Four most outstanding solutions were awarded by Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng (left). — Photo courtesy of NIC

By Mai Hương

HÀ NỘI — The Vietnam Innovation Award 2023 held in Hà Nội on Friday celebrated 12 outstanding innovative solutions across various award categories, driving the digital transformation of businesses.

This event is a part of the Vietnam Innovation Challenge (VIC), a programme aligned with the Vietnam Innovation Initiative (InnovateVN), under the Ministry of Planning and Investment's guidance, and in partnership with the National Innovation Centre (NIC) and Meta Corporation. VIC aims to source innovative solutions globally, addressing critical national challenges for a prosperous and sustainable Việt Nam.

The inaugural year of VIC, themed "Innovation with Businesses in Digital Transformation for Joining the Global Value Chain" in 2023, focused on digital transformation solutions and products geared toward enhancing the capabilities of small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). This initiative aimed to attract sustainable investment into Việt Nam while fostering favourable conditions for domestic businesses to engage in the global value chain.

Launched in October 2022, the programme generated substantial interest, with over 758 applications from more than 10 countries and territories. These innovative solutions catered to three key target groups: large corporations, innovative SMEs and startups, demonstrating a sustainable and problem-solving approach.

Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyễn Chí Dũng praised these solutions for their comprehensive outlook, risk minimisation and long-term implementation roadmaps, and potential for replication in Việt Nam and beyond.

"I firmly believe that this marks a promising stride toward uniting the public sector, private sector, and other socio-economic segments to formulate, test and execute innovative initiatives. Such innovation initiatives are poised to enhance business productivity and advance the sustainable development of Việt Nam's economy," Minister Dũng said.

The Selection Council commended four notable solutions, two of them – VNPT's "Digital Transformation Platform - oneSME" and FPT Information System (FIS)’s "Process Automation with Virtual Robot Assistant (RPA) - FPT akaBot. Both solutions gained significant market traction and generated substantial revenue for their respective businesses.

Sharing on the sideline of the event, FIS chairman Trần Đăng Hòa highlighted two key challenges facing SMEs: a mindset that views creativity and digital transformation as costs, and the need for increased awareness and training in digital transformation.

"I want to emphasise that creativity and digital transformation yield profits; their application leads to the generation of fresh benefits. As for resources, we hope to see increased training activities to raise awareness about digital transformation. When everyone is well-informed, and both sides collaborate, operations will run more smoothly," Hòa said.

He added FPT actively engages with young creative businesses through programmes like the Vietnam Innovative Startup Accelerator (VIISA) fund, providing guidance and investment opportunities. With an ecosystem of over 50 million users, FPT offers an expansive customer base for businesses to leverage in their developmental efforts.

The Selection Council also recognised the unified enterprise management platform - MISA AMIS, developed by MISA Joint Stock Company, as the standout innovation for SMEs. In the Project and Startup category, "Energy Saving Solution - BenKon" from BenKon Joint Stock Company secured the top spot.

The winning solutions will receive comprehensive support packages and partake in a series of activities, piloting solutions across different cities and provinces in Việt Nam.

"After announcing the 12 innovative solutions today, our plan is to collaborate with businesses and localities to introduce these products, emphasising their cost-effectiveness and replicability. Our goal is to support supply chain management and innovation and facilitate business access to international markets through global innovation networks in countries like the United States, Europe, South Korea and Japan," Deputy Director of the National Innovation Centre, Võ Xuân Hoài, said.

Simon Milner, the Vice President of Public Policy for APAC at Meta, is also very positive about the digital ecosystem in Việt Nam and affirmed Meta’s long-term commitment to supporting innovation in Việt Nam’s digital economy.

“Việt Nam has many favourable factors to shift from assembly and outsourcing to run with strong labour capabilities to product creation and design in line with Việt Nam’s strategy,” Milner said. He highlighted Việt Nam's openness, its entrepreneurial and creative young population, highly motivated and resilient workforce, as well as supportive government policies are poised to generate momentum towards achieving the 2030 goal, where innovation is expected to contribute to 40 per cent of Việt Nam's economic growth.

At the event, Minister Nguyễn Chí Dũng officially launched the Vietnam Innovation Challenge 2024 programme, themed "Innovation with Businesses to Promote the Semiconductor Industry and Smart Manufacturing to Go Global". The programme encourages collaboration and fresh ideas, leveraging the semiconductor industry and smart manufacturing's potential for outstanding success, contributing to the country's sustainable development. — VNS