PRESS RELEASE

THE NATIONAL INNOVATIVE ENTREPRENEURSHIP FESTIVAL LAUNCHING FESTIVAL

TECHFEST VIETNAM 2021

 

[Virtual Event] 16/9/2021, The 7th National Innovation Festival TECHFEST VIETNAM 2021 officially kicked off with the theme “Embracing Innovation – Reshaping The Future”. More than 70 events will be held throughout the country from September to December, organized by the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development (NATEC), State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs, Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, Vietnam Science and Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF), National Program 844 Office, National Startup Support Center (NSSC) promises to bring together innovative start-ups, support units, experts, investors in 18 technology villages related to domestic and international innovative startups.

 

In 2021, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the People’s Committee of Ho Chi Minh City and the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) direct the national TECHFEST organization towards the goals to (i) enhance the role of innovative solutions from innovative startups in responding to the pandemic and contribute to economic recovery; (ii) attract resources from experts, intellectuals and entrepreneurs to support Vietnamese innovative startups; (iii) promote the formation of open innovative thinking, solving problems and challenges posed by society in the pandemic and the needs of big corporations. TECHFEST’s activities show great efforts from the community, for the community, and jointly organized by the startup community. In the implementation of the project to support the innovative startup ecosystem in Vietnam until 2025, approved by the Prime Minister in Decision No. 844/QD-TTg in 2016 and amended and supplemented by Decision No. 188/QD-TTg in 2021.

 

Since 2015, TECHFEST Vietnam has been organized annually and included a series of activities such as connection, showcase, webinar, workshop among levels, sectors, provinces, regions, and overseas, and has really gathered the ecosystem resources to realize the aspiration as the launching pad for innovative startups. In 2020, despite being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, TECHFEST 2020 was successfully organized with more than 7,000 participants at more than 40 seminars and conferences, over 35,000 views, attracting more than 360 investors. The total value of investment reached about 14 million USD.

 

In 2021, the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic will continue to make the inherently difficult innovative entrepreneurship even more challenging. Innovating and changing the mode of living, working, and interacting is no longer an option but has become an obligation. In hardship and adversity, there is hope and growth. Challenges become the new driving force for development, especially for innovative startups. Therefore, the present is the ideal moment to rise for “Reshaping The Future”. With the combination of in-person and online format, and application of the latest technologies to eradicate geographical, physical, and psychological distances, TECHFEST events include more than 70 conferences, seminars, investment connections, contests, and training by 18 Technology Villages spanning from September to December 2021. Moreover, the event also offers a number of supplement activities such as monthly training, coaching, and startup support campaigns. In addition, the open innovation model – substantive challenges will also be piloted for the first time. With the participation of nearly 50 overseas experts as mentors in innovative startup contests, TECHFEST anticipates tightening the borderless connection between Vietnamese people, Vietnamese intellects, and Vietnamese aspirations. The event is an active cooperation effort between the Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in attracting overseas intellectuals and businessmen to contribute to the national development according to Conclusion No. 12/KL-TW dated 12 August 2021 of the Politics Bureau about work on State Committee on Overseas Vietnamese Affairs in the new situation.

 

From being a community gathering, TECHFEST has become a platform that connects ecosystems, knowledge, and technology, and most importantly, a place to apply technological advances to connect people. Applying from multimedia communication technology, integrated platforms, and online conferencing to artificial intelligence and virtual reality demonstration system for new products and services, this year’s TECHFEST will bring new experiences, new opportunities for domestic and overseas participants, investors, policymakers, experts, advisors, coaches, and founders, and leading research groups. TECHFEST Vietnam 2021 will present Vietnam to the world and draw the world closer to Vietnam, which honors Vietnamese’s intellects and spirit and gradually creates a more potent and significant future.

 

NEW POINTS AT TECHFEST VIETNAM 2021 REMOVING TIME AND SPACE LIMITS Time: This year, the activities take place from September to December 2021 to encourage the Vietnamese startup community and global communities to join together.  Activities: More than 70 conferences, seminars, talks, and contests are held in the TECHFEST 2021 series of events including Opening and Closing Ceremony, Policy  Dialogue Forum, National Innovative Technopreneur Contest, forums and workshops in many fields, investment connections, virtual reality exhibitions, etc. This year, in addition to professional events, Tech Villages will have more companion activities such as training, answering questions, crowdfunding campaigns, etc. Technology Villages: In addition to Technology Villages from previous years, there are new Technology Villages at TECHFEST 2021 abiding by economic development trends such as Cybersecurity Village, Challenge Village and Social Innovation, Entertainment and Communication Technology Village, Logistic Technology Village, Technology Infrastructure and Platforms Village, Patent and Innovative Enterprises; The Smart City Technology Village has added Digital Real Estate technology; Medical Technology Village has more Innovative Healthcare Solutions; Agriculture Village, Tourism – Food Village and Locality Village merge into Local Agriculture – Food and Tourism Technology Village. Format: Converting from in-person events to mostly online events thanks to information technology companies, ensuring the participation of international experts and investors. INNOVATION FROM DEMANDS AND REALITY Expertise is exploited based on the current “Pain point” of the Innovative Startup Ecosystem in particular and the economy in general, such as Conference on solutions to support startups with IPO orientation; Conference on solutions to attract overseas experts to Vietnamese innovative startup ecosystem; Conference on solutions to promote the formation of startups by exploiting intellectual property at Institutes and Universities; Conference on the role of innovative startups in responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and post-pandemic economic recovery.  “Open” innovation platform: One of the orientations to build a national innovative startup ecosystem by exploiting available resources from the innovative ecosystem of domestic and international technology groups (For example, Vingroup, Qualcomm, Shinhan Bank, Vingroup etc.). This approach has been successfully deployed in a number of countries in the region such as Singapore, Korea, and Thailand. This year, TECHFEST 2021 is piloting  an open innovation platform model led by experts and advisors of Tech Villages. Reputable technology corporations will accompany startups to solve internal problems through this platform. The contest: As the Covid pandemic is creating myriad challenges for startups, activities in the National Innovative Technopreneur Contest 2021 are designed to support and collectively progress towards a collaborative and co-creating mindset in the ecosystem which gives the teams the most resources to recover and accelerate. The contest was kicked off with a series of industry-specific technology and application seminars with domestic and international Vietnamese experts. Potential and determined teams will receive specific support packages from the first round from representatives of Technology Villages, support organizations, experts, communication agencies, and domestic and international investors. This year’s event is expected to be a launching pad for innovative startups and enterprises to thrive domestically and expand internationally.

 

For information, please visit Website:https://techfest.vn/ 

or Fanpage: https://www.facebook.com/techfestvietnam 

Contact TECHFEST Vietnam 2021:

Ms. Bui Thanh Hang (mobile): 0869 889 869