The Ministry of Science and Technology (MST) at a ceremony to respond to the World Creativity and Innovation Day (April 21) held late last week reported Vietnam’s innovation activities have brought encouraging results, with the GII (Global Innovation Index) increasing over the last 13 years, from the 59th position to 46th in 2023.

With the improvement in ranking, Vietnam is one of seven average-income countries that have made the biggest progress in innovations in the last decade. 

Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem has been growing, creating a new generation of enterprises which are developing intellectual property and are capable of accessing the global market.

MST has estimated that Vietnam had 3,800 startups in 2023, of which 11 were valued at over $100 million each. Vietnam now ranks third in the region in number of investment deals for innovative startups, after Indonesia and Singapore.

According to the World Bank, Vietnam still have space to stimulate innovation in businesses, especially small and medium enterprises which account for 98 percent of Vietnam’s total businesses.

Pauline Tamesis, the resident coordinator of the United Nations in Vietnam, said innovation is not only conducted in the field of high technology and with scientists, but they also create favorable conditions for innovators at grassroots level, especially youth and ethnic minorities.  

She said to obtain sustainable development goals (SDGs) and become a high income developed country by 2045, liberating and facilitating innovation is needed. This will be a core tool to turn Vietnam into an innovation center in the region.

The 2023 National Report showed that Vietnam had achieved five out of 17 SDGs.

MST, while affirming that Vietnam has gained encouraging results in innovation in the last few years, reported that the contribution with innovation has not kept pace with the country’s development and with global trends.

MST Minister Huynh Thanh Dat said Vietnam needs to improve Vietnam’s innovation capability in order to make a greater contribution to productivity and product quality enhancement, and in environmental protection.

MAST launched a number of activities in response to the World Creativity and Innovation Day, including the 2024 National Innovative Entrepreneurship Day (Techfest 2024) and the start of PII (provincial innovation index) 2024.

MST will apply measures to heighten awareness of innovation and accelerate innovation activities, and at the same time, develop a national innovative system in a way which closely connects the state, the production and business sector, investment, education research, and the entire society.

Trong Dat