Visitors at MEGA US EXPO 2022. VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — Startups and universities from the Republic of Korea will participate in MEGA US EXPO 2023, a Korea-Việt Nam multi-sector exhibition to take place in HCM City on August 30-31.

The Korean companies will showcase their products in food, cosmetics, IT and other sectors with 130 booths at the annual event at the GEM Center in District 1.

Around 1,000 B2B matching events will be organised during the two-day event.

The final round of UNIV.STAR, an idea contest for university students, will be held in the framework of the expo.

Speaking at an announcement ceremony for the expo, Shim Jae Yoo, the Korean consul general in HCM City, said Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) and Jeonbuk Center for Creative Economy & Innovation (JBCCEI) kickstarted their cooperation to promote the development of the Vietnamese and Korean startup ecosystem in 2020.

The cooperation had expanded over the past years despite the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.

Many cooperation agreements in the fields of startups and information and communications technology between the two countries had been signed over the years, he added.

Nguyễn Mạnh Cường, deputy general director of the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Agency for Southern Affairs, said investment funds and organisations from the Republic of Korea had helped promote the development of the startup ecosystem in Việt Nam.

The MEGA US EXPO is part of the close cooperation between the city Department of Science and Technology, Saigon Innovation Hub and Korean partners.

The cooperation has promoted trade activities for Vietnamese and Korean startups, accelerated innovation at universities and sought partnership for incubators.

Việt Nam ranked 54th in the global innovative startup ecosystem and fifth in Southeast Asia.

The country has nearly 4,000 startups, including four unicorns (startups valued at US$1 billion and above) and 10 startups valued at more than $100 million.

HCM City leads the country in the number of startups, with a total of 2,000 businesses.

The event is jointly organised by JBCCEI, Department of Science and Technology, SIHUB, and KORETOVIET. — VNS