Vietnam hosts TECHFEST in Australia for first time

September 22, 2023 | 14:13

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Vietnam’s Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) and Australia’s Monash University organised the first International TECHFEST in Melbourne on September 20, aiming to attract international resources to aid the development of Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem.

Held on the 50^th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Vietnam and Australia, the international TECHFEST in Melbourne marks a new step forward for Vietnam's innovative startup ecosystem in the global playground.

The event was attended by Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat and Australia's Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Tim Pallas, as well as over 100 experts and investment funds from the two countries.

Vietnam hosts TECHFEST in Australia for first time

Vietnamese Minister of Science and Technology Huynh Thanh Dat giving his speech at TECHFEST in Australia

The Vietnamese minister said the MoST organised the international TECHFEST in Australia – a country with an advanced and dynamic startup ecosystem – to celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and to promote deeper cooperation by connecting the nations' businesses.

“We are determined to build an open ecosystem, encouraging foreign incubators and startups to come to test new technologies, replicate models, develop markets, and call for investment capital, especially in areas such as food production, green technology, and the circular economy,” he added.

“We call on overseas Vietnamese, intellectuals, entrepreneurs, tech experts, and foreign startups to come to Vietnam and work with the country's partners to solve both domestic and global challenges while promoting sustainable development,” he noted.

Tim Pallas also emphasised the vast potential of cooperation opportunities between the two countries in developing the economy through innovative startups.

Tim Pallas, Australia's Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment

At the event, a roundtable was held to discuss cooperation opportunities between Vietnam and Australia to promote the startup ecosystem. The delegates all agreed that the Vietnamese innovation startup ecosystem is dynamic, highly open, and is receiving international attention and support – in which Vietnamese living overseas play a crucial part.

Startups had an opportunity to meet with Australian venture capital companies such as Magic Edutech Group Pty., Ltd., Cyberkid, VSEC, Hana Gold, and Treeotek. Representatives exchanged experiences and discussed how to improve their support for startups to create a favourable environment in both countries.

The Vietnamese side stated its readiness to participate responsibly to bring innovative solutions to economic, social, and sustainable development problems around the world, and encouraged international experts and enterprises to coordinate with domestic firms to solve the problems in Vietnam.

The International TECHFEST in Australia was held as part of the MoST delegation's trip led by Minister Huynh Thanh Dat to the Global Entrepreneurship Congress 2023 (GEC). GEC is an event organised by the Global Entrepreneurship Network, gathering thousands of delegates and senior leaders from more than 170 countries.

TECHFEST in Australia is a new feature of the national TECHFEST 2023 series of events hosted by the MoST to promote the innovative startup ecosystem of Vietnam as dynamic, open, and ready to integrate with international standards.

Currently, Vietnam has about 3,000 innovative startups, of which three businesses are valued at over $1 billion and 11 over $100 million.

According to the 2022 Global Innovation Index Report by the World Intellectual Property Organization, Vietnam ranks 48^th out of 132 countries, holding fourth position in Southeast Asia, and is assessed as having the highest innovation capacity among developing countries. This is proof of a dynamic ecosystem with great potential for cooperation and development.

TECHFEST is the largest annual event series for innovative startups in Vietnam, bringing together experts and reputable organisations from home and abroad to provide orientations for the ecosystem's development. The event was organised by the MoST, along with ministries, departments, branches, socio-political organisations, and units in the ecosystem.

Since 2019, organising TECHFEST in countries with developed innovation ecosystems has become an important direction for the MoST, with the goal of promoting the nation's startups to the world and attracting investment and expertise from other countries. So far, TECHFEST has been held in countries such as the United States, South Korea, Singapore, and others.

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