Themed “Innovating Through Adversity: Strategies for a Transformative Vietnam”, the summit welcomed an international cast of over 1,000 business leaders and investors.

Explaining the theme, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said that Vietnam faces a lot of challenges and opportunities. To take advantage of opportunities, it is necessary to understand the existing challenges.

The event opens up an opportunity for policymakers, investment funds, innovative startup communities, experts, and advisors to discuss and share perspectives on the future of the startup investment market in Vietnam next year.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong at the event. (Photo: WPI)

According to NIC Director Vu Quoc Huy, the thematic sessions bring together speakers in many fields to discuss and analyze urgent issues related to innovation and startups in the region and Vietnam, thus providing multi-dimensional perspectives to orient creative investment strategies for startups in the Southeast Asian nation.

As stated by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, despite the unpredictable difficulties of 2023, Vietnam attracted more than USD 20 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first 9 months, an increase of 7.7% compared to the same period last year. Vietnam's economy developed strongly thanks to solid support from trade relationships in the international arena.

At the Summit, NIC and Golden Gate Ventures also unveiled a national development strategy report: “Road to Greatness: Rewriting Vietnam’s Growth Playbook”, which offers insight into Vietnam’s economic resilience and explores the driving forces behind Vietnam’s growth in the upcoming years.

The Playbook set the tone for the Summit, which featured leaders of Vietnamese conglomerates such as VNG and VinBrain of VinGroup fame; Vietnamese start-up founders in fintech, health tech, and AI; global investment firms; global stock exchanges, notably the New York Stock Exchange; and international organizations like the World Bank and the Tony Blair Institute.

A transformative Vietnam

Unlike many other growth markets in the world and especially in Asia, Vietnam has outlined its own successful strategy, leveraging a long-term vision of growth and the flexibility to adapt to a changing economic environment, to create resilience when facing the challenges of 2023.

Vietnam Venture Summit held by NIC (National Innovation Center, Ministry of Planning and Investment) in collaboration with Golden Gate Ventures on October 30 (Photo: Viet Anh).

Since 2018, with the complicated political situation, production centers in the world have gradually shifted production to Vietnam. This is driven by Vietnam's focus on creating a business-friendly environment, strategic location as a gateway to other markets, abundant and qualified labor sources, and many preferential policies.

These are attractive factors for companies wanting to expand production in the region and are an effective solution to the global supply chain issue that has recently emerged. When production centers in the world are in the process of restructuring with manufacturing activities being the focus, Vietnam has the potential to become a new production center in the region and the world.

"In a year full of challenges for most economies, Vietnam has shifted its economic development to high speed, asserting itself as the new economic growth center of Asia", said Vinnie Lauria, Founding Partner of Golden Gate Ventures.

The evidence of Vietnam's stable growth momentum is that Vietnamese companies are listed in international markets. After the listing events of Vinfast and Society Pass in 2023, it is expected that in the next 18 months, there will be listing events of VNG, TIKI and The CrownX.

Delano Musafer, Head of Asia-Pacific Capital Markets on the New York Stock Exchange, said that Vietnam has emerged rapidly not only in Asia but also in the global market. Many investors are paying attention to quality companies with strong transformation strategies and high growth rates, and that is a positive signal for Vietnam as it provides a clear strategy for domestic and foreign markets.

Areas with great potential

According to a report by NIC and Golden Gate Ventures, five main areas are expected to dominate Vietnam's economic growth in the future including Medical technology, financial technology, logistics support technology, green economy, and educational technology.

Health expenditure per capita in Vietnam has tripled in the past five years. Transaction value in financial technology (fintech) is expected to reach a compound growth rate of 15% in the next 4 years to meet the financial needs of the 70% of Vietnamese people who currently do not use banking services. Meanwhile, the technology sector supporting logistics and small business also play a crucial role.

In addition, when it comes to a green economy, Vietnam is leading efforts to develop clean energy in Southeast Asia with innovations in wind and solar energy. Finally, the field of educational technology is considered to have good growth momentum, increasingly attracting foreign investment into the Vietnamese market.

The speakers assessed that these five areas will together create an innovation ecosystem in line with the ambition to become a developed country by 2050, as well as the need for global innovation.

Vietnam Asks for EU's Support in Developing Marine Economy The Vietnamese Foreign Deputy Minister asked the EU to create new opportunities for bilateral trade and investment development, bolster cooperation, and support Vietnam in developing ...

Southeast Asia Set to Lead Digital Economy Growth For Next Five Years: Report Southeast Asia is expected to lead in digital economy growth at 15.8% for the next five years, outpacing both the US (9.4%) and the EU ...

Business Community Discusses Steps to Advance Economic Integration To deepen US - Vietnam commercial and trade ties, the event highlighted the growing breadth and importance of connecting businesses in the private sector.