Co-operation deals on innovations and start-up programmes are signed by Da Nang city's Industry and Trade Department and partners at the annual Da Nang Startup and Innovation Festival (SURF) 2023. (Photo: VNA) The introduction of the Da Nang Start-up Innovation Centre, a collaboration signed between the city’s Department of Industry and Trade and the Vietnam Innovation Network in Korea (VINK), will offer working spaces, partner links, support policies, and legal assistance for start-up entrepreneurs from Da Nang.
VINK Chairman Nguyen Quang Phuoc, stated that the network, which gathers Vietnamese experts and intellectuals living in the RoK to promote cooperation between the two countries based on innovative exchanges from 2021, will aid start-up initiatives and projects in Da Nang and Vietnam by connecting them with investment funds and businesses in the RoK.
It will assist local start-up projects in accessing programmes, policies, and partners in the RoK, launching innovative initiatives.
Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Tran Chi Cuong said the annual Da Nang Startup and Innovation Festival (SURF) is an opportunity for businesses and young individuals in the city to develop their initiatives and innovations, aiming to make Da Nang a key innovation centre in Southeast Asia and a smart, liveable urban area in Asia from 2030-2045.
The city had earlier begun supporting start-up projects for emerging and start-up ecosystems in the city, he noted at the opening ceremony of SURF 2023 on September 29.
A total fund of 200,000 USD has been allocated to 27 innovative start-ups and 160 start-up models, of which 61 have been operational since 2020.
Da Nang also showcased 10 potential start-up projects and five scientific and technological solutions at SURF 2023, connecting them with investment funds and investors for sustained co-operation.
Acronics Solutions Company has developed a locally-made cybersecurity firewall, V-pro, over a five-year process, incorporating five solutions for faster and more efficient protection of servers.
A group of students from the construction faculty of Da Nang’s Dong A University have been developing low-carbon and environmentally-friendly solutions for construction.
They have produced concrete using sea sand sediment instead of the over-exploited river sand in central Vietnam and have made unbaked bricks from low-value plastic bottles.
Duong Tri Hoang, 22, stated that each unbaked brick produced helps reduce 900 grams of plastic (about 200 plastic bottles) released into the environment. This also results in a 30% reduction in both cost and emissions compared to burnt bricks.
Dang Van Duong, a member of the research team, explained that the concrete will comprise 30% of sea sand and 20% of river sand, reducing the cost of a cubic metre of concrete by 50%.
Duong mentioned that the group is finalising procedures for intellectual property rights for the concrete and brick products for official use.
A range of skills practice solutions in medicine and healthcare education, digital trade transactions, global fashion chain digital management platforms, and VR360 ecological systems were introduced at SURF 2023.
In recent years, the Song Han Incubator introduced the first-ever tourism start-up programme, initiated by the deputy head of the Da Nang Entrepreneurship Support Co (DNES), Ly Dinh Quan.
Quan emphasised that the programme aims to connect businesses operating in travel, hospitality, transport, craft villages, and information technology, thereby creating a value chain, reducing travel costs, and enhancing the quality and competitiveness of tourism enterprises in Vietnam.
At SURF 2023, the city’s industry and trade department signed a cooperation agreement with the Institute for Scientific Technology and Innovations, focusing on transforming Da Nang into an innovation city as part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities Network Project.
The department and the city’s Women’s Union also committed to promoting and supporting innovations and start-up projects among women.
Da Nang is home to 19,000 businesses, of which 95% are small and medium-sized enterprises./.
VNA
