HCM CITY – Vulcan Augmetics, a start-up that produces modular, affordable prosthetics for everyone, has been named winner of the first Việt Nam Blue Venture Award.

The award is part of a global entrepreneurial award, The Venture, that honours social entrepreneurs who aspire to promote positive changes in the world and spread the message that a company can both do business well and create a social impact.

It also seeks to create a platform for young entrepreneurs, enabling them to reach out internationally to learn from start-ups around the world.

By winning the Việt Nam Blue Venture Award, Vulcan Augmetics will represent the country in an international competition called The Venture to be held next May.

It beat four other competitors in the final round in HCM City on Tuesday.

According to the contest organisers, Pernod Ricard Vietnam and TV Hub, the competition attracted hundreds of projects from various sectors including education, technology, energy, tourism, environment, and agriculture.

The organisers said there were many meaningful projects in the contest like the one treating 3 tonnes of waste in over 100 schools, installing 300 wind turbines to save power costs by 30 per cent for hundreds of poor families and setting up 140 places for distributing organic coconut oil to help women suffering from domestic violence.

The Venture was first held in 2014, and has since been expanded to more than 40 countries including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, Greece, Japan, Israel, the UK, and the US. 

Since its inception it has received over 6,000 applications, with 73 entering the global finals and start-ups raising investments of US$4 million. – VNS