Innovative solutions bridge startup ecosystem between Taiwan and Vietnam

This landmark event featured prominent representatives from leading Vietnamese tech corporations and notable Taiwanese venture partners, fostering a collaborative environment for the burgeoning digital economy.

Richard R. C. Shih, head of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam

Richard R. C. Shih, head of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Vietnam, said that the relationship between Taiwan and Vietnam has developed strongly across people-to-people exchanges, diplomacy, economics, and culture.

Shih cited there are 260,000 Vietnamese workers and 27,000 Vietnamese students in Taiwan, and more than 130,000 marriages between Vietnamese and Taiwanese people. On the other hand, more than 80,000 Taiwanese people are working in Vietnam and the total investment made by Taiwanese enterprises in Vietnam has reached tens of billions of USD.

"With such a comprehensive and solid foundation of relations in many fields, we believe that investments from Taiwan will continue to flow more strongly into Vietnam," Shih said.

Do Tien Thinh, NIC's deputy director general, said that most Taiwanese projects in Vietnam are successful. Taiwan is currently the fourth-largest investment partner and the fifth-largest trade partner of Vietnam, with the total investment reaching over $37 billion.

"This is a good time for Taiwanese and Singaporean startups because Vietnam has a good ecosystem for startups, and holds numerous opportunities for businesses thanks to its population of 100 million, and the green transition and digital transformation it is undertaking in numerous sectors," Thinh emphasised.

The participating Taiwanese startups showcased their cutting-edge technologies across various sectors, demonstrating Taiwan's strengths in digital services, including e-commerce, marketing, and education. The startups also highlighted their advancements in cybersecurity, trust technology, smart manufacturing, the Internet of Things, and sustainable industries.

Among the notable participants, Gogolook - a leader in trust tech - has successfully expanded its reach into Southeast Asia, including markets like Thailand and the Philippines, and is now entering the Vietnamese market.

Other standout startups included IsCoolLab, a specialist in robotic process automation for the manufacturing sector, and Sightour, an optical character recognition technology innovator. Both companies have established manufacturing partnerships in Vietnam, completing their proof of concept and preparing to scale up further.

Additionally, energy management firms 3Egreen and ZiG have made significant strides in reducing energy costs for manufacturers, helping them to achieve their environmental, social, and governance goals and earn carbon credits.

"ZiG has independently developed a universal IoT system that allows applications in different scenarios to quickly adopt IoT systems through modularisation. Our cases are spread across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Vietnam," said Frank Chang, ZiG sales manager.

"Different types of devices or metres are centralised into the packaging centre in the form of packages. With just one-click installation, we can connect and manage the devices to reduce the complexity of various types of devices, accelerate system implementation speed, and simplify maintenance and management."

The event featured insights from IT solutionw company SotaTek, who shared its successful collaboration cases across several Asian countries to support its endeavours in the growth of Vietnam's digital economy. Discussions on chip and manufacturing also captivated the audience, with venture capitalists from ThinkZone and Hive Ventures sharing their perspectives on the investment landscape.

This year's Taiwan Tech Solution Day in Hanoi received unprecedented attention and engagement from Vietnam's public sector and major enterprises. The event successfully connected the startup ecosystems of Taiwan and Vietnam, paving the way for future collaboration and innovation.

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