Startups

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended a forum on innovation and startups with leading U.S. firms in San Francisco, California on Tuesday morning (local time) within the framework of his working visit. During the event, which was organized by the Asia Society Northern California, PM Chinh stated that Vietnam identifies science and technology, innovation, and entrepreneurship as important driving forces for development in the new era. Startup collaboration between Vietnamese and U.S. partners should focus on climate change response, digital transformation, technology transformation, and supply chain diversification, he continued. Attention should also be paid to the innovation and startup movement among young people. The premier went on to discuss with leaders of major U.S. businesses about opportunities for cooperation in innovation, science, and technology. The Vietnamese government is improving mechanisms and policies to welcome new startups, he stated, adding … [Read more...] about Vietnamese premier discusses innovation, startup cooperation with US businesses

Vegetarian food Smiling Mushroom's customers are urban, high-income consumers, 85 percent of them women. The company has launched distinctive products, such as plant-based meat and food made from mushroom protein, targeting 20-55 vegetarians and dieters concerned about their health and the environment. Emmay’s distribution strategy is both B2B and B2C, via both online and offline channels. So far, the company has established 230 retail points, seven distributors and compiled 800 end-consumers data. A product of the Emmay and Colleagues JSC Its products are currently distributed at big supermarkets, such as Aeon Mall, Saigon Coop or BigC, and at about 200 clean food outlets. Eighty percent of the company’s revenue is derived from wholesale distributors and supermarkets. According to Smiling Mushroom CEO, the brand is still in the early stages of food substitutes for animal meat, making it 50 to 70 percent more expensive than animal meat. For example, a 200-gram bag … [Read more...] about Startup sales mushroom as they adapt to ensure survival

Thao Nguyen - Senior investment manager Ascend Vietnam Ventures Social commerce, a subset of e-commerce that refers to the process of buying and selling goods or services directly within social media platforms, is not new. In Vietnam, long before traditional e-commerce established a foothold with tech-savvy consumers, such activities largely took place on major social media platforms. Serving both big-city shoppers and the majority of the population who live outside of core urban centres, social commerce made up about 65 per cent of Vietnam’s $22 billion e-commerce in 2020, presenting the highest rate in Southeast Asia, according to Bain & Co. Within the last two years, we have been seeing a new wave of startups emerging in this sector and beginning to harness the untapped potential of Vietnam’s social commerce playing field. Some of those have attracted almost $14 million in funding in Q1 this year. Compared to the regional rate of 44 per cent, Vietnam’s social commerce … [Read more...] about Vietnam poised for the next level of social commerce via innovative startups

New technology unicorns According to the Vietnam Innovation and Tech Investment Report 2021, venture investment totaled US$1.4 billion, four times that of 2020 and 60 percent more than the 2019 record of US$874 million. E-commerce and payment led the list with US$469 million and US$450 million respectively. The total number of transactions also increased significantly to reach 165 deals, up 57 percent compared to 2020. Last year also marked the appearance of two new technology unicorns - Momo (valued at nearly US$2 billion) and Sky Mavis (nearly US$3 billion), bringing the total number of unicorns in Vietnam to four. “This success affirms Vietnam's position as an emerging technology hub of the region,” stressed the report issued by the venture capital firm (Do Ventures Vietnam) and the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC). MoMo was one of two new technology unicorns in 2021 The total number of investment funds participating in Vietnam in 2021 grew 60 percent, … [Read more...] about Venture capital into innovative start-ups surges despite pandemic

CEO & CMO Summit 2022 will gather senior leaders, marketing directors, and industry experts from multinational corporations, leading tech enterprises, and startups in Vietnam. Since the first conference in 2018, CEO & CMO Summit Vietnam has been the annual not-to-be-missed meeting point for experts in the Modern Marketing industry. The event will focus on Modern Marketing for brands, where leading industry leaders exchange and discuss some of the recent trending topics: E-commerce 4.0, Marketing effectiveness and efficiency, Personalization, Customer Engagement & Experience. The latest technology trends are also expected to be the "hot topic" at this year's summit. The question is: "What do brands need to prepare to build an effective marketing strategy in such an unpredictable time?" Guest speakers include leaders from top companies and experts who have successfully built their competitive advantage in a harsh business environment such as: Grab, Nestle, … [Read more...] about The exclusive summit conference for Vietnam’s top marketers

