Speakers join the ‘Startup incubation and innovation in data technology’ discussion at the Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation Forum held in Hung Yen Province, northern Vietnam, October 29, 2025. Photo: Hoang Anh
According to Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, chief of staff at the National Data Association, incubators play a pivotal role in supporting early-stage data startups.
“Research shows startups participating in incubator programs reduce their failure rate by up to 75 percent.
“These programs connect founders with mentors, train them in fundraising and product development, and help bring innovations to market,” she said at the Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation Forum 2025, jointly organized by the provincial administration and the National Data Association.
Dung added that the incubator model, with its global mentorship network and accelerator programs, accelerates product commercialization and reduces entrepreneurial risk.
This model is well-suited for Vietnam’s digital economy and AI-driven innovation strategy.
“Unicorns are not born from ambition alone but from incubation programs that address real national challenges,” she stressed, citing India’s experience in nurturing seven unicorns in its data industry over the past 15 years by requiring startups to tackle specific national problems.
Nguyen Thi Ngoc Dung, chief of staff at Vietnam’s National Data Association. Photo: Hoang Anh
Luong Cong Danh, head of technology incubation at the National Data Association and a Vietnamese tech expert based in the U.S., said Vietnam currently has advantages for rapid growth over the next decade.
These advantages include a level playing field in AI as global technologies converge; the Politburo’s Resolution 57 on breakthroughs in science, technology, innovation, and national digital transformation that will enable long-term innovation investment; and Vietnamese talent trained abroad in AI and cloud technologies, ready to drive the country’s digital transformation.
From a local perspective, Nguyen Xuan Hai, deputy director of the provincial Department of Science and Technology, said the province plans to establish supportive policies for startup incubators.
In the first phase, the province will build foundational programs and coordinate with local universities for startup training.
In the second phase, the province will design investment policies and create a provincial startup fund, including financial support for incubators, he said.
Hung Yen’s innovation ecosystem plan for the 2025-30 period, with a vision toward 2045, aims to connect local startup networks with national and global innovation systems.
The plan emphasizes providing startups with intellectual property support, a healthy competitive environment, and access to innovation infrastructure to sustain long-term growth.
