Over the past two year, the high-tech startup incubation programme, carried out by the Da Nang Hi-tech Park’s General Service Centre (DSC), has gradually standardised its training process, thereby bringing great efficiency to incubated startups.

Representatives of startup projects joining the second session of the high-tech business incubation programme are being provided with startup knowledge by experts. Photo: M.Q

The Tao Viet AlgaeVi was one of six projects that joined the first incubation programme at the DSC in late 2021.

Right at the graduation ceremony, the project owner signed a cooperation agreement with the Bao Linh Oriental Medicine Co., Ltd.

Currently, the business is developing more new products that have initially won trust of customers, including spirulina tablets, freeze-dried spirulina powder, spirulina biscuits, and spirulina yogurt.

The owner of the project has been cooperating with a number of related units nationwide to carry out technology transfer and expand the scale of product production such as the Van Tuong Hi-tech Agricultural Cooperative based in Quang Ngai Province, the Viet Nam HT Organic Farm Co., Ltd. in Hai Duong Province, and the Interfood International Food Co., Ltd in Kien Giang Province.

Mr. Le Van Kiem, Director of the Healthy Fungi One Member Co., Ltd. cum a representative of the AlgaeVi project, remarked, the incubation course provided him and his colleagues with a lot of start-up knowledge and skills as well as the opportunity to connect with algae technology research labs, cooperatives and businesses.

Currently, Mr. Kiem and his partners are planning to produce value-added products from spirulina that meet international standards.

Besides Tao Viet Algaevi, some startup projects in the first incubation course such as the ‘CARIS - Traffic Virtual Assistant’ app and ‘Vi Sinh Xu Tien’ have called for investors, shaped their development orientations and developed many new products to supply in the market.

This can be considered as the initial efficiency of the city’s high-tech startup incubation programme.

It is known that, in order to serve the incubation of startups, the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park has built and put into operation a more than 2,000m², 2-storey space dedicated for incubation, research and development activities. The 2^nd floor of the space features 13 function rooms for projects joining in the incubation programme.

In addition, the Authority of Da Nang Hi-Tech Park and Industrial Parks plans to build a 5-storey incubation centre with a total construction area of ​​more than 1,000m² in the Da Nang Hi-Tech Park, aiming to serve incubated projects.

In addition to developing facilities synchronously, startup incubation process is also gradually standardised, thereby enhancing the capacity of projects, improving innovative startup-related knowledge of the projects’ developers, and helping them connect with experts to solve their problems while ensuring information security.

After completing the incubation programme and passing periodic reviews, the incubated projects will receive evaluation from the expert panel. Any projects that meet the criteria will be recognised by the Authority for graduation from the incubation programme.

Mr. Duong Minh Hung, Director of the Shipway JSC whose Shipway smart transport project joined in the 2^nd high-tech startup incubation programme, underlined that thanks to joining the incubation programme, his firm had the opportunity to connect with State agencies and was facilitated to handle difficulties such as transformation of business types, the granting of brand protection certificates, and connecting to start-up support financial funds and startup-related policies.

The aforementioned support has helped startups raise their brands and develop their sustainable development plans and orientations.

Mr. Tu Thanh Thuy, Director of the DSC, revealed that, in the coming time, DSC will continue to coordinate with relevant units to support the incubation of startup projects in the direction of an open innovation startup ecosystem, in order to maximise the resources in the startup ecosystem to create more and more Vietnamese-branded technology businesses.

Reporting by M.QUE - Translating by M.DUNG