Business leaders suggest solutions for Vietnamese start-ups to overcome the pandemic

For many startups, Covid-19 is a nightmare when their operations reach a dead end. However, the pandemic also opens up new opportunities for those who know how to seize it. Webinar (online video conference) with the theme "Starting a business during the Covid-19 crisis", an event on the sidelines of the "Viet Solutions 2021" contest, has just been held to find a way for startups in the context of a pandemic.

Speakers attending the event included Mr. Le Ba Tan, Deputy General Director of Viettel Network Corporation (Viettel Networks); Mr. Nguyen Hoang Tung, founder of VVN AI - a startup that won the first prize of Viet Solutions 2019; Mr. Hung Tran, co-founder, and CEO of Got It (a startup from Silicon Valley) and Mr. Tran Quang Hung - Deputy Secretary of Hanoi Youth Union, representative of Vinacapital Ventures. The program coordinator is Mr. Le Quoc Vinh, Chairman and CEO of Le Group of Company.

Các diễn giả tham dự sự kiện gồm ông Lê Bá Tân, Phó tổng giám đốc Tổng công ty Mạng lưới Viettel (Viettel Networks); ông Nguyễn Hoàng Tùng, founder VVN AI (tên đầy đủ Vì Việt Nam AI) - startup từng đạt giải Nhất Viet Solutions 2019; ông Hùng Trần, co-founder và CEO của Got It (startup từ Silicon Valley) và ông Trần Quang Hưng - Phó bí thư Thành đoàn Hà Nội, đại diện Vinacapital Ventures. Điều phối chương trình là ông Lê Quốc Vinh, Chủ tịch kiêm CEO của Le Group of Company.

Mr. Hung Tran, co-founder and CEO of Got It (startup from Silicon Valley).

 

 

In 2020 and the first months of 2021, the Vietnamese business community continuously suffered heavy impacts from the Covid-19 pandemic. According to the data cited by Mr. Le Quoc Vinh, in early 2021, there were 78,300 newly established enterprises, an increase of 11.9%, but 59,800 enterprises ceased business, an increase of 23%. Like every business in the economy, start-ups have also suffered heavily from the pandemic. There are no statistics on how many start-ups are forced to shut down, but the situation poses a series of challenges in helping startups survive and thrive during the pandemic. The Webinar with the topic "Starting a business during the Covid-19 crisis", Mr. Hung Tran, co-founder of Got It, said that businesses "are doing well" but become troubled because of the pandemic is not uncommon. . However, it is undeniable that there are start-ups that have grown strongly because the product and technology behind it are suitable for the changes that the pandemic has caused to user habits.

 

Therefore, Mr. Hung Tran believes that "founders" need to identify their core values ​​as well as choose technologies that are still suitable for trends in the distant future instead of just solving problems. subject ahead. "Start a business, but don't pull the shoulder patch, use whatever you have temporarily," shared Mr. Hung Tran. Changes similar to those caused by Covid-19 are described as turning points, acting as "clearing the replay card". However, this very moment also presents an opportunity for small businesses, which were previously unable to compete with large companies, which have both financial and technological potential.

 

"Difficulty is a common difficulty, but the opportunity to change the world will come to a few people. This is also an opportunity for Vietnamese startups to rise up, reach out to the region and the world," said Mr. Hung Tran. opportunities besides the challenges caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. Sharing this view, Mr. Le Ba Tan, Deputy General Director of Viettel Networks, said that the pandemic creates challenges, but not without start-ups that can be overcome. A vision to ensure long-term development is a must for long-term survival.

Over the past year, remote working (WFH) has emerged as an ideal solution to both fight the epidemic and ensure business operations. Besides, the platforms serving WFH are also "exploding". As people realize that they can do good work without having to go to the office, more and more people are choosing this form of work. This is an opportunity for start-ups if they notice changes in user behavior and respond to them. In addition, start-ups also need to choose their own array to be able to enter the market as quickly as possible. This change will also cause the "founders" to determine whether their solution is suitable for the market or not.

 

Mr. Le Ba Tan also shared the importance of recognizing limitations in existing operations and investing in new technologies. Taking the story from Viettel itself, Mr. Tan said digital transformation had been strongly promoted before the pandemic broke out because Viettel noticed a decline in telecommunications revenue. Digitization is not only a trend but also the key to ensuring growth. The epidemic gave that vision a powerful boost. In the role of a state-owned corporation, Viettel, on the one hand, focuses on the central task of the Party and Government in solving the urgent economic, social, and health needs caused by the pandemic. On the other hand, Viettel still finds a way to develop new products to meet the changing needs of customers during the pandemic.

 

Mr. Le Ba Tan - Deputy General Director of Viettel Networks said that Viettel will create unlimited conditions for ideas and potential products to be evaluated.

 

However, it is not easy for start-ups to realize the new trend. That's also when they need to seek the support of technology incubators like Viet Solutions. Bringing together leading experts in various fields, the combination of state, enterprise, and start-up solutions is the perfect platform for startups to find the right path, overcome challenges.

According to Mr. Le Ba Tan, by the end of this year and early next year, Viettel will put the 5G network into commercial operation on a nationwide scale. The connection speed of the 5G network is not only for people to use because, with the current 4G network, but it has also met most of the people's daily needs. Therefore, the main object of 5G is IoT products, making life smarter. "Automation, robotics in Vietnam, said a lot but in reality, there is not much. Somewhere there are just small sparks. We want to go into the essence, have a real ecosystem, a level of intelligence. increasingly high and accepted by the market," said Mr. Tan.

 

In the current difficult context, the Deputy General Director of Viettel Networks said that businesses, big or small, need to share with each other. With the rollout of 5G nationwide and adding an extra layer of connectivity for 4G networks, Mr. Tan vowed to support any business that is developing products and solutions that need telecommunications connectivity. Mr. Tan also revealed that Viettel is investing in two of the most modern IoT research labs in Southeast Asia in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. These research labs will be ready to support completely free of charge start-up ideas that the council appreciates for their application potential as well as their meaning to society and businesses. If successful, Viettel will expand the model in other provinces.

"These labs are equipped with leading advanced technologies in the fields of IoT, Big Data, Cloud and AI and they are completely free. Similar to the model of Viet Solutions going, we also have a team of evaluation experts. Viettel will create unlimited conditions for ideas and potential products to be evaluated," said Mr. Tan.

Trần Long