Young  people at a start-up event in HCM City. VNS Photo Gia Lộc

HCM CITY — Thirty innovation and start-up events will be held during the HCM City Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Week (WHISE 2019) from October 15 to 19.

Nguyễn Khắc Thanh, deputy director of the Department of Science and Technology, said WHISE 2019 would offer a chance for authorities and start-ups to review the city start-up scene.

Based on this, the department and other relevant agencies would advise the People’s Committee to offer more incentives to strengthen the start-up eco-system, he said.

Winners of competitions such as the Creative Idea Contest, Nguyễn Tất Thành University Startup Open Day, AIOT, Smart Cities Contest, and others will be announced at the event.

Nguyễn Thị Diệu Hằng, director of the Business Start-up Support Centre, said the contests have helped start-ups become “strong” and fit to represent the city in international contests.

Thanh said the city provides funding and technological assistance to start-ups through business incubators, while its many training courses help improve start-up entrepreneurs’ management and financial knowledge.

WHISE will also include a number of workshops and conferences on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art, and maths) education for students, 3D printing technology and others. 

There will be an exhibition featuring products and technologies from Vietnamese and foreign start-ups, which would also serve to attract the interest of investors in the city.

The event will be organized by the city People’s Committee in co-operation with the Finnish embassy in Hà Nội. VNS