According to expert assessment, Binh Duong has many potential and advantages to develop industry and services. In the past 20 years, owing to creative ways, Binh Duong has made breakthroughs and became a bright spot for economic development of the country. In parallel with attracting foreign investment, provincial leaders also paid much attention to building a business environment and start-up eco-system, encouraging small and medium enterprises to develop.
Students participate in a startup exchange program for Binh Duong youth - students.
Opportunities for young people to start a career
In September 2017, the provincial People's Committee issued a policy to support the national innovative startup ecosystem until 2025 in the province in 2017-2020. Accordingly, in the period 2017-2018, the province will step by step improve the mechanism and legal corridors supporting innovative start-up activities and improve the capacity of the participants in start-up; set up a community innovation center and support innovative startups; support the development of 30 innovative startup projects.
Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Director of Department of Science and Technology, said that the department had a fund for scientific and technological development, including funding scientific research of students. However, the scientific and technological activities of Vietnam in general and Binh Duong province in particular, and the commercialization of scientific and technological products are weak. The department has noticed this problem. Therefore, in 2018, Department of Science and Technology will connect research groups, schools and enterprises, connecting start-up groups with businesses. Currently, Binh Duong is implementing a Triple Helix model of smart city to create opportunities for the commercialization of scientific and technological products.
At the forum themed "Business startup in 2017" recently hosted by Business Forum Newspaper and Thu Dau Mot University, journalist Pham Hung, Head of National Startup Program, Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) - Ho Chi Minh City Branch, said that in order to achieve the target that Binh Duong was one of the leading localities in the start-up, was becoming the start-up center of the country, Thu Dau Mot University needed to accelerate its theoretical training with practical application so that graduates could quickly apply their knowledge into work, production, and business. Then, many excellent start-up businesses of the province would appear.
There is no general formula for starting a business
Sharing his experience, Dang Duc Thanh, General Director of Green Herb Investment Joint Stock Company (Ben Tre) said, to start a successful business, it was important to build a feasible business project, in which there were two essential things, the first was innovation. For example, we want our business project to have something different from our peers, that is, in our most important business plan, we have to have innovative ideas; Secondly, if you want to build a feasible business plan, you need to have the word "business" in your business. If we do business in an "outdated" industry, it will be extremely difficult, because there is not much market demand but too many industries are already in the industry. This leads to inventory, capital inflows in products and material facilities.
According to Mr. Thanh, the most important issue is the feasible business plan must be in the field of their favorite and must timely meet consumer needs, meet real demands.
Ha Huy Cuong, Deputy General Director of An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank, pointed out that 95% of the domestic enterprises now were small and medium enterprises. Averagely, 70% of every 100,000 new startups will “die” in the first year. The next year, another 10% will fall down and the third year only 10% will remain operations.
Ha Huy Cuong shared, young people needed to have the passion, be willing to invest, do not follow the trend. The Government’s goal by 2020 is that the country would have 1 million enterprises. Of these, just 0.5% of creative startups would be a success. An Binh Bank has a credit package to support startups worth up to VND3 billion. However, not all projects have access to this package, banks select only feasible projects. Mr. Cuong said, "If the startup ideas is serious and potential, young people do not have to find banks as investors, but startup funds will find you. It's the most efficient way to raise funds. "
Reported by Tieu My – Translated by Ngoc Huynh
