The Vietnam Venture Summit 2019, the first of its kind, will take place in Hanoi on June 10, providing a dialogue platform between the Vietnamese government and major international venture funds.

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Hosted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment, the event will also see the presence of representatives of domestic funds, said Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung. 

Dung said there were over 3,000 start-ups in Vietnam last year, ranking third in Asia. Up to 67 percent of Vietnamese population use the Internet, 57 percent actively use social media and 73 percent have mobile phones. 

Vinnie Lauria, a representative of Golden Gate Ventures, which coordinates with the Ministry of Planning and Investment to organise the event, said representatives of over 100 venture funds will travel to Vietnam to seek opportunities. Major deals with Vietnamese start-ups will be also announced, he said.

The summit will introduce Vietnam’s business environment, start-up ecological system and the National Innovation Centre to participants, as well as acquire investors’ suggestions regarding the government’s support and others. 

Discussions will focus on support and demand in financial technology, artificial intelligence and e-commerce, and experience in expanding business operations globally. 

Dung expressed his wish that the summit will be held annually to promote innovation and encourage domestic firms to form venture funds.

An annual report by the Topica Founder Institute said domestic start-ups received as many as 889 million USD in 92 deals last year, tripling that in 2017.