Vietnam Startup Scene Poised To Take Off As Ecosystem Comes Together
DEALSTREETASIA: For almost a decade, Vietnam’s startup scene has faced shortage of quality startups, lack of legal support and inadequate funding. All this is set to change with a new wave of entrepreneurs and investors re-shaping the country’s startup ecosystem. Several changes were already visible during Techfest, the first national event for startups (or say Vietnam’s DLD Innovation Festival or Echelon).
While the connection between venture capitalists (VCs) and startups in other countries across Asia is far more evolved, fundraising is still a challenge in Vietnam. “Without the investors, there would be no ecosystem at all,” says Thuy Truong, CEO and co-founder of GreenGar, the first Vietnam-based company to get accepted into the 500 Startups Accelerator Program.
According to Nam Do, co-founder and CEO of SeeSpace (Silicon Valley), the creator of InAiR, the world’s first augmented television experience, there is no such (startup) ecosystem in Vietnam; but the country is building it.
In fact, several new innovations and initiatives are already in the fray, says the government. This coupled with supportive changes in the legal framework and entry of several incubators, accelerators and VCs is providing a strong foundation for the nascent startups in the country- the results are already visible.
