A student team introduce their 3D Printer, while the other show smart gardening system at the Da Nang Business Start-Up Conference and Exhibition.— VNS Photo Hoai Nam

ĐÀ NẴNG – A startup fair was held this weekend for the first time in this central city, targeting startup and entrepreneurship development.
The event, organised by the Đà Nẵng Entrepreneurship Support Co Ltd (DNES), included a series of workshops and an exhibition of startup models focused on the startup ecosystem, support policies and investment.
The fair also included dialogues among local government, businesses, investment funds and startups on the role of institutions supporting startup activities.
DNES Director Võ Duy Khương highlighted the local potential for startups, saying the city has recorded the leading provincial competitive indicators (PCI) for many consecutive years.
Established last December, the DNES is expected to contribute to building Đà Nẵng into a hub of technology in a bid to enhance resource collection for the State budget, Khương said.
Deputy chairman of the municipal People’s Committee, Hồ Kỳ Minh, underscored opportunities and challenges alike facing domestic enterprises, particularly the small- and medium-sized ones in the international and regional integration.
Communication work will be promoted to raise the awareness of startups among local students, young people and enterprises. Connectivity will also be strengthened, in tandem with incentives for developing the startup city, according to Minh.
Dominic Mellor, an expert from the Asia Development Bank (ADB), who is also manager of the Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) stressed the importance of investment for small- and medium-sized startups, pledging that the MBI will boost connectivity among international and Vietnamese businesses.
The exhibition brought together 26 startup projects and 18 booths of companies, partners and units supporting Đà Nẵng entrepreneurship.
Among the projects exhibited, the organisers will select the 11 standout projects for presentation to investors at home and abroad.
In addition, two projects from Germany and one Vietnamese project operating in Singapore joined the event. -- VNS