At the National Policy Forum on International Investment Cooperation for Innovation and Startups held on December 13, Truong Viet Dung, Vice Chairman of Hanoi People’s Committee, announced that the city will officially launch its venture capital fund on December 20. The fund will begin with an initial budget of 600 billion VND (approximately 24 million USD), with plans to allocate up to 2,000 billion VND (around 80 million USD) to venture capital investments in the coming period.
Truong Viet Dung emphasized that the public venture fund is designed to complement, not replace, the market. Its purpose is to share initial investment risks, encouraging public-private co-investment with private-sector leadership. The state’s funding acts as catalytic capital to attract broader social resources, focusing on higher-risk portfolios in areas such as innovation, core technologies, and green technology.
To achieve Hanoi’s 11% growth target for the next year, Truong highlighted the importance of revitalizing traditional growth drivers like public investment, exports, and consumption, while relying heavily on science, technology, innovation, and digital transformation. He pointed to international examples, particularly the U.S., demonstrating that innovation thrives when societies allow experimentation within controlled risk frameworks, with venture capital playing a central role in fostering globally competitive tech companies.
Hanoi plans to collaborate closely with national ministries to implement new mechanisms, improve the local investment environment, enhance innovation infrastructure, and strengthen execution capacity. The city invited domestic and international businesses, funds, and startups to engage, emphasizing long-term partnerships to convert creative ideas into societal value.
At the forum, representatives from investment funds, banks, and international organizations discussed public-private collaboration in venture funding, addressing challenges related to the twin transition and smart urban development. They offered policy recommendations to shape national and local investment strategies for Vietnam’s venture capital market. Experts praised Vietnam’s efforts to build a robust startup ecosystem through institutional reforms and government support for venture capital.
David Lewis of Energy Capital Vietnam expressed optimism, stating that within 20 years, Vietnam would shift focus from attracting capital to governing it effectively. Samuel Ang from the Asian Development Bank proposed prioritizing “gazelles,” high-growth startups that constitute only 1% of companies but generate 40% of new jobs. These startups should be young, operate in hard-tech sectors, and solve scalable infrastructure problems, with banks acting as risk mitigators to attract additional venture capital.
Ang recommended that each locality curate a list of its own gazelle companies, emphasizing sectors such as AI, semiconductors, and green infrastructure. State venture funds could adopt a fund-of-funds model, while startups focus on solving local challenges, such as traffic and waste management in Hanoi.
Green and climate technology were also highlighted as key investment priorities by Juhern Kim of the Global Green Growth Institute, especially in line with Vietnam’s commitment to achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. He suggested using joint fund models, fund-of-funds, and blended finance mechanisms to catalyze and co-finance innovation across the country.
