The era of innovation: The transformation of Vietnamese startups
Báo Dân trí•24/10/2024
(Dan Tri) - Startups are not only the driving force for growth but also the future of the economy. In order to promote the spirit of innovation, the Government has introduced policies to help businesses thrive in the digital age.
Holding a PhD in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Michigan, Nguyen Huu Phuoc Nguyen left behind many development opportunities in the US, determined to return to Vietnam to start a career. His wish is to study abroad to improve his knowledge and then return to contribute to his homeland. "About 10 years ago, Apple asked me to join their electric car project, which was still a secret project at that time. But I believe that in Vietnam, I can contribute more, not just stopping at the position of a normal engineer," Mr. Nguyen confided. Returning to the country, he joined the Viettel Aerospace Institute. After 4 years of dedication, Nguyen thought about changing jobs, aiming for products with greater social impact. "The future of transportation after gasoline cars will be smart electric cars combined with technology," Mr. Nguyen shared about the reason for choosing smart electric cars to start a business. "I always believed that Vietnam could become a developed country like Korea. We would need companies with depth. To do that, we need to change our thinking and do longer-term things, creating greater and more sustainable value in the global value chain," Mr. Nguyen said. "My dream at that time was to build Selex into a big company like Hyundai in Korea." According to him, the new era of Vietnam will be the era of sustainable development. Therefore, Vietnamese enterprises need to have a new mindset, must be able to make technology products that can be sold abroad. From there, they will grow in terms of intellectual content, value created in the value chain and become an important link in the supply chain, creating breakthrough value to grow, prosper, and escape the middle-income trap. After more than 6 years of development, Selex Motors has developed an electric vehicle and battery factory in Hanoi with a large capacity, more than 80% of components are produced domestically. The company has also become the first partner in Vietnam to cooperate with Samsung SDI to supply genuine batteries and received investment from the Asian Development Bank. In recent years, the company has also continuously welcomed many international leaders to visit. One of the most interesting memories for CEO Phuoc Nguyen is the visit of Ms. Janet Yellen, US Secretary of the Treasury. "We were very surprised to be the only business chosen by the Minister from the long list of recommendations from the US Embassy. Through Ms. Yellen's visit, we were motivated to continue to develop and master our own technology to become a reliable partner in the new global supply chain," Mr. Nguyen shared his impressions of this special visit. Answering a question from Dan Tri reporter about whether Selex Motors' electric vehicles are 80% "Made by Vietnam" products and whether it can reach 100%, CEO Phuoc Nguyen confidently affirmed: "100% is possible. But perhaps it is not necessary because many parts of the vehicles we make may not be competitive in price. The global supply chain is highly professional. The important thing is that we master the design, technology and supply chain". Mr. Nguyen also said that currently in the world, many countries have very strong policies to support the development of electric vehicles. He cited Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia... which have implemented a policy of supporting 400-500 USD for each electric motorbike sold. In addition, countries also support taxes and fees to encourage people to buy electric motorbikes, gradually creating a habit of using green means of transport. For electric vehicle manufacturers and assemblers, governments also provide support in terms of taxes, fees, land and have protection policies for business development. Mr. Nguyen Van Linh, Deputy CEO of the E2E project (Entertainment & E-commerce), shared that E2E is a pioneering startup project in the field of entertainment and livestream sales, aiming to support businesses in finding outlets for their products in the context of economic difficulties and weak purchasing power. The project was born with the goal of building an entertainment platform combined with online shopping, in line with modern consumer trends and promoting the "Vietnamese Goods" movement on online platforms. Accordingly, E2E is developed on the TikTok platform, with KIDO Group Corporation as the main investor and TikTok supporting in generating traffic. With the boom of e-commerce and increasing demand for online consumption, this project aims to build a large consumer community, supporting Vietnamese businesses in promoting trade, developing business, and expanding the market through optimizing livestream sales activities. In the third quarter, this startup achieved 72% growth and many achievements. However, as a pioneering project, E2E also faced many challenges when combining the two fields of entertainment and e-commerce. Increasing sales while creating attractive entertainment content is a difficult task. In addition, the online business environment always requires constant change and optimization. To maintain the momentum of development, E2E