Vietnam startups to have their say at upcoming forum

The Vietnam Private Sector Economic Forum 2019 will be held May 2-3 at the National Convention Center in Hanoi. It is a space for government representatives to listen to private companies on the difficulties and barriers they face in business activities.

The challenges faced by startups will be one of the main topics to be discussed at the forum. Among other things, representatives will be able to propose changes in the legal framework to further advance the development of startups in the context of the government trying to make private sector the main growth engine of the Vietnamese economy.

Experts from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and ride-hailing giant Grab will share their ideas based on their experience in other countries.

Vietnamese startups raised almost $900 million in 92 major deals last year, three times that of 2017, according to the Topica Founder Institute. The fintech industry attracted the highest amount of investment, followed by e-commerce, travel tech, logistics and education tech.

Apart from issues related to startups, 2,500 businesses with more than 50 speakers will discuss other private sector related topics including travel, agriculture and the digital economy.

The forum is hosted by the Government and the Party Central Committee’s Economic Commission, and co-organized by the Private Sector Development Committee, VnExpress and the IEC Group.