The Hanoi People's Committee has issued breakthrough mechanisms and policies to support students from vocational education institutions in the capital city to develop startups.  

Students' startup ideas and projects will be supported in their realization, while self-employment after graduation will be encouraged.

The plan aims to equip students with knowledge and skills about entrepreneurship to realize innovative and creative ideas, as well as to devise new solutions that create value for them, their families, the community, and society. 

Vocational education and training institutions in the city will organize career counseling days, job fairs, and job matching sessions for students at least once a year.

Students of vocational education institutions in Hanoi city will be supported with startup projects and self-employment after graduation. Photo: Thuy Truc/The Hanoi Times

To realize the plan, Hanoi has set out three tasks and solutions, including career counseling and startup support. Among them, training programs and thematic refresher courses will be developed to improve the entrepreneurial skills and knowledge of students.

Vocational education and training institutions will support students in employment support and start-up activities, trends in the labor market, and its regulations, among others.

Moreover, the city will facilitate students' participation in contests and fairs introducing scientific and technical achievements, as well as startup projects.

The municipal Department of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs will support the vocational education and training institutions in renewing content, developing appropriate vocational training programs, improving the quality of vocational training, and expanding teacher training for this purpose.

In September 2022, Hanoi decided to form a network to support creative startups and connect with those in the national creative innovation system by 2025. The move is considered one of the practical activities to realize the city's goal of becoming an innovation hub in Vietnam.

Under the project designed for the 2022-2025 period, the city will build and operate at least one startup support space each year, as well as roll out the formation and operation of 20 grassroots spaces. The spaces will boost the connection and signing of cooperation agreements between local startups and foreign investors supporting startup development.

The network would include 5,000-6,000 members who are young people and students in innovation and digital transformation.

Hanoi is currently home to around 280,000 businesses, ranking second nationwide. It has witnessed a sharp rise in the number of enterprises over the past years, but innovative ones make up just a modest proportion, some 0.1%.

Aware of the demand and difficulties in developing startups, the municipal authorities have adopted innovative solutions to support them, such as improving economic policy, setting up an investment support fund, attracting foreign investors, offering tax incentives, and optimizing business procedures.

Hanoi also strives to support 1,500 innovative startup projects by 2025. Each year, the network of creative startup support spaces will organize at least seven specialized consulting sessions or training courses for its members on intellectual property rights; technology commercialization; technology incubation; creativity; lean startup; and two seminars on science and technology, innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation.

By 2025, the capital city expects to support 500 innovative startup projects. Among them, at least 20% will succeed in raising capital from venture funds, while mergers and acquisitions worth some VND500 billion (nearly $22 million) will be carried out.