Up to 80 of the most innovative start-up firms from the ASEAN region will be featured at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN (WEF ASEAN), of which, three of the firms are from Viet Nam.

The three Vietnamese startups operate in the fields of consultancy services and deploying media channels through music; truck rental and intelligent fertiliser production.

The 80 start-ups who will take part in the meeting were selected from nearly 300 start-ups from across Southeast Asia, representing a wide variety of sectors – from financial services, logistics and e-commerce to agriculture, media and healthcare. The products and services they are developing range from smart fertilisers that reduce nitrous-oxide emissions to sharia-compliant bitcoins to new healthcare options for elderly care.

“We expect the start-ups to make an important contribution to shaping the debates at the meeting about the impact and course of new technologies and disruptive business models. We believe that they will enrich important discussions about how to upgrade innovation ecosystems and promote entrepreneurship,” said Justin Wood, head of Asia Pacific and member of the Executive Committee at the World Economic Forum.

“The start-ups will also benefit from their interactions with the other 1,000 participants at the summit, including 90 government ministers and 600 business leaders from more established companies,” he added.

During the meeting, the start-ups will be fully involved in the official programme but will also have their own programme track to discuss critical issues facing entrepreneurs, such as finding finance or achieving regional scale with limited resources.

There will also be an “innovation hub” for the start-ups to share their stories of disruption and transformation. Once the meeting is over, the forum hopes to establish a permanent community for the start-ups to support their growth and development.

The event will take place at Ha Noi from September 11 to 13. — VNS