Speaking at the event, Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong said: The program is a testament to the Government of Vietnam's commitment to supporting the innovation and startup ecosystem in Vietnam, as well as of Google's to supporting innovation and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. In addition, businesses participating in the program will become part of a like-minded community of innovative businesses, with the opportunity to connect, collaborate and learn from each other.

“Google for Startups Accelerator, Southeast Asia” is Google's flagship program for startups in Southeast Asia. The program aims to increase support for national digital transformation through the provision of intensive training programs and mentoring networks for startups aiming to accelerate business development.

The program was held by National Innovation Center under Ministry of Planning & Investment in collaboration with The US Diplomatic Corps in Vietnam and Google.

This is an opportunity for Vietnamese startups to contact, establish networks and access resources to expand on a global scale. In addition, to ensure more startups to benefit from the program, Google and National Innovation Center will hold online training workshops for 200 startups across the country.

Representatives of CMC Corporation said that, CMC has been focusing its investment on IoT, Cloud, Security, Big Data - AI, Robotics, etc. through the search and development of ideas, products, solutions and services on technology platforms. On that basis, CMC has established CMC Innovation Fund (CIF) - a pioneering Corporate Venture Capital (CVC) model in Vietnam. In 2023, the budget for investment of CIF is expected to be about 100 billion VND. The Fund will invest in innovation activities within the Corporation and in external startups, as well as promote the startup ecosystem in Vietnam.

This year's program is the continuation of the success of "Google for Startup: Startup Academy Vietnam”, which was launched and first deployed in Vietnam in 2022 for 50 startups in 16 business fields. This year, to ensure an intensive focus while being consistent with the core development areas of the country, the program will provide training for only 6 key fields, namely: Education, health, agriculture, retail, financial technology, and smart cities.

Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment Tran Duy Dong speaks at the event

The 3-month program begins with a five-day in-person training camp, followed by five webinars. Startups attending the training will undergo three-month mentoring sessions with experts from Google and the industry. 20 of them will be selected to participate in training sessions, one-on-one mentoring, group mentoring and workshops.

The selected startups will be included in the global Google for Startups network, which consists of over 1,000 businesses from many regions that have joined the initiative. This is an opportunity for Vietnamese startups to contact, establish networks and access resources to expand on a global scale. In addition, to ensure more startups to benefit from the program, Google and National Innovation Center will hold online training workshops for 200 startups across the country.