Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, which has seen an increasing number of startups fuelled by young entrepreneurs, will be hosting a showcase for the next-generation innovators- the Techfest, from May 15 to May 17.
The “tech festival”, organised by the National Agency Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development (NATEC) under the Ministry of Science and Technology, is looking to foster new ideas and talents through a network of international investors and digital gurus like Frontiers Ventures, Golden Gate Ventures, 1337 Ventures, Cyber Agent Ventures etc.
Co-hosts include HATCH! Program, Hub.IT, Topica Founder Institute, Innovation Partnership Program and the Embassy of Israel in Vietnam.
The three-day conference will have various panels, workshops, chats, investor speed dating, pitches and business matching.
This “all-encompassing platform” aims to connect the Vietnamese startup ecosystem with the rest of the region, according to Bobby Liu, founder of co-working space Hub.IT in Hanoi.
“TechFest does not just showcase startups, but it will demonstrate the entire tech environment in Vietnam, a nascent but also vibrant ecosystem,” he said, adding that there are local tech companies which are ready to scale outside of Vietnam, following Appota, Clever Ads and PeaceSoft, to “plug Vietnam into ASEAN”.
According to him, Techfest will also help bridge the gap between the country’s three ecosystems in major cities of Hanoi, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, which are being seen as Vietnam’s hub for startups.
These cities are developing their own tech ecosystems. “The challenge right now is to build a bridge to the three cities so that work can get done more efficiently, and Saigon itself can provide the market access for anyone,” Liu said.
Besides, Vietnam has political stability as a competitive advantage; while Thailand and Indonesia are not stable market places, and growth in Malaysia may not be exponential.
Adding to the political solidity, Vietnam has emerged the be the world’s number one destination for outsourcing, replacing the increasing-cost markets of China and India.
While the role of tech entrepreneurs has been well established, the support and attention for them are still lacking in Vietnam.
Finland has SLUSH, Ireland has the Web Summit, Singapore has Echelon and Tel Aviv owns very dynamic DLD Innovation Festival; startups and other ecosystem stakeholders in Vietnam too are thirsty for such “big-bang” anchoring event, according to NATEC.
The inaugural Techfest 2015 will be recognized as an integral activity within the Science and Technology Week, an annual national ceremonial week prior to the Science & Technology Day on May 18.
Source: http://www.dealstreetasia.com
Key words: Hanoi’s Techfest 2015, Vietnam, ecosystem
