The “vitality” of the digital economy

Con Market—one of Da Nang’s most popular tourist markets—has recently been “digitised” into a multidimensional model. The atmosphere of digital transformation is evident in every aspect of business: from loudspeakers announcing money transfers to customers scrolling on their phones to find food recommendations via online review videos. Notably, stall owners simultaneously serving in-person customers while livestreaming to online buyers has become commonplace.

Dao Tho, a vendor at Con Market, happily shared: “This is now a 4.0 market as many vendors sell more dried squid and beef jerky online than they do at their stalls.” This is just one of the vivid examples showing how digital transformation is reshaping Da Nang’s economic sectors.

Recognising early signs of digital transformation breakthroughs, Da Nang has, in recent years, oriented its economic sectors toward deep integration with digital technologies, identifying it as both an immediate and long-term strategic mission. According to Vice Chairman of Da Nang City People’s Committee Ho Quang Buu, an analysis of the 2020–2024 period shows that the services sector leads in digitalisation contribution, forming a key pillar with the digital economy accounting for 8.96% of GRDP in 2024. Within this sector, the digital economy spans key industries such as tourism, commerce, and digital platform–based services.

To achieve these encouraging results, Da Nang has simultaneously modernised institutions and legal frameworks to pioneer digital transformation, committed to building a digital government and establishing modern management systems. At the same time, the city has strengthened digital capacity within the community, creating “digital citizens” through training programmes for businesses and household vendors on online commerce and livestream sales at traditional markets.

Most importantly, the city has invested in information technology infrastructure and focused on developing digital data as a foundation for a data-driven digital economy. “The achievements in Da Nang’s digital economy result from the extensive application of digital technologies across services, commerce, industry, and agriculture,” Vice Chairman Buu noted.

In reality, the spread of Da Nang’s digital economy in recent years has been significantly driven by digital technology enterprises. Early on, the city’s IT workforce gradually accumulated expertise to build autonomous capabilities, paving the way for Make in Da Nang platforms and applications such as the ePort Digital Port Platform and Irtech’s RPA-based automation solutions.

To date, the city hosts about 2.3 digital technology enterprises per 1,000 inhabitants, three times the national average. Its digital workforce accounted for 8% of total employment in 2023, also about three times higher than the national rate. “These results form a crucial foundation for Da Nang to realise its vision of building a new Da Nang City, where the digital economy targets contributing 35–40% of GRDP by 2030,” Vice Chairman Buu affirmed.

Expanding market pathways

AI, blockchain and semiconductor chips are reshaping markets, and digital technology firms remain a key driver of digital-economy growth. Action Plan No.21-KH/TU issued by the Standing Board of the Da Nang City Party Committee to implement the Politburo’s Resolution No.57-NQ/TW sets the target of raising the digital economy to at least 35–40% of GRDP by 2030, aiming for 60% by 2045 - a substantial leap from 23.18% in 2024. Vice Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee Ho Quang Buu stated: “To realise this vision, the city needs a composite ‘formula’ grounded in both core operational foundations and breakthrough institutional and infrastructure strategies.”

In practice, the digital economy goes hand in hand with new concepts and mindsets, largely driven by innovation activities within digital-technology enterprises striving to create breakthrough products and solutions. In Da Nang, most digital-technology firms are innovative start-ups or small and medium-sized enterprises, all of which depend on favourable policy conditions to grow. Yet despite “path-clearing” policies, many digital-technology companies still face significant obstacles and challenges.

According to Nguyen Trong Tuan, Director of Acronics Solutions Co., Ltd., innovation is vital in the digital economy for generating new and added values. However, he stressed that innovation today cannot be the isolated effort of a single business or ministry; rather, it requires coordinated inter-ministerial collaboration to implement and commercialise products, especially innovation-driven projects by science and technology enterprises.

“We have strong preferential policies to nurture science-and-technology start-ups and to develop digital solutions for state management and society. But the absence of clear guidelines, standards and implementation responsibilities means that enterprises and organisations struggle to absorb innovation outcomes, and products have difficulty entering the market,” he said.

Pham Kim Son, Chairman of the Da Nang Software Business Association, said that accurate assessment requires quantitative indicators such as the proportion of start-ups that successfully bring products to market; how many firms can survive after five years; and how many digital-transformation products, services and solutions are actually deployed.

“Current policies for developing digital-technology firms are highly progressive. However, why have they not fully taken root in practice? Many firms providing solutions for local authorities are struggling to stay afloat. Implementation has always been the core issue, so policies must be made concrete and responsibilities clearly defined to ensure businesses can truly benefit,” he said.

Vice Chairman Ho Quang Buu noted that the participation of capable digital-technology enterprises in solving technological challenges within the city’s political system is a strategic task set out in Action Plan No.21-KH/TU. However, to execute this effectively - particularly in addressing current barriers relating to procurement procedures, implementation experience and technical requirements - the city must develop clear, transparent and equitable mechanisms and policies.

“Da Nang has been developing special mechanisms and policies to create greater opportunities for digital-technology enterprises, especially innovative start-ups and local science-and-technology firms,” he added.