The aim is to develop Hanoi as a start-up city, director of the DIC, Phan Lan Tu, said at a briefing to review the performance of the department in the first six months of the year. He said the government had talked a lot about Vietnam becoming a start-up country and Hanoi was eager to become a start-up city.

In May, the prime minister approved a draft project called “National Programme to Support Innovative Start-up Ecosystem in Vietnam by the year 2025” to create a favourable environment to promote and support the development of start-ups with high-growth potential.

The project has set the following targets for 2020: complete the main legal framework for a start-up ecosystem; run an online portal for the National Innovative Start-up Ecosystem; and support about 800 start-up projects and about 200 start-up enterprises.

Of those enterprises the goal is to have 50 raise follow-on funds from private venture investors or undergo mergers worth about VND1 trillion (Bt1.7 billion).

By 2025, the project is expected to have supported 2,000 start-up projects and 600 start-up enterprises, of which 100 will have raised follow-on investment from private venture investors, or will have undergone mergers worth about VND2 trillion.

State funding will only be provided to support start-ups in their earlier stages.

Subsequently, support from private investors and organisations will play a vital role in ensuring the efficiency and sustainability of the start-up ecosystem in Vietnam.

Tu said the Ministry of Information and Communications would have a start-up scheme in ICT. Currently, DIC is building a start-up project in Hanoi.

The department has also worked with relevant bodies in order to compile a report for the city administration about IT incubator schemes to enhance start-up activities for small- and medium-sized enterprises.

In the first six months, the department also finished preparing an information technology development programme for 2016 to 2020 and a plan to build a software and digital content park.

By the end of June, the capital city had issued investment licences to 98 foreign direct investment firms involved in information and communications technology. Among them, 29 are new projects with a total investment capital of US$1.55 billion (Bt54 billion).

In June alone, Hanoi’s total turnover from the export of electronics, PC accessories and peripherals reached $901 million.