Young people are working at a creative space called "Creative Labby Up" in Hanoi. (Photo: Thu Ha)   

NDO - Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem has recorded notable achievements and is growing strongly. With more than 3,000 innovation enterprises, Vietnam is rated by international organisations as the third most dynamic innovation ecosystem in Southeast Asia, after Indonesia and Singapore.

According to a joint report on the digital economy by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company released last month, investments in innovation start-ups in Vietnam rose sharply in the first half of 2021, reaching a record high of 1.37 billion and concentrating on areas such as e-commerce, finance, healthcare and education. As such, continuing to promote the building of an innovation start-up network in Vietnam is an important task in order to make Vietnam an attractive innovation centre and incubator for domestic and foreign start-up companies.

Building a national innovation ecosystem with the goal of promoting innovation, openness and connectivity will bring about many benefits while creating the driver for economic growth. In order to achieve that, it is necessary to not only promote domestic strengths but also foster connection with experts, intellectuals and entrepreneurs abroad.

An estimate by the State Committee for Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, shows that there are currently 50 associations and networks of Vietnamese intellectuals in countries around the world. More than 500,000 are experts and intellectuals working at foreign universities and research institutes, mostly in cutting-edge sectors. Many Vietnamese people, including young entrepreneurs and overseas students have also achieved initial success at major start-up ecosystems throughout the world.

These are valuable resources to support innovation start-ups in expanding the current market, calling for funds and especially tapping into the synergy of global intelligence. In addition, Vietnamese intellectuals and entrepreneurs abroad can form a network of global advisors to support Vietnamese start-ups to address problems they may face.

According to the Ministry of Science and Technology, an increasing number of experts with experience working abroad are returning to Vietnam to support innovation. In order to further promote the strength of Vietnamese resources abroad while promoting the connection between domestic and foreign innovation communities, it is necessary to forge close coordination between the relevant ministries and agencies. In addition, a database must be created for overseas Vietnamese, formulating mechanisms to introduce, connect and attract Vietnamese experts abroad.

Furthermore, it is also necessary to learn more about the actual needs and wishes of Vietnamese intellectuals towards domestic activities so as to introduce appropriate mechanisms and policies.

Minh Anh/Translated by NDO