HÀ NỘI — Businesses should be innovative and creative in using Information Technology (IT) advances to grow, Deputy Prime Minister Vũ Đức Đam said yesterday.

Inaugurating the CMC Innovation Centre in Hà Nội, he called for such centres to be established in many localities, especially in big universities.

The country has very few innovation centres, while other countries have hundreds, he said, adding “If we increase the number of innovation centres, we will have more start-ups.”

The deputy PM said he expected the number of both local and foreign venture funds in the country to increase.

He acknowledged that while many Vietnamese youth have tasted success with unique start-up ideas, the Government, enterprises and investment funds should contribute more to building a start-up ecosystem.

The support can include businesses registration, intellectual property rights and preferential taxes, he said

Stressing the importance of an ecosystem, he said: “Each group and business has its own strengths. But they will have new opportunities if they connect and share with each other,” he said.

The success of Nguyễn Hà Đông with his famous “Flappy Bird” game and other similar stories should be shared to encourage and support others, Đam said.

The deputy PM also spoke of the need for policies to encourage investment in IT infrastructure and facilitate ICT application in some key economic sectors.

Improving the nation’s business environment and competitiveness are factors that will affect the development of both big firms and start-ups, he said.

Nguyễn Trung Chính, CMC Group chairman and general director, said there was no way for businesses to develop other than by promoting innovation.

He said the new centre will play an important role in facilitating the establishment of innovative firms. The CMC Innovation Fund as well as other venture funds will invest in good ideas, aid in technology transfer and provide commercial funding for feasible projects, he said.

The VNĐ50 billion (US$2.2 million) centre will prioritise projects relating to the Internet of Things (IoT), Cloud, security, Big Data, artificial intelligence (AI) and Robotics, he added.

Covering an area of 600sq.m, the centre is expected to be a location for sharing and exchanging technologies, new trends, a technology incubator and a supporter of innovative projects of the CMC Group and the start-up community.

Yesterday’s inauguration was also marked by the signing of agreement between CMC Group and the Department of Technology Application under the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST) to build a technology map and co-operate in other relevant activities. — VNS