Vietnam ascends global app development ranks: four firms enter Top 50

Falcon Global, ABI Global, Zego Global, and Rocket Studio have made the prestigious list, according to details disclosed at Google's Vietnamese-hosted Think Apps event on July 20.

Vietnam is home to a thriving technology sector, hosting 93 gaming and app development firms, who between them have created 171 applications that have each found a place in the top 10 most downloaded apps on the Play Store, at least once.

In a striking move, Vietnam has catapulted from the top 15 to the Top 5 countries globally for app downloads from 2019 to the first quarter of 2023, amassing an impressive 4.2 billion downloads for apps originated from the nation.

Vietnam's growth is impressive and rapid. It is expanding 2.5 times faster than other countries worldwide. In 2022, the country saw a 20 per cent increase in revenue from in-app purchases (IAP) in domestically developed apps, in stark contrast to a 2 per cent global decline.

These gains further consolidate Vietnam's position as a burgeoning hub for app development and demonstrate its increasingly influential role in the sector.

Despite this positive trajectory, Vietnamese developers are not without challenges. The DataAI and AppMagic report also points to a slowing momentum in download numbers, subdued growth in IAP revenue, and a decline in the estimated revenue per thousand ad impressions. Alongside these headwinds, a decrease in user engagement of 5 per cent has been recorded up to mid-2023.

Emily Nguyen, Google Asia-Pacific's director of Gaming and Apps Business for the Vietnamese market said, "Think Apps has become the most eagerly awaited industry event in Vietnam, and the significant attendance at this year's event has been striking"

"Our commitment to nurturing the emerging generation of app developers and studios through education, international expertise, and market insights remains steadfast. Our ambition is to catalyse the growth of Vietnamese companies and app developers, supporting them to flourish on the international stage."

The international recognition of Vietnam's app development capacity, coupled with visible support from giants like Google, suggests a bright future for the country's technology industry on the global stage.

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