(MPI) - The National Innovation Center (NIC), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) in collaboration with the Golden Gate Ventures organised Vietnam Venture Summit 2023 - Innovating through Adversity: Strategies for a transformative Vietnam on October 30.

Participants of the summit were Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong, Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures Vinnie Lauria and representatives of international organisations, investment funds, businesses and Vietnamese startups.

Deputy Minister Tran Duy Dong speaks at the Vietnam Venture Summit 2023. Photo: MPI

Addressing the event, Deputy Minister Dong said Vietnam are facing various challenges and also opportunities. To take advantages of opportunities, it is important to clearly understand challenges. That is why we choose this year theme “Innovating through Adversity: Strategies for a Transformative Vietnam”.

The number of venture capital firms committed for investment is increased, from 18 funds with 425 million USD to 33 funds with 815 million USD and 39 funds with 1. 5 billion USD in 2022 in 2019, 2020 and 2022, respectively.

Deputy Minister Dong said that Vietnam is actively developing the innovation and startup ecosystem to become a dynamic factors in the region. The socio-economic development plan for 2021-2025 puts priority on science and technology, innovation and digital transformation.

Vietnam’s innovation and startup ecosystem in on the rise, raking 46 out of 132 countries and economies according to the 2023 Global Innovation Index. Vietnam is also one of the three countries with innovation results superior to the level of development for 13 consecutive years.

Vietnam’s startup ecosystem has increased, from the fifth to the third position among the six leading economies in the Southeast Asia, showing the ratio of capital invested in the innovative startup market as well as the number of investors and investment funds operating in the country.

In the first half of 2023, investment poured in technology sector in Vietnam still ranked third in Southeast Asia with a total capital of 413 million USD.

At the summit. Photo: MPI

Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures Vinnie Lauria said that Vietnam’s economy continues to grow fast and marks itself as a new centre of Asia’s economic growth. Vietnam still remains an important link in global supply chain and receives continued investment from multi-nationals and a thriving startup ecosystem that is feeding the world’s appetite for innovation.

As part of the summit, NIC and Golden Gate Ventures jointly  launched a report outlining the country’s growth path. “Road to Greatness: Rewriting Vietnam’s Growth Playbook” pulls back the curtain on Vietnam’s economic resilience and examines factors of Vietnam’s growth in the next few years.

2023 has also marked a new phase in Vietnam’s position as a global economic powerhouse as it strengthened strategic global partnerships with Israel, China, the Philippines and Singapore. Vietnam has recently elevated its relations with the US to a comprehensive strategic partnership, marking a new era of enhanced bilateral ties. Overall, these trade agreements create a long-term runway for Vietnam not only as a leading manufacturing hub but as a centre for high-value foreign direct investment.

According to the report, five key sectors are predicted to dominate Vietnam’s growth, including: healthtech, fintech, tech-enabled logistics, green economy and edtech. Healthcare spending per capita in Vietnam has tripled over the last five years. The transaction value of the fintech sector is set to grow at 15% compound annual growth rate over the next four years to address 70% of the population that still remains unbanked./.

Bao Linh

Ministry of Planning and Invesment