Startups in Hanoi raise $1 bln investment since 2016

Innovative and startup companies in Hanoi have raised around $1 billion in 100 deals since 2016, a product of multiple measures Vietnam’s capital city has taken to encourage the startup ecosystem, an official has said.

Hanoi is now home to some 1,000 innovative startups, making up 26.32% of the total nationwide, Le Hong Son, Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People’s Committee, stated at the Techfest Hanoi 2023 on Thursday.

The city is housing 32 incubators, accounting for 38% of those in the country, and 14 accelerators, or 40% of the total.

Together with Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi last year ranked 222nd among 1,000 top cities of 100 countries for startups, according to StartupBlink, a world's leading startup ecosystem map and research center.

To incentivize Hanoi’s innovative startup ecosystem, the official urged the city’s agencies to quicken its connection with the nation’s, build and operate a center for startups and innovations for Hanoi and the surrounding localities, and encourage entrepreneurship.

Addressing the event, Le Xuan Dinh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, called for deepened links among the government, businesses and academia, and deeper participation of corporates, institutes and think tanks at home and overseas to help the startup ecosystem thrive.

Dinh also asked for refining of the legal framework and policies, and a stronger leading role of Hanoi in science-technology development.