Hanoi, 29 of April 2016. – the scale-up funding (EUR 100,000) is granted to 5 high-growth startups and 2 ecosystem developers; Collaboration and Seed grant to 10 new ecosystem development projects.
In its effort to continue supporting the development of the Vietnamese innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem as well as providing additional support for outstanding projects in IPP2’s existing portfolio, IPP2 officially announces the results of two Grant Calls in 2016, including (1) Phase 2 Grant for already supported innovation projects, and (2) the 2016 New Grant for Startup Ecosystem Developers. The 2 Grants demonstrate IPP2’s commitment to further support and strengthen innovative startups as well as improve services for growth potential startups in Vietnam.
After an exhaustive evaluation round of the 22 projects supported by IPP2 since 2015 and submitted proposals for the Phase 2 Grant, IPP2 decided to provide a larger grant of up to a maximum of EUR 100,000 for 5 outstanding company projects and 2 ecosystem development projects. Mr. Lauri Laakso, IPP2’s Chief Technical Advisor, commented on the result: “An evaluation board consisting of an independent panel of international and local experts has made the consensus that those selected company projects have demonstrated effective business model, team cohesiveness, a proven potential for fast growth and market expansion as well as adoption of an international business mindset. In addition, we also selected two ecosystem development projects with sufficient performance during nine months, strong commitment from a dedicated team and a highly scalable model for greater impact for further support”. Unselected projects in IPP2’s existing portfolio can still receive further support from the program such as participating in workshops and network access.
Regarding the New Grant Call in 2016 for Ecosystem Developers, IPP2 received 49 proposals out of which 39 projects were chosen for full evaluation after the minimum requirements check, and finally 10 outstanding projects were selected for the new maximum EUR 50,000 Grant this year. The 10 consortiums have successfully proven their vision, their capability and feasibility to address and meet the needs startups in Vietnam. These projects introduce new concepts, new elements or new initiatives contributing to the development of Vietnam’s startup ecosystems and the economy nationally or locally.
“During 2015, IPP2 focused on capacity building and promotion of international cooperation for the innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. In 2016, we will continue to strengthen high growth innovative companies with our scaling up funding as well as provide more support to facilitate educational organisations and ecosystem developers to improve the structures and services for startups in Vietnam on local and national levels, and especially enhancing the international connections of startup supporters”, Ms. Tran Thi Thu Huong, Program Director shared.
On this occasion, IPP2 interviewed 2 representatives of granted projects about their projects and strategy for utilizing IPP2’s support. Hamona, a company with the ambition to build a strong Vietnamese agriculture brand with its ready-to-drink coconut product, received a phase 2 grant from IPP2. Larry Nguyen, the founder, emphasised the importance of training and coaching from IPP2’s IAP program which helped to develop the company’s vision and team capacity during 2015. “With the additional grant from IPP2, we will focus on building capacity for human resource needs, expand marketing activities and optimise operations processes to meet the increasing demand in foreign markets for our product”.
Sharing about the unconventional features of their Acceleration Program – Catapult, selected for New Grant for ecosystem developers, Pietro Karjalainen, CEO of Finnsea said: “At the opposite of traditional acceleration, we are willing to offer tailor-made programs to enhance the chances of the accelerated companies. Each startup has their own needs and targets. We will provide the unique solution to merge global investment practice with Vietnamese business culture”.
