The Chicken Farm project won first prize in the 2016 Startup Competition

Within the framework of the 2017 Startup Festival: “Investment Day”, on the afternoon of January 6 in Hanoi, the Business Forum Newspaper organized the award ceremony of the 2016 Startup Competition. Accordingly, the project of the Baby Chicken Farm won the First Prize of the 2016 Startup Competition.

Attending the program on behalf of management agencies, associations and enterprises were Dr. Vu Tien Loc - Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); Dr. Pham Tat Thang - Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children; Mr. Tran Van Tung - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology; Dr. Hoang Xuan Hoa - Director of the General Economic Department of the Central Economic Committee; Mr. Nguyen Quoc Toan - Deputy Chief of Office of the Central Economic Committee; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Hoai - Deputy Director of the Propaganda Department (Central Propaganda Department); Professor Nguyen Manh Quan - Director of the Institute for Enterprise Research and Development; Hero of Labor Huynh Kim Lap - Chairman of Thien Tan Group; Mr. Truong Hoang Hai - General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Supporting Industries; Mr. Mac Quoc Anh - General Secretary of the Hanoi Association of Small and Medium Enterprises; Mr. Nguyen Van My - Senior Advisor of the Startup Program.

Program Overview

On the side of the Leaders of Universities and Colleges, there were Mr. Le Dac Son - Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dai Nam University; Mr. Dinh Van Phong - Vice Principal of the University of Science and Technology; Ms. Trinh Thi Thu Ha - Vice Principal of Hanoi College of Commerce and Tourism; and representatives of the Board of Directors of universities: National Economics University, Thai Nguyen University, Thai Nguyen University of Agriculture and Forestry, University of Science and Technology, Academy of Agriculture, Hanoi Open University, Banking Academy, University of Social Sciences; Representatives of the Provincial Youth Unions: Lang Son, Bac Giang, Yen Bai, Vinh Phuc, Bac Ninh, Nam Dinh, Thai Binh, Ha Nam.

On the side of the Organizing Committee, there were Journalist Pham Ngoc Tuan - Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Newspaper; Journalist Lai Hop Nhan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Newspaper.

The Start-up Program, implemented by the Business Forum Newspaper for the past 14 years under the direction of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is proud to have aroused the entrepreneurial spirit among young people and students, forming a network of start-up communities across provinces, cities, universities and colleges nationwide. The program has contributed to serving the community and society, solving problems related to people and sustainable development.

After 14 years of implementation, the Startup program has had many projects put into practice and succeeded, such as: vexere project (vexere.com), smiling Mushroom project - DHA Joint Stock Company and associates, ROSA Vocational Training project... Many authors of startup projects have become managers, successfully running their own businesses.

In his opening speech, Dr. Vu Tien Loc - Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) said , “I am currently holding the 2015 Vietnam Entrepreneurship Index Survey Report. I believe that awareness of business opportunities and business confidence have increased sharply in recent years. Nearly 76% of those surveyed believe that becoming successful entrepreneurs is increasingly valued by society. 74% of adults dream of becoming entrepreneurs. And 1 in 5 adults in Vietnam intend to start a business within the next 3 years! These numbers show that the entrepreneurial spirit of Vietnamese people is very high and in terms of basic entrepreneurial indicators, Vietnam ranks in the top 20 out of 60 economies participating in the survey.”

Dr. Vu Tien Loc – Chairman of Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI)

“However, in terms of the number of businesses per capita in our country, there is only 1 business for every 150 people – this number is far lower than that of advanced economies in the region and the world, in many countries there is only 1 business for every 10-15-20 people. Therefore, to turn the entrepreneurial potential of Vietnamese people into reality for the majority of a strong business community is an urgent requirement” – Dr. Loc said – “Startups and Creative Startups are becoming a popular choice among young people”.

