GEN has operated in Vietnam since 2013, when the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) was appointed National Host for Global Entrepreneurship Week.
The inaugural GEW campaign in Vietnam saw Startup Vietnam and the Saigon Hub partner to run a month-long competition that drew 150 aspiring entrepreneurs from an applicant pool of 500, formed them into 12 teams, and equip them with $5,000 in seed capital to plan and execute business ideas.
GEN in Vietnam, a coalition led by VCCI, played an important role in bringing together the ecosystem for collaboration and coordination, including through events like the National Forum of Startups, hosted in Ho Chi Min City during Global Entrepreneurship Week. GEN in Vietnam also supported the growth of TECHFEST, the government-supported national startup event that piloted in Spring 2015, returning in 2016 during GEW, and continuing to expand to this day.
In 2017, under the Vietnamese presidency of APEC, GEN in Vietnam co-hosted the APEC Startups Forum, welcoming 300 delegates from APEC’s 21 member countries to discuss regional collaboration between ecosystems. This led to the launch of GEN Asia as regional platform at GEC+Bangkok later in the year.
Vietnam has also been a long-standing member of GEN’s Startup Nations policy community, with active participation from the Ministry of Science and Technology and its agencies, including the National Startup Support Center (NSSC) and the National Agency for Technology, Entrepreneurship and Commercialisation (NATEC)
Deputy Minister Mr. Tran Van Tung attended several Startup Nations Summits and Startup Nations Ministerials and was nominated for a Startup Nations award in 2017. Other active Startup Nations members include Mr. Nam Pham, the founding director of the Ministry’s Initiative for Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam (now NSSC) and Mr. Pham Hong Quat, general director of NATEC.
Mr Huynh Thanh Dat, the Minister of Science and Technology led a strong Vietnam delegation to the 2023 Global Entrepreneurship Congress in Melbourne, which led to Vietnam featuring in the OECD’s ‘Startup Asia’ book, published by the OECD Development Centre.
GEN in Vietnam has engaged hundreds of startups in GEN programs and competitions over the years, with two – iNut Technology Development and Drone Pro VN – going to the finals of the Entrepreneurship World Cup and pitched for a share of $1m in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Jeff Hoffman, Chairman of the Board of GEN and Jonathan Ortmans, President of GEN have regularly visited Vietnam to speak, mentor startups and advise on ecosystem development strategy and GEN anticipates strong economic growth in the years ahead driven by Vietnamese entrepreneurs.