Representatives of Google, NIC and the US Mission in Việt Nam press buttons to launch the programme in Hà Nội on July 11. — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Google will continue its partnership with the Vietnam National Innovation Center (NIC) and the US Mission in Việt Nam.

The announcement came on Tuesday in Hà Nội as part of the programme "Google for Startups Accelerator".

The programme was conducted following the success of the ‘Google for Startups, Startup Academy-Vietnam’ programme last year.

It aims to extend support for the national digital transformation effort by providing intensive training, resources and mentoring networks for local startups to hasten their business development.

Việt Nam is becoming one of South East Asia's rising startup hubs as its online economy is forecasted to grow to US$50 billion by 2025, according to the "eConomy SEA report 2022".

Việt Nam is home to four unicorns to date and a total of 3,400 tech-savvy startups that are well-poised to develop sophisticated digital products and solutions.

The programme this year is built on the success of the Startup Academy that was first launched and implemented across the country in 2022 for 50 selected local companies from 16 key industries.

This year, the programme will zoom in on six key industries: education, retail, agriculture, fintech, healthcare and smart cities.

The ‘Google for Startups Accelerator, Southeast Asia’ is a three-month programme that starts with a five-day BootCamp followed by five follow-up online workshops leading to Graduation and Demo Day.

The cohort will receive mentoring from Google and leading industry figures throughout the period. Given the intensity, only 20 startups will be selected across the country to participate in the in-person boot camp to ensure Google and NIC will be able to provide in-depth support throughout.

The selected startups will also be inducted into Google’s global alumni network consisting of more than 1,000 startups from various regions.

To ensure more will be able to benefit from the content of the programme, Google and NIC will co-design open-access online workshops and will be accepting up to 200 additional startups.

Speaking at the event, Trần Duy Đông, Vice Minister of Investment and Planning said "The accelerator is solid proof of Việt Nam’s commitment to supporting the innovation and startup ecosystem which is shared by Google’s mission to raise up the startup community in emerging markets.

"By providing startups with essential resources to grow and succeed, we are nurturing the next entrepreneurial generation who would join hands to accelerate economic growth and make the country a global success.

"On top of that, the selected startups will be a part of the inventive startup community working towards a common goal to connect, collaborate and learn from each other.”

Thye Yeow, Bok, Head of Startup Ecosystem SEA said: “The launch of Google for Startups Accelerator today continues our long-term commitment to support this country's economic growth by fast-tracking local startup’s development through intensive training, mentorship, and networking opportunities for Việt Nam’s entrepreneurs.

"We are extremely excited to continue our partnership with NIC and the US Mission in Việt Nam to pool our resources together to help accelerate them to the next level, and eventually expand globally.

"While the accelerator is only accepting 20 startups, we will co-design and make available some of the group training sessions to the startup community. Up to 200 startups can apply to attend the online workshops. Collectively, Google, NIC and the US Mission in Việt Nam hope this will benefit the wider ecosystem.”

Last year's Google Startups Academy successfully wrapped up after 15 workshops and 283 hours of mentoring with experts and renowned mentors. One of the startups that joined the programme last year, Momby has scaled up its app with 35,000 users, while another, BenKon, successfully closed a seed round with their energy-saving solution.

Trương Minh Đạt, CEO and Co-founder of BenKon said after participating in the programme, they successfully secured their seed round with the participation of a venture capitalist.

Nguyễn Hồng Ngọc, CEO of Momby said Google for Startups was not just a leadership programme, it also provided startups with new knowledge and the latest technologies. They have the opportunity to become a part of a dynamic startup community where everyone is willing to collaborate for collective growth and success. — VNS