Vietnam Mentors Initiative to liven up start-up scene

November 05, 2016 | 15:28

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On November 3, a multitude of organisations mentoring start-ups in Vietnam signed a strategic cooperation agreement to establish Vietnam Mentors Initiative (VMI) with the aim to connect mentors with Vietnamese start-up founders in Vietnam and over the world.

VMI was launched by Start-up Vietnam Foundation, a foundation that funds start-ups in the field of science and technology. VMI’s mission is to become a wide and effective network of mentors supporting the new generation of Vietnamese business people.

“It would be great if a young person starting a company got help from a person with experience. In reality, there are many successful leaders that want to give back and mentor new leaders but they do not know where to begin looking. On the other hand, many of the young bloods think the old ones are unapproachable. VMI aims to connect them,” said Pham Duy Hieu, SVF’s director.

At the moment, many organisations already mentoring start-ups, such as the SVF, Hatch! Ventures, Danang Business Incubator (DNES), KisStart-up, SME Mentoring, Saigon Hi-tech Park’s incubator, BK Holdings, and the French Alumni Vietnam Start-up Network (FAVSN) have joined VMI.

In 201,6 VMI aims to connect at least 40 mentors with 40 mentees. They will first focus on start-ups already funded by some of the member organisations before expanding to other start-ups next year.

VMI is a non-profit initiative funded by the Swiss government’s entrepreneurship programme SECO EP and the Mekong Business Initiative.