Decisive factors Cybersecurity plays an important role in accelerating the national digital transformation process. According to Trinh Ngoc Minh, a member of the Executive Committee of Vietnam Information Security Association’s (VNISA) southern branch, Vietnam has significantly improved its data privacy protection capabilities and was listed among the top 25 countries and territories (out of 194) in the 2020 Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI). Minh said investment and interest in Vietnam's cybersecurity have been growing, with spending in this field increasing 50 percent and numerous domestically developed information security products put into use. Minh explained that a cybersecurity powerhouse is able to affect the world's cybersecurity system, pointing to the US, Russia and Israel as outstanding examples of such powers. Sharing Minh’s view, Vice Chair of VNISA and Deputy Chair of Bkav, Ngo Tuan Anh, said Vietnam boasts a highly qualified IT (information technology) … [Read more...] about Vietnam’s path to becoming a cybersecurity powerhouse

Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has set up a joint venture with major Vietnamese real estate and infrastructure firm Becamex IDC Corp. (Becamex) to create the largest logistics and industrial real estate developer in the country, according to a statement. The JV will be called BW Industrial Joint Stock Company (BWID) and will focus on developing institutional-grade logistics and industrial properties across Vietnam. Both firms have committed US$200 million to the platform. Warburg Pincus joins Vietnamese logistics and property market. Nguyen Van Hung, Chairman of Becamex, believed that the co-operation with Warburg Pincus, a best-in-class private equity firm with deep experience in Asia, is a great opportunity, according to the company's statement. "With the transformative shift of the manufacturing base from markets like China to Vietnam as well as with the rapid rise of domestic consumption, the logistics and industrial real estate market in … [Read more...] about Warburg Pincus joins Vietnamese logistics and property market

Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh (left) met with US President Joe Biden, VNA All eyes were focused on last week’s US-ASEAN Special Summit in Washington D.C., where both sides demonstrated their closer ties across many sectors including global health security, climate change, sustainable development, maritime cooperation, human capital development, and education, as well as connectivity and economic engagement, and especially digital development. The US and ASEAN have reaffirmed their commitment to support digital development in the bloc so as to realise its vision “of a peaceful, secure, open, interoperable, reliable and resilient ICT environment”. The US vows to “support development of ASEAN’s digital infrastructure to drive robust, inclusive economic growth and prosperity; and promote development of a secure, resilient, and innovative 5G ecosystem as well as exchange views and experiences on cyber threats and on the regulatory framework and technical standards that … [Read more...] about United States widens ASEAN engagement

Coolmate CEO Pham Chi Nhu Before founding Coolmate, CEO Pham Chi Nhu held down many jobs from retailing cosmetics to selling online on e-commerce platforms. Nhu realized that customers look at not only the brand but also the price in comparison with quality, customer service and seller commitment. Coolmate was established with the goal of building a completely new shopping model, offering a shopping solution for male customers ensuring quality, goods prices, fast delivery and customer care. Nhu said that when it comes to stocking up on wardrobe essentials, such as shirts, pants, socks and underwear, male shoppers prefer to buy in bulk for the sake of convenience. Coolmate receives investment from STIC Investments Coolmate has also implemented corporate social responsibility by non-plastic packaging, cleaning returned products, and accompanying sponsors in environmental protection programs. Labeled “Proudly made in Vietnam”, Coolmate’s apparel is all … [Read more...] about Coolmate provides shopping solution for male customers

He first goes out for a five-kilometer jog, returns home to work for an hour or two and then has some spare time before resuming work in the afternoon. Though his days are productive, for the 30-year-old software engineer in HCMC, working remotely for U.S.-based software company Acumatica gives him much greater flexibility than a traditional office job. As more and more global companies look to developing economies for skilled English-proficient workers at relatively lower salaries, in Vietnam, many young people like Dang are embracing the opportunity to acquire a whole new working experience. "The only difficulty is the different time zones," Dang, who has been working for Acumatica for four years as a regional product engineer, says. Every day, after meeting online with the North American team at 5 a.m, Dang also meets his colleagues in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines at 7 a.m. and in India and Sri Lanka at 5 p.m. Huynh Minh Dang during a business trip to … [Read more...] about Working remotely for foreign employers opens up dynamic lifestyle