The National Startup Festival 2022 opened on Wednesday in Ha Noi, gathering policymakers; start-up accelerators, mentors and advisers; investors, business leaders and representatives of international organisations.

The 19th edition of the annual event was hosted by the Business Forum Magazine under the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI).

In his opening remarks, VCCI President Pham Tan Cong said Viet Nam, like many countries around the world, was facing various challenges caused by the uncertainties of COVID-19 last year. Viet Nam has suffered a tough blow from the pandemic as for the first time in its history, the economy declined 6 per cent in the third quarter of 2021, he said.

The resilience of enterprises and rise of entrepreneurial spirit in Viet Nam remained a bright spot of the economy despite all the difficulties, he noted, adding that last year, about 116,800 businesses were newly founded, while 43,100 resumed operation, reflecting the strong efforts of the Vietnamese business community to restructure and adapt to COVID-19 and the start-up spirit of the Vietnamese people.

In 2021, Viet Nam ranked 44th out of 132 countries and economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and 59th out of 100 countries in the start-up ecosystem. The country also came third in the list of the most active start-up ecosystems in Southeast Asia after Indonesia and Singapore. — VNS