Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam has three technological solutions shortlisted the finals of the 2026 ASEAN Digital Awards, placing the country among those with the highest number of finalists alongside Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand, according to information released at the ongoing 6th ASEAN Digital Ministers Meeting (ADGMIN-6) in Hanoi from January 12–16.
This is an annual event organised under the auspices of ADGMIN to honour highly practical digital initiatives, products, and solutions. It aims to help promote innovation, anticipate emerging technology trends, and recognise the role of digital transformation in driving socio-economic development across ASEAN countries.
ASEAN’s selection of Vietnam as the host of the 2026 ASEAN Digital Awards underscores recognition of the country’s efforts in digital transformation and its contributions to regional digital cooperation, according to the Department of International Cooperation under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
Holding the finals and the award ceremony in Vietnam also provides domestic technology companies with opportunities to network, showcase their products, access regional partners, and promote a spirit of innovation.
The 2026 ASEAN Digital Awards features the six categories of public sector, private sector, digital inclusivity, digital content, digital start-up, and digital innovation. The competition consists of three rounds: the national selection round, the regional preliminary round (online), and the final round (in person).
By the submission deadline of September 15, 2025, it had attracted hundreds of entries from ASEAN member countries. Vietnam alone submitted 45 technological products from government agencies, enterprises, and research teams across the six main categories—marking its highest number of entries in the past three editions.
The three Vietnamese entries advanced to the finals are the Elcom Intelligent Transport System (ITS), the MedCAT Idus platform for reading, classifying, and structuring documents, and the VCB Tablet paperless transaction counter platform.
This is also the first time a Vietnamese technological solution has reached the regional finals in the public sector category, represented by Elcom ITS. This category is considered the most demanding, requiring entries to feature core technologies, demonstrate implementation effectiveness in reality, show the capability of integrating with existing systems, and contribute directly to public administration.
As scheduled, the final round and award ceremony are scheduled to be held as part of the ADGMIN-6 in January 2026.
The ADGMIN-6 will be officially opened on January 15. This meeting represents ASEAN’s highest-level platform for cooperation in digital technology.
Themed “Adaptive ASEAN: From Connectivity to Connected Intelligence”, the event reflects ASEAN’s new direction in digital cooperation as the region has achieved significant progress in building connected infrastructure, and is now moving to utilise data and develop AI, emerging technologies, and intelligent systems./.
