The announcement is issued according to a directive from National Technology Innovation Foundation (NATIF) by Vietnam’s Prime Minister
Vietnam’s most innovative startups will be in a mix for getting financial support from the country, as reported by Vietnam News yesterday. The National Technology Innovation Foundation (NATIF) fund will provide the financial support by the end of the year. The e27.co reports.
Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc reportedly reached out to the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to include selected startups as the yearly fund recipients. Furthermore, MoST is to recommend policies to foster an innovative startup environment and organise annual meetings with investors and startup enterprises at home and abroad.
With the official fund, startups in Vietnam now will have access to preferential loans and the ability to develop new ideas and business models. The eligible startups will be selected based on their compliance with the Law on Support for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises and other required criteria.
The country’s move aims to let the investment from domestic and abroad enter Vietnam’s startup ecosystem.
Besides summoning MoST, the country will work closely with three agencies — the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of Labour, Invalid and Social Affairs — to help with simplification of administrative issues, fast-tracking registration process, overseeing the candidate’s active participation and contribution in the startups ecosystem as well as providing training courses in universities.
According to statistics compiled by MoST, the country has about 600,000 enterprises, including 3,000 innovative start-up enterprises and more than 40 venture capital funds.
By issuing this directive, there is high hope that the enterprises will contribute to the socio-economic development of the country.
The project itself has been approved since 2016 with Decision 844/QĐ-TTg/2016. The hope is to support the national innovation start-up ecosystem through 2025 and develop a legal system and a national e-portal for start-ups by 2020.