Vietnam announces national strategy for innovative startups

The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) on April 7 announced that the government has issued Resolution No.86/NQ-CP on the national strategy for innovative startups.

The resolution emphasises the development of a synchronised and comprehensive national innovation and startup ecosystem. In this ecosystem, institutions play a pioneering role, while simultaneously developing infrastructure, human resources, and necessary support conditions for startup activities, aiming to build a digital nation based on science, technology, and innovation.

Techfest Haiphong 2025. Photo: MST

In its specific goals, by 2030, Vietnam aims to become one of the leading countries in innovative startups in the region. The startup ecosystem is expected to develop strongly with the development of tens of thousands of innovative startups, including the formation and development of large-scale technology companies with the potential to become unicorns. Vietnam's innovation and startup ecosystem indicators are also targeted to reach the leading group in the region.

By 2045, Vietnam aims to become one of the top 30 countries globally in innovation and entrepreneurship. By then, the percentage of people participating in entrepreneurship and owning businesses is expected to be high; and the venture capital market will be strong and large-scale, creating a foundation for the boom of technology and innovative businesses.

To realise this goal, the government requires the simultaneous implementation of several key tasks and solutions. First and foremost is the improvement of the legal framework to make it more favourable and flexible for innovative startups. Administrative procedures related to businesses will be comprehensively digitised step by step.

Simultaneously, new mechanisms will be piloted to encourage a spirit of experimentation, such as the "one-person enterprise" model, a streamlined bankruptcy processing mechanism to facilitate quick restarts for entrepreneurs, and controlled testing zones for new technologies.

Furthermore, the strategy places a strong emphasis on developing personnel and building a comprehensive support ecosystem. Education on entrepreneurship and innovation will be deeply integrated into the national education system from primary to university level. Also, shared infrastructure networks such as innovation centres, co-working spaces, incubators, and digital platforms supporting businesses will continue to expand nationwide.

Another crucial task is to unlock capital for innovative startups. The government is directing the strong development of the venture capital market, establishing investment funds at various levels, from national level to local one, from businesses to universities. Direct financial support mechanisms and credit guarantees based on intellectual property will also be promoted to facilitate startups' access to development resources.

In addition, Vietnam will strengthen international integration in innovative startups, attracting international experts, investors, and support organisations, while encouraging domestic startups to participate more deeply in global value chains.

In recent years, Vietnam's innovative startup ecosystem has made many positive contributions to socioeconomic development. Several billion-dollar technology companies have emerged; venture capital investment in Vietnamese startups has reached a high level in the region.

Alongside this, the infrastructure supporting startups has increasingly developed with the participation of numerous venture capital funds, business incubators, business accelerators, and innovative startup support centres at both local and national levels.

According to international rankings, in 2025, Vietnam's startup ecosystem index ranked 55th in the world. Specifically, Ho Chi Minh City entered the top five startup ecosystems in Southeast Asia for the first time (ranked 110^th globally), Hanoi rose to 148^th, and Danang climbed 130 places to 766^th globally.

Innovative startups eyeing fresh opportunities A new annual event called Inno Vietnam-Japan Fast Track Pitch took place in Hanoi on August 29 to showcase innovative startups.

Supporting innovative startups with IP legal consultancy The Vietnam Intellectual Property Research Institute (VIPRI), under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST), coordinated with its partners to host a conference on November 23 in Ho Chi Minh City to discuss the need for legal consultancy on intellectual property (IP) for innovative startups and sci-tech firm.

Final round of Techfest Vietnam 2023 held in Ho Chi Minh City Techfest Vietnam 2023 aims to promote innovative solutions in the technology sector while attracting experts, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, and overseas Vietnamese to ignite creative thinking in the innovative startup ecosystem.

Vietnam leads region in attracting long-term investment into innovative start-ups The wave of innovative start-ups in Vietnam has developed at “dizzying” speeds, attracting the attention of many domestic and foreign investors, a seminar, entitled 'Investment Policies for Start-ups' in Hanoi heard on June 3.

Dual transformation can empower innovative startups A workshop on how startups can harness resources for green and digital transformation took place on November 26 at TECHFEST 2024 in Haiphong.