On April 5, the Government officially promulgated Resolution No. 86/NQ-CP on the national strategy for innovative startups. This is seen as a significant step, affirming the Government’s determination to build a favorable environment and unlock the creative potential of the entire population to serve socio-economic development.

The strategy comes at a time when global investment flows are shifting rapidly alongside geopolitical changes, creating an urgent need for Vietnam to reposition its startup strategy to achieve breakthrough growth.

Momentum from a billion-dollar ecosystem

In recent years, Vietnam’s innovative startup ecosystem has recorded positive contributions to socio-economic development.

Support infrastructure has been expanding, with a growing network of venture capital funds, incubators and startup support centers from local to national levels.

Notably, the market has witnessed the emergence of several technology “unicorns,” attracting high levels of venture capital investment within the region.

According to statistics, in 2025 Vietnam’s global startup ecosystem index rose to 55th worldwide. Ho Chi Minh City entered the top five in Southeast Asia for the first time, ranking 110th globally.

Meanwhile, Hanoi climbed to 148th place, while Da Nang made a remarkable leap of 130 positions to rank 766th.

Lessons from technology powerhouses such as Israel, South Korea and Singapore show that sustainable development hinges on science, technology and innovation, alongside a widespread entrepreneurial spirit.

Vietnam has identified innovative entrepreneurship as a long-term national strategy to unlock potential, mobilize all resources and achieve mastery of strategic technologies in the digital era.

The strategy sets an overarching goal of turning innovative startups into a key driver of economic growth.

Specifically, by 2030, Vietnam aims to become a leading startup nation in the region.

The country expects to build a strong ecosystem with tens of thousands of startups and nurture additional unicorns. Innovation and ecosystem indices are also expected to rise into the regional leading group.

Looking further ahead to 2045, Vietnam aims to rank among the world’s top 30 in this field. This vision is tied to a society with a high proportion of business ownership, alongside a booming large-scale venture capital market.

Removing bottlenecks through breakthrough institutions

To realize this vision, the strategy defines a startup nation as one where every citizen can launch a business based on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation.

A notable highlight is the promotion of a broad innovation culture - encouraging bold thinking, risk-taking and, importantly, tolerance for failure. The ecosystem will be developed in a synchronized, comprehensive and sustainable manner, with institutions playing a pioneering, enabling and breakthrough role.

The Government has directed the implementation of multiple solutions to remove bottlenecks. On the legal front, all administrative procedures will be completed in the digital environment.

Vietnam will also study and pilot special mechanisms such as the “one-person company” model, streamlined bankruptcy procedures to facilitate re-entrepreneurship, and regulatory sandboxes for emerging technologies.

In terms of human resources, entrepreneurship education will be integrated deeply into the national education system, from general education to universities.

At the same time, shared infrastructure networks, innovation centers and community startup spaces will be developed nationwide.

To unlock capital flows, the venture capital market will be strongly promoted through the establishment of funds at national, local, corporate and university levels.

Mechanisms for direct financial support and credit guarantees based on intellectual property will also be strengthened.

Finally, Vietnam will actively pursue international integration, attract global experts and enable domestic startups to participate in global value chains.

Du Lam