At the seminar ‘Building mechanisms and policies for Da Nang - Shaping an innovative city’ organized by the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology on Tuesday morning, experts, businesses, and the startup community contributed ideas and solutions to promote the development of the ecosystem; paving the way for the construction of mechanisms and policies to serve the development of innovation.

Da Nang has been implementing many policies to support and promote the innovative startup ecosystem. Here is a scene of signing an innovation cooperation agreement at DAVAS 2024. Photo: VAN HOANG

Removing policy bottlenecks

According to Master Huynh Sang, Head of the Technology Management Office under the Da Nang Department of Science and Technology, identifying enterprises as the central force of the economy and the innovation system, the city has been implementing many policies to promote innovation activities such as supporting the innovative startup ecosystem until 2025; supporting intellectual property registration until 2030; support businesses in technological innovation and more.

In particular, Resolution No. 136/2024/QH15 of the National Assembly on organising the urban government model and piloting a number of specific mechanisms and policies for the Da Nang development has four groups of specific mechanisms and policies for the development of science and technology, and innovation in this city.

As a business operating in the field of microchip design and network security, Mr. Nguyen Trong Tuan, the Director of Acronics Solutions Co., Ltd. said that the company's projects are facing many difficulties.

For technology orders, a license for testing and inspection is required, while businesses still face difficulties due to the lack of a testing environment. Therefore, when formulating policies, the city pays attention to this content to support businesses.

Meanwhile, with many years of experience in supporting innovative startups, Mr. Nguyen Van Chuong, the Manager of the Swiss Entrepreneurship Programme Viet Nam (Switzerland) in Da Nang, said that in the field of financial technology (fintech), blockchain applications, Da Nang has a group of experts in the field of Web 3.

However, attracting technology experts to Da Nang still encounters certain limitations.
With the advantage of being a livable city, if Da Nang can become a destination for Web 3 technology experts through incentives on visas, mechanisms and working conditions.

In some countries such as China, Singapore and Switzerland, the sandbox mechanism (technology on security) has existed and attracted human resources, experts, creating technology unicorns.

Building a solid legal corridor, mechanisms, and policies to facilitate innovation development is very important and necessary. A business is calling for capital from investors and investment funds at the DAVAS 2024 event. Photo: VAN HOANG

Towards an innovative city

Giving comments on the development orientation of an innovative city, Assoc. Prof., Dr. Tran Ngoc Ca, the School of Business and Management, the Ha Noi National University said that Da Nang needs to maintain and develop core values that are different from other localities; develop in parallel, focusing on a number of key areas, intensive knowledge (using a large amount of knowledge) to train chip design, develop artificial intelligence (AI) applications, IoT (Internet of Things) applied to the socio-economy; take advantage of local advantages and characteristics to promote niches such as agriculture (special products), especially high-tech marine economy, aquaculture, tourism, high-tech services, industry and knowledge-intensive services.

Da Nang needs to identify innovation as not only startups, but also focus more on small and medium-sized enterprises, support technology for existing businesses along with promoting startup development. To do that, it is necessary to make the most of the national mechanism and policy foundation; research, develop and pilot specific and outstanding policies for localities, based on their own strengths to create their own policies.

In addition, it is necessary to have a mechanism to attract the non-state sector; multi-stakeholder public-private partnership; strive to become part of the international ecosystem and develop Da Nang into a hub of the South Central region for dual transformation, both digital transformation and green transformation, and combine to promote regional, inter-regional, national connectivity.

“Technology and innovation activities in Da Nang focus on serving to promote other strengths of the city such as maritime economy, port services, warehouses, logistics and traffic hubs. To do this, it is high time to select a number of strategic partners or large investment groups to act as the locomotive to attract other domestic and foreign investors", Mr. Ca added.

According to Dr. Le Duc Vien, the Director of the Department of Science and Technology, Resolution No. 43-NQ/TW of the Politburo on the development of Da Nang by 2030 with a vision toward 2045 has identified the goal of ‘Building Da Nang into one of the major socio-economic centres of the country and Southeast Asia as a whole with the role of a centre for startups and innovation" and specified in Decision No. 1287/QD-TTg of the Prime Minister approving the Da Nang Master Plan for the 2021 - 2030 period with a vision toward 2050. To realize this, building a solid legal corridor, mechanisms and policies to facilitate the development of innovation is very important and necessary.

The Department has developed and implemented the project ‘Da Nang - The City of Innovation”, which is expected to shape the direction of the city’s development to become a centre for startups and innovation. The municipal government can issue practical policies, linked to reality to promote the development of the elements in the ecosystem and enhance Da Nang’s position in the international arena as a centre for startups and innovation.

Reporting by VAN HOANG - Translating by A.THU