Winners of the 2019 Start-up Wheel contest. Registration for the 2020 Start-up Wheel contest has opened. — Photo courtesy of BSSC

The annual Startup Wheel contest was launched in Viet Nam and other countries by the Business Startup Support Centre.

The contest is open to both local and international start-ups of all ages.

The deadline for submitting entries is April 25 while the final round and awards ceremony will be held in August.

In addition to prizes worth a total of VND10 billion (US$422,000) in cash and support services such as co-working space and legal advice, start-ups will also have the chance to get loans at low interest rates from the Start-up Fund of up to VND600 million ($25,334).

Start-up founders have the chance of attending intensive training courses in running start-up businesses and having their projects publicised in the media.

According to the organisers, they will introduce promising projects to angel investors, venture capital funds and other investors.

According to the BSSC, more than 90 per cent of start-up projects fail after three years due to failure to meet market demand and lack of suitable co-founders or advisors and human resources.

The 2020 Startup Wheel is expected to be the ideal “laboratory" for start-ups to fix those problems, it said.

The Startup Day, the last stage of the Startup Wheel, is expected to attract more than 15,000 entrepreneurs and investors.

Start-up entrepreneurs have the opportunity to directly approach potential customers to test their products or services and get feedback from them before commercialising their products and services.

Launched in 2013 in HCM City, the contest has so far attracted over 5,000 contestants. — VNS