From October 3 to 7, 2022, the National Innovation Center, the Ministry of Planning and Investment collaborated with Google Corporation and the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City organized a training course of the Google for Startups program in the South for 25 technology startups (startups). This is one of the joint activities of the National Innovation Center with Google Corporation for the purpose of supporting small and medium enterprises, developing an innovation ecosystem and starting a business in Vietnam.
Google for Startups is one of the key development programs launched by Google Corporation in 2011. The program has been deployed in many developed countries around the world, where the innovation and startup ecosystem is very strong. developed, headquartered in many major cities such as London (UK), Tel Aviv (Israel), Madrid (Spain), Seoul (Korea), Warsaw (Poland), São Paulo (Brazil) and Tokyo ( Japan). In Brazil, when the program first appeared in 2016, the country had about 5,000 startups. Today, Brazil has over 13,000 startups and six of the country's 15 tech unicorns come from Google's program including Creditas, Loft, Loggi, Nubank, QuintoAndar and Nuvemshop. 2022 is the first time that the National Innovation Center cooperates with Google Corporation to bring the program to Vietnam.
This year's program attracted the participation of nearly 200 prominent businesses of the startup community in Vietnam. After a round of interviews, carefully selected by representatives of the National Innovation Center and Google, the 50 best startups were selected spanning many different fields from healthcare, energy, finance to finance. education and agriculture. The list of 25 participating startups in the South region includes: AirCity, Anvest, BenKon, Datainsider.co, DIA-B, Eduops, Flambé, Gcalls, Halana, Momby, NEOLOKA, ODA, RIO, SHUB, Smulie, SoBanHang, SUNS , TepBac, Tete.ai, Trung Mua, Upbase.io, Wellcare, WordsMine. These startups then participated in a 1-week training course in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh City to prepare for the next development of the startup, thereby contributing to the development of the economy in Vietnam.
The training course for 25 startups in the southern region took place from October 3 to 7, 2022 at the American Center of the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City. Ho Chi Minh. During the 5 days of participation, startups attended mentoring sessions and collective discussions to help startups develop leadership skills, optimal business methods, product management skills, and technology knowledge. practical and marketing skills.
One of the key highlights of the Google for Startups program is its wide and high-quality network of mentors. More than 20 veteran domestic and foreign mentors participating in the program have guided startups, including experts from Google and advisors who are successful entrepreneurs, investors or executives. senior level of famous companies.
Mr. Zachary Ross is one of the foreign consultants with 20 years of experience in the technology field and is a senior officer at many leading corporations in the world such as Google, Amazon, AT&T, VMware. He shared: “Startups in Vietnam need to learn from the best companies in the world and refine them to suit the Vietnamese environment, thereby bringing optimal solutions to the market. characteristics. That's why Google works with leading corporations to provide startups with comprehensive support such as mentoring, Google's digital resources, and more. It can be said that Google for Startups in Vietnam really has a great influence on the startups participating in the program, they will create changes and solve very different problems in the Vietnamese economy and they We will see their results in the next 5-10 years.”
Local advisors are also influential figures in Vietnam, one of which is Mr. Nguyen Ba Diep, co-founder of MOMO E-Wallet and also Vice Chairman of the Association of IT Software and Services. Vietnam (VINASA). “This is my first time joining the Google for Startups program as an advisor. I noticed that the startups selected in the program are of high quality, coming from many different fields such as Fintech, Logistics, Technology. The startups that I met have posed big problems to the market, and I believe that, with the support from mentors and Google, these startups can grow strongly in the coming time, bringing great impacts. contribute to society, providing services to millions of Vietnamese people”.
Mr. Nguyen Duc Long, representative of the National Innovation Center (NIC) shared: “For the first time, the program was organized in Vietnam by the National Innovation Center and Google, but it was very methodical and professional. Karma. Through the training contents, it can be seen that the program is invested very intensively with many rich, interesting and different activities for innovative businesses and startups. Surely the program will be a good opportunity to change the perspective, approach and worldview of many startups. I hope the program will continue to promote and become an annual cooperation activity of the National Innovation Center and Google Corporation for the development of Vietnam."
At the closing ceremony, 25 startups in the South region were awarded certificates of completion of the training course Google for startups: Startup Academy Vietnam.
From November 14-18, 2022, the group of 25 startups in the North will start the training course of the program at the Hanoi campus of the National Innovation Center. In December, a list of 10 best startups will be selected to participate in Demo Day, where they can promote their innovative business model and participate in fundraising from the community of investors. ./.
