The Da Nang Venture and Angel Summit (DAVAS) 2024 is slated to take place on May 31 and June 1. This is considered the premise for positioning Da Nang as an enticing destination for foreign investors, as well as for gradually building and forming a community of angel investors and venture capital funds in the city.

Partners and delegates participate in accompanying and giving suggestions for the DAVAS 2024 program. Photo: LE MINH

Da Nang is one of three major centers with a developed innovative startup ecosystem in the country. In an effort to build preferential mechanisms and policies, and create an environment for startups to develop, the city has issued 19 supporting policies for innovative startups.

For the time being, Da Nang houses an innovation and startup support centre, two startup centres belonging to universities, nine business incubators, four creative spaces, nine co-working spaces, five startup investment funds, many startup clubs at universities and junior colleges, and the large innovative startup business community.

DAVAS, the first of its kind in the city, will play a vital role in connecting elements in the ecosystem; creating opportunities for projects and startups to approach investors and investment funds; and gradually building and positioning Da Nang to become an attractive destination for capital raising.

During the forthcoming event, the municipal Department of Science and Technology will sign a cooperation agreement with Kilsa Global - a market entry execution & business management specialist, helping innovative businesses accelerate business expansion in Southeast Asia.

The partnership with Kilsa Global will help Da Nang's innovative startup ecosystem build a strong network of links among businesses, investors, and domestic and international startup communities. It also provides a good opportunity for the city to fully tap the combination of a multinational vision and a deep understanding of the specific needs of the Asian region, as well as Kilsa Global's strengths to create new opportunities for businesses and investors, promoting innovation and economic development in the locality.

Within the framework of the event, there will be a series of seminars such as "Positioning Da Nang on the capital and technology map in ASEAN"; and "Building a Tech to Founder community". These events will partly help Da Nang evaluate the development capacity of its innovative startup ecosystem, and exchange knowledge and experience on innovative startups. They will also serve as a basis and orientation for planning development strategies for the ecosystem in the future; and create a favourable environment to promote and support the formation and development of businesses capable of rapid growth based on the exploitation of intellectual property, technology, and new business models in the coming time.

According to the Innovative Startup Support Centre, DAVAS 2024 has drawn much attention from more than 50 organisations, individuals, and businesses. The upcoming event is expected to see the participation of more than 10 domestic and international venture capital funds; 15 angel investors such as Quest Ventures, Do Ventures, TheVentures, Thinkzone, Bk Fund, FundGo, WeAngels, and TRIVE; and startup support units such as Swiss EP, Kilsa Global, Kisstartup, BambooUP and Draper House Vietnam.

Besides, DAVAS 2024 also receives the companionship of universities, educational institutions, startup community, and innovative start-up businesses.

The highlight of DAVAS is that participating businesses will have a chance to receive investment capital from venture capital funds. The event’s organisers will facilitate innovative projects and startups to make a pitch to investors.

It is expected that 30 projects, businesses and startups with the best project profiles will be divided into 3 groups, called ‘near series A’; ‘Seeds’; and ‘Ideas’ (each group will have 10 projects).

Projects and businesses selected for the pitching round will be supported by the organisers with skills in calling for investment capital. Besides, there will be two pitching rooms with 5-7 investment funds/room, and 7-10 participating projects. At the same time, innovative projects and startups will also be able to participate in 1:1 connections with investors and investment funds.

Previously, the Da Nang Innovation Startup Support Centre has hosted a meeting to invite partners to participate, accompany, and contribute opinions on the DAVAS framework and registration form for startups; and support capacity development for startups before DAVAS, especially focusing on pitching skills and skills to call for capital in English.

Reporting by LE MINH - Translating by M.DUNG, P.TRA