Addressing at the Friday ceremony to celebrate the 5^th founding anniversary of DNES, an Da Nang - based incubator focusing on helping seed-stage startups take off the ground, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh highly lauded this agency’s active involvement in the building of the local innovative startup ecosystem.

Municipal People's Committee Vice Chairman Ho Ky Minh and honourees who received certificates of merit from Da Nang government in recognition of their dedication to the city’s innovative startup ecosystem progress.

DNES is one of the few startup incubators in Da Nang to have operated in a continuous and effective manner, and especially, it is the only effective incubator based on the public private partnership (PPP) model in Viet Nam.

Not only does DNES act as a place for business incubation and training, it also actively and proactively participates in building up the startup ecosystem with tasks in creating co-working spaces, organising startup events, cooperating with international partners and forming startup investment funds.

Over the past five years, DNES has developed a network of more than 40 domestic and foreign partners that are forward-thinking organizations so as to build lasting relationships with game-changing startups.

Besides, DNES has implemented 10 incubation courses with the particiation of more than 60 eligible startup projects. The selected startups are eligible for programmes focused on fundamentals such as product-market fit, go-to-market, HR/team and fundraising.

Also, a combined total of over 1.5 million US$ of investment capital has been raised for such elite projects as Datbike, Hekate, and Cashbag.

As for startup support infrastructure, two co-working spaces, namely DNC and SURF Space, that have helped startups gain access to operational infrastructure for a minimal fee, create new working relationships, take on challenges alongside other like-minded individuals, grasp business opportunities, and exchange experiences with those from various aspects.

Also, this agency participated in the Cultural and Creative Hubs Viet Nam project sponsored by the British Council, in partnership with the Viet Nam National Institute of Arts and Culture Studies.

In the 2021 - 2025 period, DNES will remain on its strong feet to develop towards a more sustainable direction, with the aim of supporting innovative startups with support service packages suitable for each stage of their development, in terms of incubation, consultancy, co-working spaces, business training, service provisions and event organising.

Vice Chairman Minh vowed that the most favourable conditions would be created to help bring innovative startup ideas into fruition, hereby heading towards building Da Nang into a big, ecological and smart city, and a hub of innovation in Southeast Asian in the future.

Also at the event, on behalf of Da Nang leaders, Vice Chairman Minh awarded certificates of merit to individuals in recognition of their dedication to the city’s innovative startup ecosystem progress.

By K.NINH – Translated by A.T