Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - The COVID-19 pandemic may have causeddisruptions to start-ups and innovative enterprises, but it had also createdopportunities for them to turn into real businesses.

At the Vietnam Venture Summit 2020 with the theme "Going Digital" inHanoi on November 25, Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung saidVietnamese start-ups grew well last year with investments worth more than 800million USD. However, the pandemic had completely changed the investmentpicture this year, revealing the limitations of many start-ups.

Local and foreign investors, funds and start-ups including Golden GateVentures, Softbank Venture, Sequoia, ADB Venture, Quiming Venture, VNG, GrabVietnam, MoMo, GoJek, VNPay and Tiki Sendo represented the different sectors atthe summit.

According to the National Centre for Innovation (NIC), Vietnam was adestination for international investors in both FDI and start-up andinnovation.

Dung said: “This is the right time to continue connecting investors, financialfunds and the innovative ecosystem in the region to expand opportunities forcooperation and investment.”

“It is also time for an initiative to attract innovation investment by theGovernment of Vietnam,” he added.

Though mentioning the pandemic's influence on many start-ups, Dung consideredsome business models and tech firms had become more attractive and grownrapidly. They included online meeting applications, distance teaching apps,e-commerce and logistics for e-commerce.

“This is a pivotal period for Vietnam, marking the beginning of a newdevelopment wave of the Vietnamese innovation ecosystem. It is time for thecountry to focus on promoting its creative capacity through science, technologyand innovation, making it a driving force for rapid and sustainable economicdevelopment,” he said.

At the summit, Joonpyo Lee, CEO of SoftBank Venture Asia, said the pandemic hadcaused disruptions in many areas of the market but had also created anopportunity to turn new technologies into real businesses.”

The lock-down from the pandemic had limited travel but made online shopping,working remotely and transferring money online the best ways to survive, hesaid.

Changes in consumer behaviour had created great opportunities.

Lee said: "As a start-up investor, I see many opportunities in thetransition, which is creating a legacy for the world.”

Nguyen Thai Hai Van, a representative of Grab Venture, the first unicornbusiness in Southeast Asia, said in this difficult context, the advice given tostart-ups was to have real preparations that stick to a growth strategy. Ofwhich, team-building was the core factor.

Van told the summit: "It is better to build talents than to buytalents," mentioning after six years more than 90 percent of Grabemployees in Vietnam were Vietnamese.

Sharing about market fluctuations in the post-pandemic world, Lukasz Roszczyc,CEO of Publicis Groupe in Vietnam, said: “Thinking positively about newopportunities, people are spending more time on digital interfaces, smartdevices such as TVs, smart home solutions and phones, bringing value toconsumers and brands that innovate their approach and create meaningful storiesto convey to consumers.”

Serving brands in Vietnam, the Publicis Groupe leader said: “Many businessesown data about customers who have purchased products, but customer interactionis ineffective. We, with the help of technology and innovation, have helpedthem to best use the data to promote and attract more potential customers.”

He said the smart communication industry could develop by about 30 percent inthe next two years and a further 50 percent after that.

Talking at the fintech discussion, one of four topics at the summit, Nguyen BaDiep, vice chairman of MoMo E-wallet, said: “Instead of just being a rooster, wewant to be an eagle in our own territory. Even though Vietnam is inviting manyinternational "eagles" to nest, we could become an eagle with supportfrom the Government."

Diep said the pandemic had led to remarkable growth for the e-wallet market,with 20 million domestic users currently.

He added: “Before the pandemic, there were 10 million customers, now we havedouble that.”

Seeing the State Bank of Vietnam had licensed 38 e-wallets and promoted the useof fintech in the country to encourage digital transformation, Marcin Miller,associate partner of McKinsey & Company, said many Vietnamese people werestill using cash, meaning there was more potential for fintech includinge-wallets to grow. 

MoMo leader Diep said he aimed to reach at least 50 percent of the population,or 50 million users, with their wallet.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, Ministry of Science andTechnology, and co-organised by the National Innovation Centre and Golden GateVentures, the summit included seminars combining online and offline speakers inVietnam and in the region on the topics of unicorn hunters, education,technology, fintech and payment in ASEAN and regional logistics.

According to a new report by McKinsey & Company, Vietnam could capture2,400 trillion VND (more than 100 billion USD) by 2025 through the formation of12 large digital ecosystems across retail and institutional services.

These digital ecosystems constituted interconnected services from differentindustries that enabled automation on a large scale and integrated purchasingpathways, giving  customers access to avariety of products and services on a single platform, said the report./.