Lê Thị Bé Ba, Deputy Director of SIHUB, speaking at the DEMO Day event for startups on 19 December in HCM City. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — 13 startups and over 20 investors and experts gathered at DEMO Day 2025 on Friday in HCM City – a networking platform for the startup ecosystem in Việt Nam and Southeast Asia.

The event was co-organised by The Institute of Innovation under the University of Economics HCM City (UEH) along with the UEH College of Technology and Design, Expara Ventures and the Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB), aiming to create a space for the startup community to connect more deeply with the City's innovation ecosystem.

At the event, 13 startups presented their products, market stories and business strategies to the investors.

A major feature was the ‘Investor Office Hours’ section, which hosted over 20 direct one-on-one sessions between investors and the startup community to discuss future collaboration and investment opportunities.

The organiser also provided a training programme for the startups to refine their fundraising and investor communication skills.

Lê Thị Bé Ba, Deputy Director of SIHUB, said DEMO Day 2025 was an opportunity for vetted startups to present their business models, plans and market validation to investors and support organisations.

SIHUB will act as a bridge between investors and startups, while also helping them access support policies from city departments, she added.

The 2025 event was also supported by the Innovation Services Centre (ISC), the Vietnam Network of University Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VNEI), and others.

Since 2022, DEMO Day has connected over 50 standout startups with local and international investors and venture capital funds, including VinaCapital, Ansible Ventures, Gobi Partners, ITI Fund, Earth Venture Capital and Expara Ventures.

Many of these startups have successfully raised capital and forged new partnerships.— VNS