US technology giant Microsoft and the Vietnam Silicon Valley project have entered a partnership to support a sustainable startup ecosystem in Vietnam.
The cooperation will accelerate the necessary support as well as tech products and services for the startup ecosystem in Vietnam, helping them increase business capacity through the application of technology based on Microsoft’s comprehensive platform, Microsoft Vietnam said in a statement.
Microsoft will work along with the VSV in its training programmes, providing specialists and entrepreneurship consultants. The duo will also shortlist the potential projects/teams to incubate and support in terms of technology, finance and commercialization.
VSV will play the key role in acceleration and venture funding, while Microsoft will act as a technology advisor and enabler of commercialization, according to the statement.
“Through the partnership with leading global tech groups, typically Microsoft, our training and business development programmes will ensure that practical benefits will be created to help Vietnamese startups strengthen their capacity,” said Thach Le Anh, principal at VSV.
Microsoft said it hoped to duplicate this support across the country.
Hanoi-based VSV was initiated by the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology in 2013 to commercialise technology, by bringing best practices from the Silicon Valley to train, accelerate and invest in Vietnamese startup companies.
VSV Accelerator, launched in 2014, has incubated over 40 startups and enabled venture capital funding in deals including food exploration app Lozi, SME utilities platform TechElite, P2P lending startup LoanVi and video-based education site Schoolbus.
Through four-month boot camps, VSV invests at least $10,000 in each startup typically for a 10 per cent stake.
Meanwhile, Microsoft has fulfilled a lot of activities to help boost entrepreneurship throughout its 20-year presence in Vietnam. Last year, it joined Singapore venture capital fund Expara and a Vietnamese firm, Customer Loyalty and Acquisition Services, to launched the CLAS Expara Startup Accelerator. The accelerator can invest up to $500,000 in its graduates, who are also entitled to enjoy a lot of other perks.
It also brought Tech Femme, an event for women entrepreneurs, to the country two years ago.
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