Vietnam-Japan promotes innovation to attract investment in startups

DNHN - Japanese enterprises have experience, while Vietnamese startups have youth, good capacity, and good ideas... If enterprises promote cooperation, the chances of success are very high.

On the morning of July 12, 2024, the National Innovation Center (NIC) in coordination with the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam jointly organized the announcement ceremony of the “Inno Vietnam - Japan Fast Track Pitch 2024” program at NIC Hanoi.

“Inno Vietnam - Japan Fast Track Pitch 2024” aims to connect large corporations and businesses from Vietnam and Japan with innovative and startup companies from Japan and Southeast Asia. The cooperation between enterprises owning challenges and enterprises proposing solutions helps to promote knowledge exchange and increase the efficiency of applying the achievements of the 4th Industrial Revolution and open innovation activities in Vietnam. This is also a good opportunity for innovative and startup companies to introduce products and solutions to large potential customers. In particular, excellent products and solutions will have the opportunity to be supported for development and investment in the future by the enterprises owning the challenges, aiming to expand the market and participate in the global value chain.

Recently, Vietnam has been one of the destinations attracting the attention of international investors in the field of high-tech industry. Japanese companies are also enhancing strategic cooperation with Vietnamese startups to seek opportunities to promote innovation and increase competitiveness.

A recent JETRO survey shows that Japanese enterprises continue to view Vietnam as one of the second most attractive and potential markets (only after the number one market is the United States). The nature of innovation is to connect and cooperate to promote development, including the development of enterprises on both sides. Japanese enterprises have experience, while Vietnamese startups have youth, good capacity, and good ideas... If enterprises promote cooperation, the chances of success are very high.

Evaluating Japanese capital flowing into Vietnam, sharing with the reporter of the Enterprise and Integration Magazine, Mr. Ishikawa Hiroshi, Special Advisor to the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan said: "I see that Japanese investment funds flowing into Vietnamese startups annually are gradually increasing, they also show clear interest in investing in Vietnamese startups. However, in general, the investment situation in the past 1-2 years from Japanese investment funds has not been feasible. The investment funds and potential investors in Japan are always looking for cooperation opportunities, so they can understand the Vietnamese market, thereby opening up opportunities to invest in Vietnamese startups. What the investment funds and potential investors in Japan expect most in Vietnamese startups specifically and the Vietnamese market in general is rapid growth. The sectors that Japanese investment funds and investors are looking for in Vietnam are related to fintech, financial solutions. Additionally, services related to B2B IT services are also sectors that investors in Japan expect certain growth in Vietnam."

"To develop the innovation ecosystem of both Vietnam and Japan, the governments of both countries have established a platform to develop this ecosystem. This platform has contributed many positive meanings to the development of the above innovation ecosystem. However, the most important thing is the cooperation and connection between startups in Vietnam and Japan. In addition, there is the companionship of investment funds, potential investors. Those are indispensable factors in developing the innovation ecosystem. I also believe that continuing cooperation, creating new opportunities between the Vietnamese Government and the Japanese Government will help startups have more opportunities to cooperate with each other to develop together, which is a good precedent that needs to be maintained," Mr. Ishikawa Hiroshi commented.

Also evaluating the potential of Vietnamese startups, Mr. Beandon Wong – Senior Advisor at Deloitte Tohmatsu, specializing in consulting for venture capital companies also said: "Speaking of the position of Vietnamese startups in the eyes of Japanese investors, I have two perspectives. Firstly, currently speaking of domestic Vietnam, Vietnam has a population of over 100 million people, this is a very large market for sectors related to services and consumption, including new sectors like fintech, aviation... This is a great opportunity for Vietnamese startups to establish a position in such sectors. Secondly, in the current context, we expect that there will be many new technologies in existing sectors that can develop, for example, high-tech agriculture, high-tech manufacturing,..."

To promote innovation from Japan to Vietnam as well as promote cooperation between the two countries, Mr. Beandon Wong said, the important thing is to build a soft connection network to create opportunities for startups to find their customers, or in other words, give them demand by letting them meet large enterprises that need their products and services.

"Today's program can be said to be a new step to create a connection for startups in Vietnam and towards creating projects, cooperation programs, and links between startup enterprises and large enterprises in Japan. We believe that future support will have many more memorable milestones and open up many development potentials for startup enterprises from both countries," Mr. Beandon Wong commented.

From the Vietnamese Government's side, Mr. Beandon Wong also proposed three main solutions to contribute to enhancing international cooperation in the field of innovation and promoting Vietnamese startups to reach out to the international market:

Firstly, let enterprises from different countries know each other and understand each other. I think that is the most important thing. Southeast Asia currently has a population of about 600 million people, each country has its own culture, its own language. The government can support creating B2B exchange programs between Vietnamese startups and startups from many countries.

The second point is the language barrier, Mr. Beandon Wong believes that English will be the common language that helps nations and countries to exchange and understand each other quickly. Therefore, besides focusing on developing technology and skills, eliminating language barriers will be an important point for Vietnamese startups to integrate and expand into the international market.

Additionally, related to mechanisms and policies to support startups, there are many, but among them, financial and capital support to support startups can be mentioned. Moreover, another very important thing is policy support not only for Vietnamese enterprises but also for foreign enterprises, in other words, removing investment barriers. For example, for Japanese enterprises or enterprises from other countries that want to invest in Vietnam, it is possible to remove barriers, shorten administrative procedures related to business establishment or investment procedures...

Bao Bao