Vietnam Focuses on Strengthening Innovation Ecosystem: Bridging Research to Market is Key

Vietnam needs to simultaneously perfect its institutional framework, infrastructure, and linkage mechanisms among stakeholders for the sustainable development of its creative startup ecosystem. This is the key to shortening the distance from research to market, promoting innovation, and enhancing national competitiveness. To achieve this goal, Vietnam is pursuing a multi-faceted approach. Specifically, it requires the development of legal systems that support innovation, infrastructure investment to promote research and development, and the establishment of effective linkages among diverse stakeholders such as universities, research institutes, businesses, and government agencies. This is expected to enable new ideas and technologies to be quickly introduced to the market, serving as a driving force for economic growth. In recent years, Vietnam has achieved rapid economic growth, with its international profile rising, particularly in the manufacturing and IT sectors. However, for sustained growth, it is essential to build an ecosystem that generates innovation, moving beyond its role as merely a production base. This aligns with the direction of economic policy under its one-party system, and is seen as part of an effort to upgrade industries led by the state. Furthermore, in its relationship with China, while maintaining economic dependence, Vietnam is seeking to strengthen its position in the supply chain by shifting towards technological innovation and high-value-added industries. Strengthening the innovation ecosystem can be seen as expanding Vietnam's strategic options in this geopolitical context as well. In the past, challenges such as research outcomes not leading to commercialization or the lack of products and services with international competitiveness have been pointed out. The current initiative represents a significant step towards overcoming these challenges and transforming Vietnam from a mere 'world's factory' into an innovation hub in Asia.