VietNamNet Bridge - The growth rate of co-working space has been 53 percent globally over the last five years, while in Vietnam, co-working space supply has been growing 58 percent per year.

The sharing economy has changed many habits of modern life. Many consumers prefer ‘shared riding’ with Grab and Uber, ‘shared accommodations’ when traveling with Couchsurfing and Airbnb and ‘shared working spaces’.

Co-working spaces have grown along with the ‘startup spirit’. More young entrepreneurs began considering using co-working spaces after Barack Obama or Sundar Pichai met  Vietnamese youth at co-working spaces when visiting Vietnam.

More young entrepreneurs began considering using co-working spaces after Barack Obama or Sundar Pichai met  Vietnamese youth at co-working spaces when visiting Vietnam.

According to CBRE, 17 co-working space service providers by the end of the first half of the year with 14,500 square meters of working areas in 22 places. These include small spaces with the area of 200-300 square meters, and big ones, more than 1,000 hectares.

Ninety-one percent of co-working space users in Vietnam belong to Gen Y, or people aged below 35.

Nguyen Anh Kim, director of UP, said those working are technology startups, businesses with 2-4 members and freelancers.

UP doesn’t lease office based on the area of operation, but provides service packages based on client demand. A separate office (8 seats, 12 square meters) has rent of VND16 million a month or higher. 

One fixed seat is leased at VND1.5-2.5 million a month, while those working flexibly three days a month have to pay VND200,000.

The rent from leasing working space is the major source of revenue of service providers. They also earn money from food & beverage, connection services and consultancies to startups.

Toong, the first co-working space in Hanoi which opened five campuses across the country, has signed an MOU with United Overseas Bank on providing further support to the fintech community. 

Prior to that, Toong joined forces with the Singaporean government and CapitalLand to provide working spaces suited to different staff models.

According to Duong Do, Toong’s founder, Toong targets small & medium businesses, startups which have gained revenue or successfully called for capital.

Meanwhile, UP has announced cooperation with VP Bank within the framework of the bank’s $1 million project on supporting the startup community.

Analysts commented that the demand for co-working space has been increasing rapidly as startups not only can find workplaces, but also can establish relations and learn information. They can also catch the eyes of investment funds behind co-working spaces.

The founders of co-working spaces such as Nam Do (UP) and Trung Tin (Dreamplex) are angel investors themselves. Cyber Agent, a Japanese investment fund, has an office at UP to be able to approach potential startups.

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