Connecting Vietnam - Japan innovation ecosystem
On 11 December 2025, the National Innovation Center (NIC), the Embassy of Japan in Vietnam, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam co-chaired the event “Vietnam - Japan open innovation” in Hanoi, with the participation of leaders of management agencies, corporations, research organizations, businesses, and potential startups from both countries, aiming to promote technology cooperation models and co-creation based on market needs.
Promoting the Vietnam - Japan innovation ecosystem
Japan possesses one of the world's leading developed innovation ecosystems with approximately 3.7 million operating businesses, constantly seeking advanced technological solutions and opportunities for cross-border cooperation. Meanwhile, the startup landscape in Vietnam continues its strong growth with nearly 178,000 newly established businesses in the first 11 months of 2025 alone, reflecting the comprehensive digital transformation trend and the rise of deep-tech and AI models.
Sharing more about the Vietnamese innovation picture, Mr. Do Tien Thinh, Deputy Director of NIC, stated that Vietnam's creative startup ecosystem currently comprises around 4,000 startups, over 1,400 startup support organizations, 280 investment funds, 79 incubators, about 170 universities/colleges involved in creative startups, and more than 20 local and national creative startup centers.
Previously, a report released by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) in September showed that Vietnam ranked 44th out of 139 countries and economies in the Global Innovation Index (GII). The NIC representative assessed this as a very proud index because economies with Vietnam's average per capita income are usually only in the top 70 - 80. Vietnam is uniquely positioned in the top 50.
2025 marked the two-year milestone since Vietnam and Japan upgraded their relationship to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, emphasizing cooperation in innovation, green transition, and high-quality human resource development. In this context, open innovation has become a crucial mechanism connecting the needs of enterprises with flexible and scalable technology solutions from the startup community, helping to accelerate commercialization and open up new bilateral cooperation opportunities.
However, startups still face many barriers in accessing early markets and building cooperation with large enterprises; meanwhile, many businesses lack appropriate channels to test and apply new technologies domestically. Open innovation helps bridge this gap by directly connecting real-world problems with feasible solutions from the startup ecosystem.
Inspired by the Kuchikiri-no-chaji tea ceremony ritual - symbolizing the start of a new season, the event opened with a symbolic "tea opening" ceremony, before moving into the presentations on the current state and potential for cooperation in the Vietnam - Japan innovation ecosystem.
“Today’s workshop helps us gain a deeper understanding of Vietnam's innovation ecosystem, discuss the challenges Vietnamese startups are facing with stakeholders from Japan and Vietnam, and derive valuable lessons”, shared Mr. Taro Makino, Commercial Attaché, Embassy of Japan in Vietnam.
“Opening the tea - opening up a new season of cooperation, opening up new possibilities for trust, knowledge, and creating shared technological value”, emphasized Ms. Do Le Thu Ngoc, Assistant Resident Representative, Head of Inclusive Growth Unit, UNDP Vietnam. “Today’s event is not just a single activity, but the start of a long-term market bridge, fostering startup innovation alongside enterprises”.
Strengthening cooperation, creating solutions, sharing experiences
The event follows up on the strengthened Vietnam - Japan innovation cooperation results over the past time. Currently, 22 potential technology startups are being supported within the framework of two key initiatives implemented by NIC together with Japanese partners, including: (i) The project “Capacity Building for Innovation Support of the National Innovation Center” funded by the Government of Japan, co-executed by UNDP and NIC; and (ii) The VietLeap AI Accelerator Program, a strategic initiative by NIC in collaboration with JICA, BCG, and the Embassy of Japan to promote the AI ecosystem in Vietnam. More than 50 in-depth business matching sessions between startups and leading corporations of the two countries affirm the effectiveness of the "problem - solution" model in reducing technology application risks, accelerating PoC (Proof of Concept) implementation, and expanding commercialization opportunities.
Within the framework of the open innovation roundtable sessions, leading Japanese and Vietnamese businesses directly shared operational challenges that require innovation and worked with startups to explore suitable solutions. The cooperation ideas formed from the co-creation Lab are expected to continue developing into PoC trials, pilot cooperation models, and move towards long-term cooperation within the framework of the Vietnam - Japan Innovation Challenge Program 2025.
“Vietnam - Japan open innovation is a multi-dimensional cooperation space where Japanese businesses can openly share specific business challenges, thereby calling on Vietnamese startups to propose creative solutions", emphasized Mr. Vu Quoc Huy, Director of the National Innovation Center.
At the event, besides updating strategic perspectives on the Vietnam - Japan innovation ecosystem from experts of both countries, Vietnamese startups had the opportunity to listen to and specifically understand real-world problems from many Japanese enterprises. This is an occasion for startups, small and medium enterprises, corporations, and scientists of the two countries to co-create solutions, share experiences, and explore cooperation opportunities in key sectors.
With the entrepreneurial spirit of Vietnam and the technological capacity and scale of Japanese enterprises, the Vietnam - Japan open innovation platform positions a strong cooperation impetus, aiming to co-create scalable solutions in the regional and global markets./.
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