Regional linkages will bring many benefits in terms of capital investment, technology and markets.

Connecting the dots

To date, Vietnam is estimated to have nearly 4,000 start-up enterprises. Investment funds, incubators, business promotion organizations, and local and national start-up centers have developed in both quantity and quality. For the North Central and Central Coast regions, including Hue, it is the gateway connecting the North and the South and also the gateway to the sea for the Central Highlands and Laos. With 14 provinces and cities from Thanh Hoa to Binh Thuan, with a coastline of more than 1,900km and a rich marine ecosystem, this is an area with great potential in the fields of marine economy, agriculture and tourism.

Major startup hubs such as Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Da Nang have made strides in building a startup ecosystem. Ho Chi Minh City has been successful in attracting investment in high-tech and Fintech sectors thanks to support programs from local authorities and strong links with major universities. Hue City has also built a startup ecosystem by taking advantage of and exploiting the strengths of cultural and historical heritage and local resources to put into startup projects. At the same time, Hue has promoted education and research from universities to create a solid foundation and knowledge for startups. In addition, there are also startup support policies to promote the development of the startup ecosystem in Hue, gradually perfecting the most important elements of a sustainable startup ecosystem.

Mr. Truong Thanh Hung, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Innovation Startup Advisory Council and Chairman of FiNNO Group, said that despite its great potential and advantages, the North Central and Central Coast regions still face major challenges. Economic infrastructure is not yet synchronized, resources have not been optimally exploited, labor productivity is not high, and the startup ecosystem is still young compared to more developed regions such as Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City. Therefore, according to Mr. Hung, building a regional startup ecosystem will be the key to exploiting potential and helping the region overcome current limitations.

Advantages of joining hands

Innovative startup activities in Hue and in the North Central and Central Coast regions have recently had highlights and many impressive results... Some innovative startups in fields such as artificial intelligence, blockchain, tourism, self-driving cars... have had strong growth and connected with the national and foreign markets.

The North Central and Central Coast regions have many resources and strengths to exploit when building a startup ecosystem. For example, this region has a long coastline and a rich marine ecosystem, which is very favorable for the development of industries related to the marine economy and environmental technology. The North Central region is a large agricultural production area with specialty crops, so the application of technology in agriculture (IoT, AI, blockchain) can help increase productivity and value of agricultural products, developing high-tech agriculture. Possessing many world cultural heritages and many famous historical sites, startups in digital tourism, smart tourism management technology platforms and cultural experience services are also potential directions. Human resources and young workers are also a great advantage to participate in learning in new technology fields, creating startup products, strengthening the local and regional startup ecosystem.

However, according to the authorities, this potential and advantage have not been fully exploited and a synchronous development strategy at the regional level is needed to take advantage of and exploit the resources to the fullest. In addition to building individual ecosystems for each locality, many opinions say that building a regional startup ecosystem will bring outstanding benefits.

The first benefit is to create a network of connections between localities, helping to maximize resources and share experiences. From there, increase competitiveness and development potential of the whole region. Next, help complement each other's strengths and weaknesses and overcome limitations in scale. In addition, each locality in the region has a relatively small economic scale, if developed separately, it will be difficult to attract large investments and support startups to develop strongly. When building a regional ecosystem, resources can be pooled, creating a large enough scale in terms of infrastructure, people... to attract domestic and foreign investors, thereby increasing development opportunities for startups.

With the advantage of its own potential in the fields of culture, tourism, heritage and being effectively exploited; at the same time promoting regional connectivity, the creative economy ecosystem of Hue in particular and the region in general will continue to develop strongly, soon having many creative enterprises reaching national and international levels.

Article and photos: HOAI NGUYEN