That is the affirmation of Deputy Minister of Science and Technology (MOST) Hoang Minh in the framework of Techfest Hai Phong 2025 event.

Vietnam's startup ecosystem: Dynamic, sustainable and reaching regional level

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh said that Resolution No. 57 of the Politburo clearly stated: "Innovation is a key factor to improve national competitiveness." This is not only an objective requirement in the new development stage, but also the key to help Vietnam overcome the "middle-income trap", create a national innovation system and creative startup ecosystem.

The Deputy Minister quoted General Secretary To Lam: "Innovation is not the sole work of the science and technology sector but must be the cause of the entire people and society." That spirit needs to permeate all areas - from state management, production and business of enterprises, to practical solutions in the daily life of each citizen.

In 2025, the Vietnamese innovation ecosystem will continue to develop strongly and sustainably, with support activities expanding in both scale and depth. This is a favorable environment for innovative businesses to break through and contribute positively to socio-economic growth.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoang Minh and Vice Chairman of Hai Phong City People's Committee Hoang Minh Cuong visited the exhibition booths at Techfest Hai Phong 2025.

According to Startup Blink's Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, Vietnam moved up one place, reaching 55th place globally, 5th in Southeast Asia (after Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand) and 11th in the Asia-Pacific region. In particular, Vietnam ranked 28th in the world in terms of the number of startups, showing a rapid increase in the scale and dynamism of the startup community.

The ecosystem is increasingly diverse and specialized, with strong growth areas such as financial technology (fintech), artificial intelligence (AI), educational technology (edtech), healthtech and circular economy. Besides "unicorns" such as MoMo, Sky Mavis, many new startups in the fields of blockchain, cloud computing, and logistics have begun to expand to the region and the world, contributing to making Vietnam a leading dynamic startup center in Southeast Asia.

However, besides the proud results, the Vietnamese startup ecosystem still faces many challenges, such as: The number of startups only accounts for about 0.4% of the total number of businesses; Vietnam currently has only two technology unicorns; the ability to expand internationally is still limited; domestic venture capital is still low; the connection between the components in the ecosystem is not really sustainable...

Institutional breakthrough - Paving the way for innovation and startups to take off

In that context, Vietnam is witnessing a major turning point when on June 28, 2025, the National Assembly passed the Law on Science, Technology and Innovation, which for the first time put "innovation" on par with scientific research and technology development. This law stipulates many breakthrough policies, including: The State increases budget spending on science and technology and innovation by at least 2% of the total annual budget.

Deputy Minister Hoang Minh said that the Ministry of Science and Technology is actively coordinating with ministries, branches and localities to develop documents guiding the Law and regulations, some of which will be implemented in 2025.

Displaying high-tech products at Techfest Hai Phong 2025.

First: Establish a system of innovation centers and science and technology support centers from central to local levels to perform the function of connecting parties with technology and resources with parties in need to apply technology, connecting businesses with research institutes and universities, supporting technology transfer, converting research results into practical products, striving to have at least 100 innovation centers by 2026.

Second: Establish a national venture capital fund and local venture capital funds to invest in science and technology. Accordingly, the state will contribute capital to the funds and allow domestic and foreign organizations and individuals to manage the funds. These funds will invest in start-up projects and businesses.

Third: Form a specialized stock market for science and technology enterprises. Accordingly, domestic and foreign investors will have the opportunity to participate in trading shares of KNST enterprises right on the Vietnamese stock exchange. This is the first time that Vietnamese KNST enterprises have been listed on the stock exchange like other countries, bringing Vietnam to the international startup map.

Fourth: Reorganize the National Technology Innovation Fund to guide local science and technology development funds to directly support enterprises in technological innovation and improve productivity.

Along with that, the Ministry of Science and Technology is also submitting amendments to the Intellectual Property Law in the direction of enhancing the exploitation of IP, commercializing intellectual property to allow IP rights to be used as collateral and loans, shortening the processing time of industrial property applications, expanding to non-traditional assets, digital assets and allowing the application of AI to analyze and synthesize data for free.

Along with that, the Ministry of Science and Technology is also submitting amendments to the Intellectual Property Law in the direction of increasing the exploitation of IP, commercializing intellectual property to allow IP rights to be used as collateral and loans, shortening the processing time of industrial property applications, expanding to non-traditional assets, digital assets and allowing the application of AI to analyze and synthesize data for free.

At the same time, the Ministry of Science and Technology will submit amendments to the Law on Technology Transfer, aiming to promote endogenous capacity, transfer to domestic organizations and enterprises and have policies between buyers and sellers when carrying out technology transfer activities, promoting the application and transfer of technology between the supply and demand sides, allowing the formation of technology markets, technology exchanges to evaluate intermediary organizations, consulting, pricing, and technology support to create favorable technology transactions between organizations, individuals and enterprises.

Innovation does not stop at inventions and patents, but also includes technology application, transfer, and creative startups, which are key factors to help Vietnam shorten the technology gap, improve labor productivity, and aim for double-digit growth and sustainable development.

When enterprises are the center, people are the subjects, and the State is the creator, the formation of a national innovation ecosystem will become a driving force to help Vietnam make a breakthrough in the era of digital transformation and global competition.