The grand finale took place on the evening of December 12 at Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square in Hanoi, marking the closing highlight of Techfest Vietnam 2025 - the country’s premier innovation and entrepreneurship festival.

Under this year’s theme, “Green Growth and Digital Transformation: Innovation for a Sustainable Vietnam,” the competition reaffirmed its role as a launchpad for startups with breakthrough ideas that prioritize social responsibility and environmental protection.

Held as Vietnam ramps up its strategy on science, technology, and innovation - placing startups as a key pillar of its next growth phase - the contest attracted nearly 500 applications over a 100-day selection period since its launch on September 5. It garnered about 100,000 online engagements and offered total prizes valued at nearly 1.6 billion VND (approx. 65,000 USD).

Finalists were selected through multiple stages, including intensive training in pitching, strategic thinking, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) principles, and social impact assessment.

From the Top 100, ten standout startups were selected for the national final. These represented diverse fields such as agricultural technology, AI, green tech, digital platforms, and community-driven solutions.

Growlab wins top prize for biotech innovation

Following live presentations and Q&A sessions from the Top 10 finalists on December 12, an expert jury evaluated each project based on innovation, execution feasibility, business model quality, scalability, and social impact.

Growlab, specializing in biotechnology, took home the championship prize of 20,000 USD and will represent Vietnam at the Startup World Cup 2026 in San Francisco.

Growlab aims to revolutionize the coconut industry through its Multipuno tissue culture technology, producing genetically uniform, high-yield coconut seedlings at scale. Its solution has the potential to increase farmers’ incomes by up to 20 times while promoting sustainable agricultural practices.

Runner-up and notable mentions

The second prize of 7,000 USD went to Volterra, an energy/AI startup that provides an AI-powered platform and PaaS (Platform as a Service) infrastructure for electric vehicle (EV) charging.

By integrating renewable energy and battery energy storage systems (BESS), Volterra helps reduce operational costs by 40%, triples return on investment, and supports Vietnam’s Net Zero 2050 target.

Third place, with a 3,000 USD prize, went to IDO Co. Ltd., a digital transformation/CRM company. IDO offers Biglead CRM, a comprehensive technology solution that optimizes customer service and automates sales processes.

Other special awards included:

Investor’s Choice Award: awarded to Dayladau, a booking platform startup
Outstanding Impact Award: presented to Plantner, a startup promoting sustainable agriculture
Each received a prize valued at 15,000 USD.

Supporting Vietnam’s innovation ecosystem

The contest was directed and co-organized by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the National Agency for Technology Entrepreneurship and Commercialization Development (NATEC), and the National Startup Support Center (NSSC), with backing from global and domestic partners including KOICA, Shinhan Square Bridge, and Lotte Ventures.

Beyond identifying a winner, the event sought to build a comprehensive platform to:

Promote Vietnamese and international startup brands
Connect startups with top mentors, advisors, and investors
Provide deep-dive training to help shape business strategies and refine innovations

Speaking at the final, Le Toan Thang, Director of NSSC under the Ministry of Science and Technology, emphasized that this year’s competition was not just about identifying promising ventures, but also about equipping startups with tools to mature - through multiple competition rounds from October to December covering product refinement, business modeling, and ESG integration.

Representatives from Startup World Cup Vietnam, MSD United Way Vietnam, and Impact Square praised the Vietnamese startup community’s clear progress and potential.

Du Lam