has applied advanced technology and operational management systems, digitizing processes to ensure operational efficiency. The project not only aims to distribute high-quality Vietnamese products to consumers, but also helps businesses expand online distribution channels, creating new outputs for domestic products. Ms. Nguyen Huong Quynh, CEO of BambuUP, a platform that connects and promotes open innovation between businesses and the startup ecosystem, said that the startup environment in Vietnam is developing thanks to the Government's orientations focusing on startups and innovation. Specifically, according to the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024 Report, Vietnam is ranked 44/133 countries and economies, up 2 places compared to 2023. This is thanks to the Government's important startup support policies such as Decision No. 844 on approving the Project "Supporting the national innovation startup ecosystem to 2025", Resolution No. 19 on key tasks and solutions to improve the business environment, enhance national competitiveness or Decision No. 939 approving the Project "Supporting women startups in the period 2017-2025"... However, after the Covid-19 pandemic, a series of startups encountered difficulties and were forced to withdraw from the market. Ms. Quynh said that this year, businesses have shown signs of recovery but are still facing many difficulties. Sharing about this issue, Ms. Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, Senior Expert on Research and Development of Innovation and Startup Ecosystem at the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC), commented that Vietnamese startups are still small, slow to grow and are facing the risk of being "crushed" by foreign enterprises. "The impact of startups on the economy is still small, not commensurate with human resources and expectations from the Government," Ms. Dung commented. Ms. Dung said that the Government's policies for startups have not reached the threshold for businesses to achieve breakthroughs and there are not many incentives on loan taxes and product taxes for businesses. In addition, Vietnam does not have a preferential capital mechanism, and venture capital funds do not have many... making it difficult for startups to raise capital. Many Vietnamese startups even have to "put on the hat" of Singapore or Korea to more easily attract investment capital from foreign funds. "Capital is like blood to feed a business. Start-ups really need capital but they are having trouble because they cannot borrow and do not have domestic investment funds," Ms. Dung shared. Therefore, Ms. Dung believes that Vietnam needs to have specific policies for venture capital funds or policies on capital, tax incentives... for start-ups. She believes that Vietnamese startups are in dire need of breakthrough policies to have more quality "incubators". These are startup and innovation support centers with sufficient qualifications and practical experience to guide, support, and create a quality startup environment for businesses. "To have many chicks, there must be many incubators. To have many startups born and contributing to the economy, there must be many incubators and consulting units to support and guide businesses," Ms. Dung shared. Sharing the same view, Ms. Quynh believes that Vietnam's startup sectors are still behind the world. Therefore, the Government needs to introduce faster and more effective policies to support and create new momentum for the creative startup ecosystem. "There needs to be deeper policies to help startups survive, have markets and customers. We can encourage corporations and businesses to open their doors to welcome and cooperate with startups to help them develop. Conversely, startups can also help businesses accelerate the innovation process," Ms. Quynh expressed.
Dear readers, Our country is entering a new stage of development, a new era full of promise with intertwined opportunities and challenges. After more than 35 years of renovation, Vietnam has achieved great achievements, the economy has grown remarkably, people's lives have improved significantly, and its international position has been increasingly enhanced. However, besides the successes, we are also facing many difficulties and challenges such as: climate change, fierce international competition, the gap between rich and poor, environmental pollution, concerns about social ethics... In that context, it is extremely important to clearly recognize the characteristics, opportunities and challenges of the new era. The series of articles "New Era of the Vietnamese Nation" in Dan Tri newspaper will deeply analyze key issues, contributing to clarifying the big questions: How is the new era of the Vietnamese nation understood? What are the important milestones and events affirming the transformation of the country? What are the opportunities and challenges for Vietnam in the new era? How to take advantage of opportunities, overcome challenges, and develop the country quickly and sustainably? What is the role of all classes of people, especially the young generation, in building the country in the new era? We hope that this series of articles will contribute to arousing the belief, aspiration to rise up, the spirit of solidarity, the will to be self-reliant and self-reliant of the entire nation, together building a rich, prosperous and happy Vietnam.
Comment (0)