Generating motivation from the innovation start-up ecosystem

Attending the conference were Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee Phan Ngoc Tho; and Standing Member of the Provincial Party Committee, Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh.

The Cooperation Agreement to implement the Start-up Ancient Capital Project in 2021-2025 period being signed

“Don’t leave early, arrive late”

Thua Thien Hue is a locality possessing many advantages to develop and promote innovative start-up activities. The province is one of three localities across the country certified by the National Start-up Program as “Active contributor to the innovation startup ecosystem in 2021” and honored to be entitled “The City attractive to innovative start-ups in 2022”.

Speaking at the conference, Dr. Ho Thang, Director of the Department of Science and Technology, stated that technological innovation and intellectual property development were very important for businesses, for these contributed to product quality improvement and diversification, output and labor productivity increase, as well as rational and economical use of raw materials, etc.

According to Mr. Thang, despite many achievements in the application of technology to production, the production and productivity of enterprises in the area was still low; so was the competitiveness of their products, the scale, the equipment and technology level, and even more, the lack of capital to invest in innovating and improving technological lines. In addition, very few enterprises possessed research and development departments, so the improvement and innovation of technology and equipment is still limited.

Faced with that situation, a number of supporting policies of the province have contributed to removing difficulties for enterprises and create favorable conditions for capital mobilization to invest in improving their productivity and product quality, innovating technology, product branding, as well as applying innovative systems, models and tools in modern management, connecting with customers, accessing new markets, and at the same time creating attraction for scientists to invest in innovative research, etc. 

“By December 2022, the Department of Science and Technology has implemented policies to support innovation, technology improvement, technology transfer and development of intellectual property according to Resolution No. 22/2020/NQ-HDND. Accordingly, there are 84 dossiers of request for support, with the total budget surpassing 3 billion VND," added Mr. Thang.

Vice Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee Nguyen Thanh Binh said that to catch up with the current world trend, it was necessary to shift the trend from “innovation” to “open innovation” in order to bring into play the internal strength, in combination with seeking support from external resources, looking for technology solutions from the community to solve strategic problems for businesses under the influence of the 4.0 technology wave as well as changes in market demands.

“Determining that science and technology is the key to the success of enterprises, developing an open innovation ecosystem needs to be connected to promote the transfer of new technologies; linking the innovation ecosystem to develop start-up projects in the area; promoting cooperation and association between the Government, schools, entrepreneurs and farmers. When an idea emerges, it must be realized, avoiding the situation of leaving early, arriving late,” emphasized Mr. Nguyen Thanh Binh.

Support policies from the Government helping businesses expand their consumer markets

Promoting the startup ecosystem

At the conference, many experts expressed their viewpoints and comments on the current situation of innovative start-ups and technology application of enterprises.

Mr. Ly Dinh Quan, Vice Chairman of the National Advisory Council for Innovation, stated that when shifting their attention towards innovation, enterprises would meet the needs of customers and the community; leaving positive impacts on the society; creating values; improving their production capacity; optimizing resources; create new products and services; and improving the quality of their products and services.

However, Mr. Quan said that the ability to create new products and services was diminished because of the limited investment resources of enterprises. Without strong relationships and connections with partners, scientists, and the creative community, it is really difficult for them to innovate and develop. In addition, enterprises lack understanding of innovation, so they cannot reach their full potential.

“In the current situation, businesses need to promote educational activities for the business community; improve innovation capacity for business associations; create periodic and regular connection spaces; establish information and communication systems; connect enterprises with the innovation community, promote the building of a network of consultants on innovation and enterprises to improve enterprise capacity,etc.,” suggested Mr. Quan.

After citing the lessons of the Dutch blockchain technology transfer strategies and some achievements in innovation through technology transfer in the fields of aerospace and communication technology in Vietnam, Head of the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation Development, the Ministry of Science and Technology Pham Hong Quat emphasized on connecting the startup ecosystem with national innovation in technology transfer investment activities as an effective solution.

According to Mr. Quat, technology transfer is a component of innovation, so open innovation should be linked in technology transfer investment activities, including issues of access to information, access to resources, and training of human resources.

Only 3% of enterprises successfully raised capital out of more than 3,000 innovative start-ups in Vietnam. In addition, while Vietnam has 84 incubators and 35 business promotion organizations concentrating in the private sector, the public sector has not shown its influence, which is disproportionate to the available resources. Commenting on these issues, Mr. Hoang Kim Toan, Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Hue University suggested some solutions to promote the transfer and commercialization of research results of the university into enterprises to develop the open innovation start-up ecosystem.