Participants join the Đà Nẵng Startup and Innovation Festival (SURF) 2025. The event witnessed 19 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and deals among Đà Nẵng City and partners. VNS Photo Công Thành

ĐÀ NẴNG – The central city will be assigned as a National Centre in the National Innovation Start-up Network, charged with establishing a venture capital fund and a stock market for start-up businesses, and making it in the list of top 500 Global Startup Ecosystem City in 2030.

Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Hoàng Minh spoke at the opening ceremony of the Đà Nẵng Startup and Innovation Festival (SURF) 2025, stressing that the city has been aggressively building unique policies to set up innovation spaces and foundations for start-up programmes and links among universities-business-community.

He said a series of new plans for network building, venture capital funds from the central government to local authorities and a stock market will be submitted to the government for approval this October.

Ong Văn Bình, Chief Solutions Officer of Nextwaves, a Việt Nam-based innovator and manufacturer of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system and accessories, shows an electronic label that can be used by local exporters for the US and Europe markets. VNS Photo Công Thành

“Đà Nẵng has achieved positive results in innovation and start-up programmes and in creating a favourable environment for innovation development over past decades,” Minh said.

“The city’s leadership is strongly committed to boosting innovation start-ups, science and technology, high-tech industries and key centres of semiconductor and AI, the Free Trade Zone and International Finance in the region,” he said.

Minh said the Law on Science, technology and innovation, which has been approved by the National Assembly, will be a legal framework for the country’s rapid and sustainable economic growth on the foundation of science and technology.

He unveiled that the State budget will reserve 2 per cent of regular spending for science, technology and innovation, and 1 per cent to fund development and investment.

Vice chairman of the city’s People’s Committee Hồ Quang Bửu said the city is focused on science, technology and innovation start-ups as keys to sustainable development and growth in the long term.

“Đà Nẵng has been ranked on the list of 1,000 Global Startup Ecosystem City, and one of the 12 fastest-growing startup ecosystems in Việt Nam by StartupBlink. The SURF 2025, which is entitled Đà Nẵng - A Springboard for Blockchain Unicorns, will help build linkages from the city’s innovation with world partners and organisations to make the city an attractive destination for start-up programmes in Việt Nam and the world,” Bửu said.

A (Radio Frequency Identification) RFID-based electronic label is introduced at an exhibition of the Đà Nẵng Startup and Innovation Festival. It's a locally made product from a start-up project, Nextwaves. VNS Photo Công Thành

At least 19 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) and co-operation investment deals on innovation were signed at the event.

Đà Nẵng and CT Group have inked an agreement on comprehensive and sustainable development, including applications of advanced technology initiatives, ground digitalisation technologies and marginal space; digital twin class 15; a pilot operation of the carbon credit trade transaction market and biology co-operation.

Ong Văn Bình, Chief Solutions Officer of Nextwaves, a Việt Nam-based innovator and manufacturer of the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system and accessories, said his start-up enterprise has provided 150 million to 300 million chip-based product labels for exporters in Việt Nam.

The home-made product code will help customers recognise fake products through a scanning system, and RFID-based scanners can help a shop save at least VNĐ90 million, he explained.

“The chip-based product code, which is available in US and European markets, will provide Vietnamese exporters easier access into the global market – where an RFID-based scanner system has been regularly used,” he said.

“Our scanner system allows shop assistants and businesses fast-check inventory by scanning on cargo boxes that do not need wrapping.”

Đà Nẵng has opened an innovation startup space and upcoming Software Park No 2 to accommodate up to 6,000 tech professionals.

In 2023, the Đà Nẵng-Seoul Start-up Innovation Centre debuted in the central city’s Việt Nam Innovation Hub, promoting start-up projects of the city worldwide through training by the Korean Global Startup Immigration Centre and DCAMP – the largest start-up hub in Korea.

The city’s industry and trade department signed a co-operation agreement with the Institute for Scientific Technology and Innovations, focusing on transforming Đà Nẵng into an innovation city as part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network Project.

Đà Nẵng is home to 19,000 businesses, of which 95 per cent are small and medium-sized enterprises. VNS