Experts seek ways to support innovative startups

The event aims to update management officials, organisations, investment funds, and startup mentors with information related to up-and-coming businesses, while highlighting their role in assisting startups and suggesting effective measures seen around the world.

Experts also helped startups identify their own strengths and weaknesses to become more successful in their fields.

This is also a chance for subjects of the startup ecosystem to foster connectivity and mutual support for common development, thus contributing to socio-economic growth in their localities.

Tran Hoai Phuong, Vice Director of the Can Tho Department of Science and Technology said that globalisation amidst modest capital resources is a considerable challenge for Vietnam, requiring the country to focus on renovation to improve labour productivity.

Innovation will help optimise the potential in capital and human resources, while serving as a foundation for the enhancement of competitiveness.

Therefore, experts held that startups have become an inevitable trend on the basis of reforming technology, exploiting brainpower, and applying new business models.

However, innovative startups are also a choice with high risks and often early difficulties, they added.

Statistics from market researchers showed that many startup firms never get to celebrate their second founding anniversary, partly due to the lack of capital and fierce competition in the country, along with often modest knowledge and experience in business operations.

Together with building firm inner resources – such as feasible business ideas, smart strategies and necessary knowledge, skills, and experience – it is necessary for startups to efficiently grasp hold of external resources, especially in information and experience, in order to reduce the challenges facing them

Participants underscored the substantial role of organisations in supporting innovative startups.

Nguyen Francis Tuan Anh, a senior expert from Microsoft in Southeast Asia stressed the need for a favourable legal framework for startups, as well as the improvement of knowledge and skills for start-ups.