A panel of angel investors from the European Union, New Zealand and the US gathered to discuss the role of foreign investors in Việt Nam’s startup ecosystem in Hà Nội on Monday. — Photo baodautu.vn

HÀ NỘI — A panel of angel investors from the European Union, New Zealand and the US gathered to discuss the role of foreign investors in Việt Nam’s startup ecosystem in Hà Nội on Monday.

The meeting attracted attention from local startup founders and investors.

“In general, I am impressed with the entrepreneurial spirit we have encountered in Laos, Cambodia and Việt Nam. Việt Nam particularly intrigues us for its relatively large population of skilled engineering talent. This is my third trip and I continue to see an increasingly higher quality pool of investable teams running businesses with regional and global market potential,” said David Beatty, founder and managing partner of Gaingels LLC.

Founded in late 2014, Gaingels members have invested over US$3 million in nine portfolio companies.

Việt Nam needs a dynamic private sector of sustainable development. That dynamism must come from a strong foundation of innovative small and medium sized enterprises, said Eric Sidgwick, Việt Nam Country director, Asian Development Bank.

“The secret to startup success is innovation. Innovation and good managers, good mentors and sufficient access to finance,” he added.

Previously, the angel investors spent two days in workshops with Hà Nội-based start-ups, sharing knowledge and improving presentation skills. They are visiting Việt Nam with the Mekong Angle Investors Network (MAIN), an international group of angel investors, on a two-week trip to Cambodia, Laos and Việt Nam.

Angel investors are high-net worth individuals who invest their time and money in early-stage companies. The high failure rate of high-growth, innovative businesses gives angel investments very high levels of risk. Angel investors typically invest for reasons that go beyond financial returns, including personal interest and the desire to meet and work with exceptional people.

Ha Noi to host the biggest workshop on start-ups in September

The City People’s Committee will work with the Embassy of Israel and the FPT corporation to host a seminar on start-ups in Hà Nội on September 21.

The seminar titled "Creating a startup ecosystem in Việt Nam - practical lessons from Israel" is the largest ever of its kind in the city, said Director of Hà Nội Information and Communication Phan Lan Tú in a press briefing in Hà Nội yesterday.

This seminar aims to draw on practical experience from Israeli experts in building an innovative entrepreneurship ecosystem at macro and micro levels or conduct action plans to develop an innovative entrepreneurship ecosystem in Việt Nam as well as further strengthen relations and economic cooperation on science, trade and investment between Việt Nam and Israel.

Based on the practical experiences of Israeli start-up businesses, Israeli experts will share their experiences on entrepreneurship policies and the attraction of venture capital from Israel. Representatives of the investment funds, incubator organisations, and business communities of Việt Nam and Israel will work together to discuss and propose action plans for the development of the start-up ecosystem in Việt Nam.

It is expected that the seminar will draw more than 200 representatives from the Government, ministries, central agencies and Hà Nội, embassies, international organisations such as the World Bank, IMF, ADB and universities and research institutes; business associations, investment funds and startup teams.

Under this seminar, Hà Nội authorities hope that it is not only an opportunity to enhance economic cooperation in the field of science, trade and investment between Việt Nam and Israel in general and Hà Nội in particular, but also get consultations from representatives to build specific action plans and policies for the start-up ecosystem in Việt Nam and Hà Nội as well.

In addition, there is expected to be a signing ceremony of cooperation agreements between Hanoi Incubator, Vietnam Innovative Start-up Accelerator (VIISA) with Israeli partners.

In May this year, the Prime Minister approved a draft project called “National Programme to Support Innovative Startup Ecosystem in Vietnam by the year 2025” to create a favourable environment to promote and support the development of start-ups with high-growth potential.

The project has set the following targets for 2020: complete the main legal framework for a start-up ecosystem; run an online portal for the National Innovative Start-up Ecosystem; support about 800 start-up projects and 200 start-up enterprises, of which 50 will raise follow-on investment from private venture investors or will undergo mergers and acquisitions worth about VNĐ1 trillion (about $50 million).

By 2025, the project is expected to have supported 2,000 start-up projects and 600 start-up enterprises, of which 100 will have raised follow-on investment from private venture investors, or will have undergone mergers and acquisitions worth about VNĐ2 trillion. State funding will only be provided to support start-ups in their earlier stages.

Subsequently, support from private investors and organisations will play a vital role in ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of the start-up ecosystem in Việt Nam. - VNS