will become a new driving force for the digital economy because: they have low costs as they don't require offices or large staff; they operate flexibly and autonomously in terms of time and income; they mobilize the entire population and are considered a breakthrough solution to realize the National Strategy for Innovative Startups, activating millions of micro-business models and creating a large workforce of entrepreneurs based on science and technology.

Reporter: Can you share what image symbolizes the entrepreneurial spirit of Vietnam?

Mr. Pham Duc Nghiem: Techfest 2025 will be held in Hanoi - the world's first hub for venture capital investment.

Two thousand years ago, when the Yin invaders came to conquer, the king sent messengers to recruit talented people. Giong, then three years old, couldn't speak or laugh, but upon hearing the messenger's announcement, he spoke and asked the messenger to tell the king to forge an iron whip, iron armor, and an iron horse to fight the invaders. He ate heartily and grew incredibly fast. The whole village met and decided to "take a risky investment" by contributing rice to feed Giong.

When the enemy arrived, the boy rose up, stretched, and transformed into a mighty warrior, clad in iron armor, mounted on an iron horse, wielding an iron whip. He charged out, defeating the enemy. When his iron whip broke, the warrior uprooted clumps of bamboo to strike the enemy. As a result, the warrior won the battle, even though no one knew he could defeat the enemy when they gathered rice and cooked the meal.

I am deeply impressed by the image of "the whole village contributing rice to feed Giong" - a symbol of community trust and social consensus. From a national development strategy perspective, trust is the most valuable asset, a miraculous force that helps us defeat foreign invaders and protect our homeland. Today, trust once again becomes the spiritual foundation that helps Vietnam rise up, creating economic miracles based on science, technology, and innovation.

When society believes in young people and in creativity, miracles will happen. An entire village investing in a young entrepreneur – that's the spirit of nationwide entrepreneurship in its deepest sense. And today, we need such a "Vietnamese village" to nurture the next generation – startups with Vietnamese aspirations reaching out to the world...

Above all, the entrepreneurial culture is not just the spirit of commitment of a generation, but the new lifeblood of the entire nation. It connects individual aspirations with community interests, transforming national challenges into business opportunities, knowledge and creative capacity into assets, and risks into opportunities. In the context of Techfest 2025 and the upcoming National Strategy for Innovative Startups, the entrepreneurial culture is the foundation for Vietnam to enter a new era – the era of a strong and prosperous nation.

Reporter: Thank you, sir!

PV

Source: https://nhandan.vn/van-hoa-khoi-nghiep-mach-song-moi-cho-khat-vong-viet-nam-hung-cuong-post929534.html