HCM CITY — Mobile phone apps to help students study and people find houses for rent were among many innovative business ideas, products and services presented and discussed on Start-up Day 2016 last Saturday.

The biggest annual event for the start-up community in the country was held at the Riverside Palace in District 4.

More than 3,000 stakeholders including start-ups, investors, entrepreneurs and other stakeholders attended the 12-hour event organised by the Business Start-up Support Centre (BSSC) and the HCM City Young Businesspeople Association.

The event aims to support young start-ups in finding investors, consultants, business partners and customers.

Part of the event was the Start-up Exchange 2016, which enabled entrepreneurs, groups and individuals running around 100 start-ups to display and present their products and innovative ideas to prospective investors.

BSSC director Trương Lý Hoàng Phi said the organising board attached special importance to the “quality factor” while selecting qualified start-up models to participate in the exchange.

Start-up Exchange, which was set up in 2013, has proved effective so far. As of Start-up Day 2015, more than 150 start-ups had attracted investments of over VNĐ22 billion (US$986,547).

On Saturday, many projects found “angel” investors and partners to commercialise their products. The projects also attracted the interest of consumers and mass media.

The event also included the final round of a business start-up contest called Start-up Wheel 2016 and the “Every Businessman-A Teacher” project which seeks to connect young business people with successful entrepreneurs to get their support.

Open to everyone under 35, Start-up Wheel 2016 attracted 632 entries, of which 50 per cent was in the IT sector, 20 per cent in commerce and the rest in agricultural, education and medical sectors. — VNS