The business start-up programmes for students, organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and Business Forum Newspaper, were launched in 2003 with the enormous meaning of arousing the spirit for business start-up among young Vietnamese people in general and for students in particular, thus supporting and building the young business force for Vietnam. Entering the 10th year, the programme has attracted tens of thousands of young people with nearly 2,000 business start-up projects and ideas. Many have grown to become successful businesspeople, starting from the programme.
To honour and uphold the movement of business start-up for young people and students, the Business Start-up Festival 2013 - the most important event of the annual Business Start-up Programme - was held in Hanoi.
The programme includes the awarding ceremony in honour of 11 best business start-up projects in the 2012 contest, the launching ceremony of the Business Start-up Programme 2013, and side events like the exhibition of projects made by business start-up projects and investment offers for most feasible start-up projects. The event catches the participation of central and local officials, businesses, schools and especially more than 700 young students.
Delivering a speech at the Business Start-up Festival 2013, Dr Vu Tien Loc, VCCI President and Head of Steering Board for Business Start-up Programme, said that Vietnam is developing a next generation of entrepreneurs with business administration knowledge, burning aspirations, far-sighted visions, rich enthusiasm to build the foundation for our sustainable economic development. The National Programme of Business Start-up Support, deployed by VCCI, aims to build a powerful force of Vietnamese businesspeople to create socioeconomic breakthroughs for the nation and create high-quality human resources, global citizens.
2013 is also initial years of implementing the Resolution 09-NQ/TW of the Politburo on building and promoting the roles of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the period of accelerating industrialisation, modernisation and international integration. For the first time, a Politburo Resolution on building and promoting the role of enterprises and entrepreneurs expresses the respect and recognition to their great contributions to the country’s social and economic development.
"VCCI, as a representative of the business community and entrepreneurs, will always accompany young people and students on the path of building and developing the national economy. I do hope that each of you will foster their desire to enrich yourselves and enrich the country. Starting from today, each of you will kindle the fire of dream of becoming a talented entrepreneur who steers your company beyond the country's border to become global business, "said Dr Loc.
He added that although the business environment was very difficult, more than 70,000 new businesses were established in 2012. This number is really significant to social security. "We hope that businesspeople born in the 1980s and 1990s will create breakthroughs for the national economy,” he noted.
Mr Pham Gia Tuc, Head of the Organizing Board of Business Start-up Programme, said the construction of a strong entrepreneur force in both quantity and quality is the responsibility of the entire Party, the entire political system, and every enterprise and entrepreneur. VCCI is assigned to represent the business community, business associations, employers and entrepreneurs in Vietnam, not only functioning as a representative, support and promotion organisation for businesspeople and as an advisor to the Party and the State but also, through the Business Start-up Programme, serving as a cradle of searching, incubating and supporting next entrepreneurs with sufficient virtue and talent to run sustainable businesses in the future.
In 2012, the Business Start-up Programme consisted of a series of supporting activities like exchange and sharing of start-up experience and training of business start-up. The business start-up contest and many activities were organised on national scale. The programme aims to enhance the possibility of realising business projects by developing business start-up networks, promoting joint training, consultancy, and investment, etc. to build a force of businesspeople rich in knowledge, skills and nationalistic spirit in accordance with the spirit of the Politburo Resolution 09-NQ/TW on building and promoting the roles of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the period of accelerating industrialisation, modernisation and international integration. Business start-up exchange programmes were organised in Hanoi, Da Nang, Nam Dinh, Ho Chi Minh City, Vung Tau, Can Tho and other localities in order to create the opportunity for young people and students to exchange and share knowledge and experience in starting up a business with successful entrepreneurs. These events attracted thousands of young people to attend. Also in 2012, the programme organised 20 business start-up training classes for young people and students across the country.
From 93 projects by more than 341 authors nationwide, the organisation committee picked out 11 best projects and awarded at Business Start-up Festival 2013. Remarkably, in addition to the programme’s awards, the first prize winner was presented a set of products of Kangaroo Group worth VND250 million.
In the final round, the first prize went to Gia Dinh Viet General Trade and Service Joint Stock Company (Cooking Pro) by authors, Vu Minh Trang and Vu Tung Linh.
Besides, Bac A Bank decided to fund VND100 million for a project applying high-tech to agriculture and rural development registered for competition in the Business Start-up Contest 2013. Thai Huong, CEO of Bac A Bank, the awarding aims to encourage the formation of a sustainable-developing business and contributes to agricultural and rural modernisation.
Quynh Anh
Vietnamese