The 5 innovation company projects to receive Phase 2 Grant are listed as below:
| Project Name | Applicants | Project Descriptions |
| Beeketing – Marketing platform for e-commerce sites | Brodev Vietnam jsc. | Online marketing platform to help small online shop owners to setup marketing system to sell like Amazon. |
| ABIVIN – Big data analytics and optimisation | Abivin JSC | Data analytics ICT solution for corporations and governmental organizations to make sense of their big data. |
| ezCloud – Total Hotel Management System | ezCloud Global Technology JSC | Hotel management system for 1-3 star hotels and plugin booking engine. |
| Hamona-The Premium Coconut | Hamona Vietnam Co., Ltd | Small coconut to be sold internationally as a ready-to-drink natural product. |
| Smart Education Now (SEN) Platform Development and Commercialization | International Smart Education Technologies Co. LTD |
The assessment-driven personalized learning platform
|
The 2 innovation system projects to receive Phase 2 Grant are listed as below:
| Project Name | Applicants | Project Descriptions |
| Development of Da Nang Entrepreneurship and Innovation Ecosystem | University of Danang, ICT | City wide holistic cooperation to boost entrepreneurship and innovation, developing two incubators |
| Da Nang Institute for Socio Economic Development (DISED) | ||
| Danang Entrepreneurship Support Company – DNES | ||
| Fablabs Vietnam | Conech Co. Ltd | Fabrication laboratories network in Vietnam |
| Nobo Co. Ltd. | ||
| University of Science & Technology of Hanoi | ||
| VENTI Co. Ltd. |
The 10 ecosystem development projects to receive 2016 New Grant are listed as below:
| Project Name | Applicants | Project Descriptions |
| Develop a Network of Accredited Angel Investors to Startups in Vietnam (iAngel) | Capella Vietnam Joint Stock Company Hanoi Young Entrepreneurs Association The Open House Joint Stock Company |
Form a community of over 80 angel investors in different fields, give them training and connect them with trained and qualified startups. |
| SMEs Incubation Mekong – Vietnam –Asean (SIMVA) | Center of Technology Business Incubator – Can Tho University (CTBI -CTU) ATNM Co, Ltd Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Development Project in SocTrang province (funded by Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development of Canada) |
SMEs Incubation Mekong – Vietnam –Asean (SIMVA) |
| Mekong Delta & Cantho‟s startup and entrepreneurial innovation network | ETM Partners | Mekong Delta & Cantho’s startup and entrepreneurial innovation network |
| Mekongprosales Greenland | ||
| Can Tho Business Association | ||
| STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS AND INNOVATION SYSTEM IN THUA THIEN HUE | COOPERATION PLUS INVESTMENT AND CONSUTANCY JSC (Co PLUS) | STARTUP ECOSYSTEMS AND INNOVATION SYSTEM IN THUA THIEN HUE |
| HUE INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE | ||
| DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND INVESTMENT OF THUA THIEN HUE PROVINCE | ||
| Incubator for startups in Innovative Mechanical Engineering industry | Vietnam Chamber of Commerce & Industry – Ho Chi Minh City Branch (VCCI-HCM) The Alliance of Innovative Mechanical EngineeringEnterprises Hoa Sen College |
Establish Incubator for startups in Innovative Mechanical Engineering industry in order to enhance the practical skills of startups in mechanical industry and other related industries. |
| Building a startup launch platform to support the startup ecosystem in Vietnam | Hoa Lac Hi-tech Service Centre | Building a startup launch platform to support the startup ecosystem in Vietnam |
| Vietnam – Japan University, Vietnam National University | ||
| Vietnam Technology Investment and Environment Solutions Joint Stock Company (VNSE) | ||
| Social Innovation Incubation Platform (SIIP) | Center for Social Initiatives Promotion | Online incubation platform for every social innovator want to find sufficient support to grow his or her initiatives. |
| Habataku Inc. | ||
| Hanoi University | ||
| Enhancing capacity of Vietnam’s Startup Ecosystem | Institute of Information Technology for Business – Vietnam Chamber of Commerce Industry ( ITB- VCCI) Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) Vietnam International Arbitration Centre (VIAC) |
Developing a holistic set of processes and activities to develop the national startup ecosystem from multiple perspectives |
| Catapult Accelerator | Dai Khanh Export – Import Co. Ltd (FINSEA) | Accelerator program to prepare future batches of Vietnamese startups for international launch with tailormade support coupled with parallel activities in investors’ attraction, education and qualification. |
| WEDIDIT SOLUTIONS Co. Ltd. | ||
| IMAS | ||
| Proself | ||
| HATCH! Startup Incubator | Alpine Co. Ltd. (HATCH) | Incubation program offers a hybrid incubating model with initial seed-fund and in-house experts to shape the startup businesses. |
| Khoi nghiep tre Vietnam Co. Ltd | ||
| Augmented Ventures | ||
| LK Servico |
About IPP2
IPP2 is an Official Development Assistance (ODA) program financed jointly by the Governments of Vietnam and Finland. The competent authorities of IPP2 are the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), representing the Government of Vietnam and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA) representing the Government of Finland. The rPogram is in its second phase running through 2014-2018 with 11m EUR budget. As an initiator, facilitator and connector the program aims to strengthen the Vietnamese innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem. It fosters new activities, connections and collaboration platforms regionally, nationally and internationally.
More information about IPP2 and Grants please contact
Ms. Vu Thi Hao
Tel: 04.39393982/ext. 246
Email: info@ipp.vn
Website: www.ipp.vn
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ippfivn