Vietnam is essential for the GIST Initiative to continue building programming and a natural home for the next Innovates program. As U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam, Marc E. Knapper described in his address at the 11th meeting of the Vietnam-U.S. Joint Committee on Science-Technology Cooperation, increasing cooperation between the two countries in science and technology will help promote the prosperity and progress of both sides. We couldn't agree more–Vietnam is at the forefront of multiple exciting trends in innovation, with the GIST Initiative being able to play an important role in empowering innovations and building a new future not just for Vietnam, not just for ASEAN, but for the whole world. 

Innovates Vietnam is our latest Asia-based program offering and will surely be one of our most transformative yet. It is an 8-week accelerated, intensive training program in the Lean Startup process. It focuses on using agile customer discovery to identify and evaluate scalable opportunities while giving participants the tools they need to proceed with the commercialization of their innovation. This program will be an exciting next step in building closer relationships and connections through innovation and creating shared innovation prosperity throughout U.S.-ASEAN relations, and is just one part of building on a wave of investment by the United States into ASEAN economies. We are thrilled to play a role in supporting the extraordinary innovation happening in this region- innovation that centers issues in which ASEAN economies play an essential part in solving, like fostering climate action and environmental solutions, building shared regional economic systems, protecting global public health, and centering gender parity and furthering women's equity. 

Why is Vietnam important for South East Asia’s economic development?

Vietnam is pouring incredible resources into developing its science and technology sectors, working at multiple levels to use science and technology innovation as a critical pillar for national development. It is building on multiple decades of success on this front–as the World Bank Vietnam: Science, Technology and Innovation Report outlines, Vietnam has been a "​ trailblazer in its development journey over the last three decades." The country has emerged as a vibrant middle-income economy in just one generation. The economy has expanded at an annual average of nearly 7 percent since 1988, leading to an almost five-fold increase in per capita income and a continuing decline in poverty. Vietnam has successfully carved out a role within global value chains (GVCs) and continues attracting high levels of foreign direct investment (FDI). However, it describes that "Vietnam's tremendous achievements notwithstanding, looking forward to the pace of convergence to high-income status will depend on its ability to move towards an innovation-driven growth model." At this intersection, the GIST Initiative looks forward to empowering Vietnamese innovators working to do that, fostering critical new developments in science and technology innovation. 

What makes Vietnam ideal for science and technology startups?

A key catalyst for this innovation development is coming from Vietnam's emerging role as a hub for startups–according to the recently released Emerging Giants in Asia Pacific Report, Vietnam was home to just 1,600 startups at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, but that number has jumped to more than 3,000 now, including four unicorns, and with no signs of slowing down anytime soon. Venture capital deals surged to 1.1 billion USD in 2021, up from 301 million USD in 2020 and 330 million USD in 2019. Tim Evans, CEO of HSBC Vietnam, captured this excitement as he articulated that "Vietnam has emerged as a hub for startups, closely competing with the likes of Indonesia and Singapore. With a young, energetic, educated population, high smartphone and internet penetration, and strong government support, Vietnam should maintain its position as a compelling destination for tech entrepreneurs and investors, making the country a thriving environment for potential unicorns". 

Which sectors are making big impacts in Vietnam?

Beyond purely economic gains, it's worth considering which sectors this energy is being expressed in and why that's important. Science and technology innovation has emerged at the forefront of Vietnam's future, with its burgeoning potential to become a hub for technology as the government's strategic efforts to strengthen the country's digital economy could reach US$52 billion by 2025. Already, Vietnam's internet economy hit 16% growth year on year in 2020, the highest in Southeast Asia, and it has the potential to reach US$220bn in gross merchandise value by 2030. Under the National Digital Transformation Programme, the Vietnamese government aims to continue to support vital economic sectors, which include science and technology solutions in finance and banking, manufacturing, energy, and healthcare. One key example of this digital transformation has been artificial intelligence (AI)–Vietnam climbed seven positions in the Government AI Readiness Index 2022, ranking 6th among ASEAN countries and 55th globally, as shown in the latest report by Oxford Insights.  

Additionally, Vietnam is uniquely positioned to make serious advancements in green tech and climate mitigation–two impactful areas where GIST has provided continued support. The challenges are steep: Vietnam is more exposed to climate risk than nearly any other country in the world. By some estimates, it is one of the top five countries likely to be most affected by climate change. However, it is also one of the most capable of making extraordinary progress in this regard. It has natural endowments for wind and solar, enormous potential for next-generation technologies built on sustainably-mined rare earth minerals, and meaningful investment returns. By supporting climate-friendly technologies, Vietnam could help its industrial base access new value pools worth between $9 trillion and $12 trillion by 2030, growing the country's GDP. Ultimately, funding the energy transition would represent a $1.5 billion revenue opportunity by 2025 for Vietnamese banks from issuing transition finance products. Tremendous headway is already being made to foster science and technology solutions to get there, from launching the new Vietnam Climate Innovation Center, building climate financing, boosting legal frameworks, and transforming its energy supply with the help of programs like the USAID Vietnam Low Emission Energy Program. With so much at stake, the GIST Initiative is working to help center climate solutions and empower the innovators bringing these new solutions to life.