Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israeli Ambassador to Việt Nam; Esther Barak Landes, CEO of Nielsen Innovate; Avi Luvton, Executive Director of Israel's Asia Pacific Department; Trần Quang Hưng, UP Co-working Space Co-founder — VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI – The Israel’s Guide for Startups Conference held Wednesday discussed key requirements for building a strong startup economy and how to apply these elements to Việt Nam’s startup ecosystem.

The panel argued that networking for startup businesses and investors and other financial and legal entities, as well as matching investors and companies through an established database, are necessary for the future of the Vietnamese startup ecosystem.

"There are several components, including startups, human capital, academia, universities, foreign companies, venture capitalists and, of course, government. All of these things should contribute to the startup ecosystem, and the government should monitor and adjust them all. Each of these players should make an effort and the government should take responsibility for success,” Avi Luvton, Executive Director of Israel’s Asia Pacific Department, told Viet Nam News.

The 200 conference attendees included representatives of various Vietnamese startups interested in company building and fund raising. Attendees also dialogued with panelists on startup economy issues.

“Israel is a country with many small startup businesses. The nation did not develop from larger or multi-national companies. Israelis encourage their children to start doing business on their own, instead of working in government sectors or big businesses. This differs from the Vietnamese mindset. Viet Nam’s startup ecosystem is still in its early stages, which is also a good thing. I believe we are going in the right direction for the long term,” said Nguyễn Khánh Phương, founder of the RoboFarm startup which just won third place in the US Embassy’s “The Ambassador’s Entrepreneurship Challenge”.

Other supporting entities, such as UP Co-working Space, are also important for promoting startup businesses in Việt Nam. They offer practical opportunities for networking and business matching through events such as the Israel’s conference.

“If the Conference helps connect startups with the Vietnamese and global business ecosystem, or simply prompts startups to find better economic models for their businesses, then I believe it is a big success on its own merits,’ said Trần Quang Hưng, co-founder of UP Co-Working Space and the event organiser.

The conference was part of Israel Startup Week in Việt Nam. It followed an earlier seminar that day which was attended by the Deputy Prime Minister Vương Đình Huệ and by the Israeli Ambassador to Việt Nam, Meirav Eilon Shahar.  – VNS