Trinh Minh Giang, chairman of Creative
Start-up Group of Viet Nam Private Sector Forum, tells Hai Quan (Customs)
newspaper that the lack of human resources and market connections are major
obstacles for start-ups in Viet Nam. What are the favourable factors for
start-ups, especially innovative start-ups in Viet Nam? First,
technology-related infrastructure, such as data linkage, archives and data
management, are developing beyond the limit that one could have imagined
before. Currently, one can use this infrastructure with only a small budget. In
addition, big enterprises are providing artificial intelligence services at a
low fee. Another favourable factor is the start-up environment. When I started
my business some 10 – 11 years ago, there were not many mentors who I could ask
for help. Particularly, I faced difficulties in securing capital to start the
business. The social awareness about start-ups was low, with many people
thinking it was something for the young only. Now, there have been changes in
the awareness of both enterprises and the Government. A network to support
start-ups is beginning to take shape, with start-up mentors and scouts, a
familiar force in other countries, starting to play a prominent role. At the
same time, a network of investors for start-ups is also coming into being. What
are the obstacles for start-ups? Like in other countries, the first difficulty
is how to form a working group. In Viet Nam, talented workers are attracted to
work for big technology firms, so it is hard to find tech talent to found a
start-up group, which often needs 6-10 people taking charge of technology work.
This is not an easy task. Especially, group leaders must work well enough to
maintain the group, because in the beginning, there is hardly any income. The
second difficulty is to find people in other fields to join the group, because
a company or a product needs more than technology to succeed. A working group
also needs people who do PR, marketing, etc who really understand the market.
Moreover, although the start-up community is receiving increasing support, many
start-up mentors are not sufficiently qualified. The network of investors is
also weak. Most start-up groups that have good products are waiting for funds
from foreign investors, while those from domestic investors are below
expectation. As innovative start-up mentors, we hope there will be a mechanism
to make investors feel secure so as to attract more professional and big
investors. Another difficulty relates to the problem I just mentioned earlier:
many start-ups lack capable staff to do sales or marketing, and thus limit the
chance for their products to access the market. A solution is to connect
start-ups with potential customers. Many enterprises are lacking technology
solutions for business management issues--like human resources, accounting or
inventory--while many young people are trying to come up with solutions for
these issues. The number of enterprises in Viet Nam is high, and the market for
technology products to support business management is large. Therefore, we are
aiming to connect innovative start-ups with enterprises. What changes should be
done to ‘empower’ start-ups? Start-ups need more training, and support
organisations need to play a more active role. In Singapore, the government has
simplified administrative work for start-ups by establishing co-working spaces
where start–ups work next to each other and also besides representative offices
of State agencies to minimise the amount of time needed for business
registration or tax filing. Detailed instructions will make it easier for
start-ups to do their business. In fact, it that sort of a specific support
that start-ups need, not macro-level support policies. The Vietnamese Government
has launched Project 844 on Supporting the National Innovation Start-up
Ecosystem by 2025 to support start-ups through support organisations. However,
the methods have not been so effective and failed to trigger a start-up support
‘wave’. Anyway, the most important thing for start-ups and their founders is to
focus on their groups and their products. They should first understand markets
and their capabilities well, rather than just waiting for support policies.
Viet
Nam Net – June 15 - http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/business/180153/difficulties-facing-start-ups-in-vietnam.html
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