HÀ NỘI — The National Startup Project Development Programme, also known as Startup Festival 2025, was held in Hà Nội on Saturday, bringing together policymakers, entrepreneurs, investors, universities and innovation support organisations to honour outstanding startup projects of the year.

The event was co-organised by Business Forum magazine under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the National Startup and Innovation Advisory Council.

At the awards ceremony, the first prize went to BioWraps, a project regenerating orange peels into sustainable bio-packaging solutions.

Two second prizes were awarded to BIOQ, which produces vegan cosmetics from dragon fruit peels, and Sammax herbal tea.

Three third prizes were presented to Lang Muop (Loofah Village), CheckNow – a real-time management optimisation solution – and a project producing and processing edible and medicinal mushrooms under solar panel roofs.

Startup Festival 2025 marked the largest annual event summarising a year-long national startup support programme. Key activities included policy dialogues on mechanisms to promote venture capital funds, the announcement and awarding of outstanding projects in 2025, and the launch of the National Startup Programme 2026.

The festival also served as a platform connecting startups with entrepreneurs, investors, mentors and coaches. International partners such as GITEX, the Global Entrepreneurship Network (GEN) Indo-Pacific, GEN Singapore and Thailand, along with an Italian innovation partner, participated in the event. Side activities featured startup product exhibitions, networking sessions and meetings with startup support organisations.

This year’s festival highlighted the growing presence of startups from remote and disadvantaged areas. Sơn La Province reached the finals for the first time, while Bắc Ninh secured a place after years of sustained efforts.

Several projects, including Green Choice – specialising in durian-based products – and GreenTech, not only achieved domestic success but also gained international recognition in 2025, winning awards in Singapore and Dubai and securing networking opportunities in Japan.

Vũ Thanh Thắng, AI director of SCS Cyber Security JSC and a judge of the programme, said the top 20 semi-finalist and finalist projects demonstrated strong feasibility. They fell into two main groups – eco-friendly bio-products addressing environmental challenges, and technology-driven projects in health and education with high levels of innovation and social value.

Local products such as Trà Lâm Tà Xùa tea and Lang Muop were also praised for their strong local identity, though some projects still need to further refine their technological components, he noted.

Opening the event, Bùi Trung Nghĩa, vice president of VCCI, said 2025 marked a strong transformation of Việt Nam’s startup ecosystem. Despite global venture capital fluctuations, Việt Nam remained a bright spot in Southeast Asia, ranking third in the region for both deal volume and total investment value, behind Singapore and Indonesia. The country currently has nearly 4,000 innovative startups and two new tech unicorns, reinforcing its ambition to become an innovation-driven startup nation. — VNA/VNS