The Chairman of VCCI added that 14 years ago, also at this Hall, a small but not small event took place - the Startup Competition for students of universities, directed by VCCI and implemented by the Business Forum Newspaper, took place in Vietnam. Now, Startups, startup competitions and startup launches... have become quite frequent events everywhere... But that event, that is unique. The startup fire was ignited by VCCI... "We are proud that the efforts to ignite the fire from VCCI over the years have become one of the convincing practices for the Central and Government to officially launch the National Startup Movement" - Dr. Vu Tien Loc said.

“What we are particularly pleased about is that in recent years, among the Startup Projects of students, agricultural/rural projects have always been the projects that have won the highest awards. That shows that the young people's perception of a potential startup field, rural agriculture, is very consistent with the priority development orientation of the Party and the State. Agriculture, especially agriculture, is not only high-tech but also organic agriculture, especially ecological agriculture, symbiotic with tourism, and will be a field with the most potential for development in Vietnam in the near future,” emphasized Dr. Vu Tien Loc.

Dr. Vu Tien Loc also emphasized: “I really hope that the teams participating in the competition will not only stop at the project but also realize these projects in reality... VCCI will continue to accompany students and will continue to be a support and incubator for the aspirations of the young generation. I also hope that ministries, branches and businesses will continue to accompany and support you on your journey to start a business.”

At the program, the Organizing Committee awarded the 2016 Startup Competition to outstanding projects.

Accordingly, the first prize went to the project "Chicken Farm" by the group of authors Bui Van Cuong, Vi Ngoc Ha, Le Thi Thu Ha from Dai Nam University.

Dr. Vu Tien Loc - Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI); Dr. Pham Tat Thang - Deputy Chairman of the National Assembly's Committee on Culture, Education, Youth and Children; Mr. Tran Van Tung - Deputy Minister of Science and Technology awarded the First Prize to the authors.

02 Second prizes went to the projects: RAMA Company Limited Project - production and trading of Sprouts by the group of authors Nguyen Viet Ha, Tran Kim Phuong, Vu Xuan Tuan - Thai Binh University; M4S Clean Sea Fish Production and Trading Project by the group of authors Nguyen Minh Tan, Nguyen Duc Hieu, Tran Thanh Phuong Quynh, Tran Anh Phap from Ho Chi Minh City University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City University of Foreign Trade and Ho Chi Minh City Banking University.

Mr. Nguyen Van My - Senior Advisor of the Startup program awarded the Second Prize to the authors.

Labor Hero Huynh Kim Lap - Chairman of Thien Tan Group and Journalist Pham Ngoc Tuan - Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Newspaper awarded the Second Prize to the authors.

Third Prize went to the following projects: Project on production and distribution of hanging garden systems to serve the needs of clean vegetables and ornamental plants at home by the group of authors Nguyen Van Quy, Le Thi Thu Thao, Nguyen Thi Hang, Le Tri Tinh from Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry; Tutor Link project by the group of authors Pham Minh Hoai, Pham Thi Ngoc, Tran Hong Ngoc, Tran Thi Ngoc from the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi; Redu project by the group of authors Nguyen Thi Minh Sang, Vu Bich Ngoc, Nguyen Hai Son from the University of Economics - Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

Mr. Dam Quang Thang - Director of Agricare Vietnam Co., Ltd.; Mr. Dang Duc Thanh - General Director of Green Herbs Investment Joint Stock Company awarded the Third Prize.

During the program, Dien Dan Newspaper launched the Startup Acceleration Ecosystem to support startups in the 2017-2018 period for young people starting businesses; and launched the 2017 Startup Program.

Launching the Startup Accelerator Ecosystem

Launching Ceremony of the 2017 Startup Program

At the program, Mr. Vu Van Ban - Deputy Marketing Director of Arena Multimedia University of Fine Arts awarded scholarships of 53,000,000 VND to 01 First prize; 26,500,000 VND to 02 Second prizes and 13,500,000 VND to 03 Third prizes. PTI Business School also sponsored 100,000,000 VND in scholarships for 6 winning projects.

Journalist Pham Ngoc Tuan - Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Newspaper; Journalist Lai Hop Nhan - Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Business Forum Newspaper presented flowers to sponsors.

Many valuable scholarships were awarded to the winning authors.