The fund will have its capital revised up to VND100 billion (US$4.48 million) by 2020.
It was co-founded by State-owned Ho Chi Minh City Finance and Investment Company (HFIC) and Saigon – Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) to support the youth, in not only the city, but also nationwide starting their own businesses. There is no limit to what a startup company should do, said Truong Ly Hoang Phi, Director of the Business Startup Support Centre – the fund’s operator. However, the fund would prefer those with technology-based business, for examples, those developing mobile and web-based applications or those applying advanced technology in agriculture, she added. Phi noted that preferential policies would be designed for those working in or supporting the city’s key industries and hi-tech startup businesses. According to President of the Vietnam Youth Federation in HCM City Pham Hong Son, it is the city’s first startup fund for youth that promotes the creation of intellectual and innovation-based products.
