Space for startups in Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City is continuing to increase investment in scientific research and innovation activities in the business and startup community.

Increase investment in innovation About 36.4% of the total of more than 350,000 enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City have applied science – technology and innovation. Mr. Le Xuan Dinh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology affirmed that the creative capacity of Ho Chi Minh City represents a very important part of the creative capacity of the nation. Therefore, it is very important to pay attention to developing the scientific and technological potential of Ho Chi Minh City in the coming period. From the background of science – technology, will make a change in the quality of economic growth of the City. The background of science and technology is reflected in the number of human resources participating in this field, the level of investment in scientific research and innovation activities in businesses and the startup community. If 5 years ago, the concept of start-up and start-up was new, now, this community is growing rapidly in both quantity and quality. Deputy Minister Le Xuan Dinh assessed that Ho Chi Minh City is a pioneer in the country in the start-up movement. According to data from the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, in the past 5 years, Ho Chi Minh City has become the cradle of direct and indirect support for nearly 1,840 start-up projects in the stages of product completion, completion Adjusting business models, connecting domestic and foreign markets, providing financial advice, developing startup ideas, etc. Along with that, more than 1,000 events were held in the area to connect individuals, organizations, and innovative start-ups with experts, advisors, investment funds and markets through forums. forums, conferences/workshops… “The ecosystem supporting innovation startups in Ho Chi Minh City is the most comprehensively developed in Vietnam, with all components. Therefore, it is necessary to continue to invest and develop this community further”, emphasized Deputy Minister Le Xuan Dinh. Science Development Fund can invest in start-ups Ho Chi Minh City has set a target that by the end of 2025, it will support to improve innovation capacity for 3,000 businesses; support incubating and developing 1,000 innovative start-up projects; supporting the development of 100 innovative start-ups to access venture capital. However, HCMC only supports incubators and events; Direct support activities for start-ups are limited in both direct funding and tax policy. In addition to the start-up group, the promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises to set up funds for science and technology development also needs to be increased. Science and technology development fund is a fund set up by enterprises to invest in scientific research and technological development. This fund is often used to build laboratories; purchase machinery and equipment for research and development (R&D); buy technology copyrights, industrial designs… According to the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, as of October 2020, in Ho Chi Minh City, only 121 enterprises have set aside a fund for science and technology development with a total amount of more than VND 4,400 billion. . These numbers need to be increased. Leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology said that in the coming time, the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Finance will finalize regulations on the use of science and technology development funds in enterprises. Currently, enterprises often use science and technology development funds to conduct R&D activities, while this fund needs to be used for all activities to support innovation, businesses can use this fund to invest. for start-ups. Therefore, perfecting the regulations on the use of science and technology development funds is also one of the solutions to promote startups.