Vibrant and Thriving Startup Scene
In a significant move, a delegation of 30 South Korean startups recently visited Hanoi for the Vietnam Immersion Week Roadshow 2025. This event, co-organised by South Korea's Ministry of Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises and Startups, and Vietnam's National Innovation Centre (NIC), aimed to foster business-matching sessions between these startups and Vietnamese experts and potential partners.
The delegation, comprising startups in AI, edtech, fintech, gaming, and healthcare, found themselves in a bustling startup ecosystem supported by over 200 venture funds, more than 80 incubators, 40 accelerators, and over 20 business support centers.
Nguyen Huong Quynh, CEO of BambuUP, advised South Korean startups to seize the opportunity to enter the Vietnamese market. She emphasised the importance of making serious investments, understanding the market, and effectively leveraging the local ecosystem to succeed.
Nguyen highlighted several key advantages that attract investment into deep tech and AI in Vietnam. These include cost-efficiency, an eager-to-learn workforce, and competitive cost-per-value ratios. Laura Nguyen, partner at GenAI Fund, expects Vietnam's enterprise AI market to grow at a double-digit compound annual growth rate over the next few years.
To go deeper into the global value chain, tech startups in Vietnam must be flexible and adaptive, stay aligned with rapid tech evolution, address holistic problems, measure business impact, and leverage go-to-market via partnerships to shorten sales cycles, according to Nguyen.
Innovation-driven public procurement will help create demand pull for emerging technologies, she added. Numerous favourable policies are in place to support innovation and scientific advancement in Vietnam, including corporate income tax exemptions, land lease exemptions or reductions in high-tech zones and economic areas, personal income tax incentives, and various incentives for startups and small businesses.
Nguyen recommended sandbox policies and pilot frameworks for key sectors like finance, healthcare, education, and logistics; shared infrastructure like green computing and Vietnamese-language data repositories; and alignment with international AI ethics and safety standards to ease startup expansion.
Vietnam is entering a golden phase for local startups as well as those from overseas, according to NIC's deputy director Do Tien Thinh. This sentiment was echoed in the Global Startup Ecosystem Index 2025, which shows that Vietnam has climbed one rank to 55th globally, maintaining its fifth position in Southeast Asia and marking the third consecutive year of progress.
The coordination of the Vietnam Immersion Week Roadshow 2025, besides the South Korean Ministry of SMEs and Startups, has been taken over by the International Trade Promotion Center (ITPC) under the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam.
Several companies identified promising local collaborators and are aiming to launch their products in the market within the next 3-6 months. Many companies headquartered in Singapore are also hiring engineering teams based in Vietnam.
Young-rock Kim, director of Next Challenge, sees Vietnam as having a vibrant and fast-growing startup ecosystem. Numerously, Vietnam currently has around 4,000 startups, with many valued at over $100 million, according to the Ministry of Science and Technology.
In conclusion, the Vietnam Immersion Week Roadshow 2025 marked a significant step in strengthening the ties between South Korean and Vietnamese startups. With its favourable policies, vibrant ecosystem, and eager-to-learn workforce, Vietnam presents a promising market for South Korean startups looking to expand globally.
