Da Nang is one of the three centrally-governed cities to head towards developing the National Innovation and Startup Support Centres. Therefore, it is high time to take practical and specific solutions and policies in tandem with taking advantage of available advantages to promote the development of the startup ecosystem in Da Nang and Central Viet Nam at large.

Da Nang needs practical solutions and policies to promote the development of the innovation startup ecosystem. The staff of the Da Nang Business Incubator are seen working with the National Innovation Centre (NIC) and the Viet Nam Private Sector Competitiveness Enhancement Project (USAID IPSC)). (Photo courtesy of DNES)

Efforts to build a startup ecosystem

As reported by the Da Nang Innovation and Startup Support Centre under the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology, the city's innovation startup ecosystem is divided into three phases based on the level of development.

Specifically, 2014 - 2015 was a period of inspiration with the local authorities’ special heed to investment; the effective operation of startup support organisations, co-working spaces; start-up support activities conducted by investment funds and many business incubation programmes, all of which together encouraged the spirit of creativity and entrepreneurship.

The 2016 - 2019 period witnessed the formation and progress of an innovative startup ecosystem with many policies and projects, incubation support activities, thereby contributing to promoting the development strides of startup support activities. Many important events have been held, especially the cooperation between the city and the Ministry of Science and Technology to organise the National Startup Day - Techfest 2018.

In the 2020 - 2022 period, the city is still on course to improve mechanisms and policies for innovation and startup promotion, and strengthen the connection of the startup ecosystem network. In addition, the development of material, infrastructure and technical facilities for startup and innovation activities, financial support for many startup businesses/projects is getting underway.

As revealed by Deputy Director of the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre Vo Duc Anh, Da Nang now houses a consulting centre to lift the height of the innovation startup ecosystem, along with 4 investment funds, 6 business incubators, 10 innovation startup clubs, 2 creative spaces, 9 co-working spaces, 22 universities and colleges with startup activities.

Currently, the business incubator systems have incubated nearly 150 projects, formed 57 enterprises and developed 50 commercialised products. The city has supported many startup businesses and projects with a total budget of more than VND2.8 billion through direct funding for incubators-offered training programmes 

Many highly practical solutions

Encouragingly, many projects and startups have received investment from funds and investors such as Datbike, Cashbag, BotStar, Hekate and EM&AI, thereby forming a network of founders in the city, said Da Nang Business Incubator (DNES) CEO Nguyen Van Chuong.

“The support from the local government is a fundamental and necessary element to help DNES contribute to building an innovative startup ecosystem. Incubators as well as startups need the companionship, sharing and support from experts, startup mentors, successful tech startup founders as well as angel investors,” said Chuong.

Vice Chairman of the Da Nang Young Entrepreneurs Association Le Minh Phuc suggested that Da Nang needs to develop more innovative technology schools with at least 3-5 international schools of the Asian stature. Therefore, there should be incentive mechanisms and supporting policies to facilitate the formation of tech schools, contributing to creating high-quality human resources for Da Nang and the Central region at large.

There is no doubt that the city's related synchronous policies will highly motivate domestic corporations and leading centres in the field of development investment, as well as spur up the growth of the local innovative startup ecosystem.

In his perspectives, Aaron Everbart, representative of Draper Startup House (DSH - a global business hub for startups & entrepreneurs) said that DSH has built a separate investment fund and a network of more than 550 investment partners, creating favourable conditions for startups to access investment funds around the world.

Da Nang is the latest location invested by DSH, following cities such as Austin (USA), Bali (Indonesia), Bangalore (India), Buenos Aires (Argentina), Chiang Mai (Thailand), Lisbon (Portugal) and Singapore.
“DSH's investment funds are ready to support Da Nang startups in the startup process. We are ready to connect startups in Da Nang with investors in the Silicon Valley”, said Evebart.

In the coming time, the city will set a sight on improving mechanisms and policies to support innovative startups and other key components in the ecosystem. In parallel with that, heed will be paid to strengthening international cooperation activities, promoting startup exchange programs, attracting investment funds in innovation startups, creating brands and boosting the startup ecosystem.

Last, but not least, developing technical infrastructure for innovative startups, quickly operating the innovation space at Software Park No. 2 and accelerating the formation of the National Innovation Support Centre in Da Nang will be given a special concern.

Reporting by VAN HOANG - Translating by A.THU