The Da Nang Innovation Startup Festival (SURF) 2024 officially opened at the University of Science and Technology, the University of Da Nang, on Friday morning. Themed “Reaching Creativity - Connecting Globally’, the event conveys the message ‘Da Nang - the City of Innovation and Creativity’.

Vice Chairman of Da Nang People's Committee Tran Chi Cuong speaking at the opening ceremony of SURF 2024

In his remarks at the opening ceremony of the event, Vice Chairman of the municipal People's Committee Tran Chi Cuong said that SURF, the annual event, was a meeting place for the startup community in the city to meet and exchange with investors and partners at home and abroad.

He also highlighted the practical significance of the event in promoting innovative start-up activities, with the offline and online participation of a large number of innovative start-up communities, investors, scientists, managers and partners in the city's innovative start-up activities.

Vice Chairman Cuong remarked, over the years, Da Nang has made continuous efforts to develop an innovative startup ecosystem, with the continuous formation and development of support organisations, incubators, venture capital funds, angel investors, and especially the innovative startup business community.

Additionally, the city has issued many documents, mechanisms, policies and plans related to the development of an innovative startup ecosystem, as well as concentrated on developing facilities for innovative startups, and programmes to support businesses and effective investment connections.

He also informed that, the National Assembly passed and issued Resolution No. 136/2024/QH15 dated June 26, 2024 on the organisation of urban government and piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of Da Nang, including 4 specific policy groups on science and technology management and innovation. They are a policy group on corporate and personal income tax exemption; a policy group on supporting the development of innovative startup projects; a policy group on allowing controlled testing; and a policy group on using infrastructure assets to serve innovative startups.

The city is actively developing resolutions of the People's Council to implement Resolution No. 136/2024/QH15 which will come into effect from January 1, 2025, and considering this a breakthrough solution to continue promoting the development of the local innovative startup ecosystem.

Vice Chairman Cuong hoped that in the coming time, the Da Nang startup ecosystem will develop more strongly, becoming an attractive destination, and connecting with innovative startup resources, domestic and international startups to develop together.

He wished that the city's innovative startup projects/enterprises will be increasingly proactive in innovating, transforming growth models and creating more added value, as well as will take advantage of many domestic and international support resources, large-scale enterprises, investment funds, angel investors, experts, and scientists.

The city's leaders are committed to always accompanying businesses, creating the best conditions and the most favourable environment for startups to develop, he noted.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh speaking at the opening ceremony of SURF 2024

Speaking at SURF 2024, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh said that in 2024, Viet Nam has climbed two places in the global startup ecosystem index 2024, moving from 58^th to 56^th, according to the recently released "Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2024" report by StartupBlink. Viet Nam is estimated to have about 3,800 startups, 208 investment funds, 85 incubators, and 35 business promotion organisations.

Along with Ho Chi Minh City and Ha Noi, Da Nang has been named among the top 1,000 cities with the highest startup ecosystem index globally for the first time. Accordingly, the central coastal city has ranked 896^th whilst Ho Chi Minh City has been 111^th place and Ha Noi 157^th place.

Da Nang has affirmed itself through its impressive growth and its great efforts to promote the innovative startup ecosystem in terms of building a legal corridor and preferential policies, and developing infrastructure, facilities, and techniques to promote innovative startup activities.

With the goal set out in Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW dated January 24, 2024 of the Politburo, with a vision to 2045, Da Nang will become a large, ecological and smart urban area, a centre for startups, innovation and a livable coastal city at the level of the Asian region. Therefore, SURF 2024 is an important forum, creating favourable opportunities to share experiences and knowledge, seek cooperation opportunities, and optimize resources, and domestic and international experts.

The event also offers solutions to support the development of innovative startup models, contributing to further promoting the development of the innovative startup ecosystem in the city and the whole country, thereby contributing to the socio-economic development of the city, the region and the country.

Delegates attending at the opening ceremony of the event

Deputy Minister Minh said the Ministry of Science and Technology highly appreciated the city's efforts in supporting creative startups and the achievements of the local startup community. He expressed confidence that the city's innovative startup ecosystem will continue to develop, with many startups reaching national and international levels.

The leaders of the Ministry of Science and Technology suggested Da Nang continue to promote many new initiatives in the coming time, contributing to enhancing its leading role in attracting national and international resources, and developing the creative startup ecosystem in the whole region. Importance should be attached to connecting and building long-term cooperation programmes to develop innovative startup ecosystems with neighbouring localities; as well as coordinating with relevant to build and implement activities to develop the national innovative startup ecosystem, spreading the impact to the entire Central and Central Highlands regions.

Within the framework of the opening ceremony on August 30, there were 4 online and offline scientific seminars on innovative startup activities with the participation of speakers who were managers, investors and startups.

Also on the same day, the awards ceremony for the Da Nang Innovation Startup Contest 2024 was held, whilst the Da Nang - Singapore Innovation Space was launched.

SURF 2024 lasts until December 30, 2024.

Reporting by V.HOANG, C.THANG - Translating by M.DUNG