Vietnam’s Ho Chi Min City announces plans to ramp up startup spending

Good news for startups in Vietnam and, more specifically, Ho Chi Min City.  The country’s southern economic hub has announced plans to spend VND1trn ($45m) in a bid to support tech startups.

The funds will be handed out to startup projects in sectors including mechanics, electronics, chemicals, food production, finance, banking, insurance, commerce, transport, tourism, logistics, post and communication, real estate, healthcare, education and technology.

According to reports from Geektime, the first projects are set to receive VND2bn ($90,000) next month. A further 200 startup projects are expected to benefit from the fund by 2020.

Startups in Vietnam are regarded as a means to boosting the national economy. Vietnamese prime minister Vuong Dinh Hue has pointedly focused on developing the nation’s small businesses, going so far as to request the creation of a specialist startup stock exchange to be created for local businesses.

Le Hai Tra, the deputy chairman of Ho Chi Min City’s Stock Exchange, explained that startups – which we all know benefit from the agility that goes with their size – that were unique and innovative could lead to quick economic growth.

Tra also acknowledged that 90 percent of startups fail due to a lack of business experience, despite their advanced industrial or technological knowledge. Fixing this will see the new fund develop a new entrepreneurial ecosystem to better support fledgling companies.

Vietnam boasts 1,800 startup firms, 21 incubators, seven accelerators and 20 workspaces. Similarly, more than 20 international venture funds have offices in the country.

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