The University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) treats access to finance for sustainable ideas and emerging businesses as a strategic priority within its “Connecting Communities – Sharing Knowledge – Taking Sustainable Action” initiative. In 2025, UEH supported community-based sustainable start-ups through four channels: (1) non-repayable grants, including VND 1.2 billion from Ho Chi Minh City’s budget under Resolution 20/NQ-HDND, implemented through the UEH Institute of Innovation (UII) for 10 incubated and one accelerated project, and the Innovation Grant opportunity through Giving to UEH; (2) more than VND 60 million in cash awards at entrepreneurship competitions; (3) investor connections that helped UII-incubated ventures raise USD 1.5 million; and (4) Demo Day 2025, which connected start-ups with 10 venture capital funds, three accelerators and six angel investors.
UEH aligns financial assistance with stages of start-up development. During ideation, students and young people from both within and outside UEH can obtain cash competition awards and non-repayable funding to test product concepts. During incubation, teams receive free support and meet angel investors or venture capital firms through individual sessions. UII also mobilises resources from domestic and international enterprises and organisations; in 2025, it raised over VND 1.4 billion for research, training and entrepreneurship incubation programmes.
A highlight in 2025 was the expansion of access to finance across UEH’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. Demo Day, held on 19 December 2025 with SIHUB and Expara Ventures, convened funds including VinaCapital Ventures, Gobi Partners, Earth Venture Capital, ITI Fund, Taiwania Hive and Zone Startup Vietnam. UEH signed a partnership with GELEX Group under which the company committed to supporting university research, entrepreneurship and innovation projects. UII also implemented city-funded incubation and acceleration under Resolution 20/NQ-HDND, signed a three-year partnership with Expara Ventures and connected its start-ups with international investors in Singapore and South Korea.
| Program name | Form – Target | Program description | Result |
| Innovation Grant – Giving to UEH Fund (Non-refundable grant) | Form of funding: non-refundable grant.
Target audience: Student startup projects from various universities participating in the UII Sandbox Program 2025. |
22 projects by 100 students from 11 universities participating in the direct incubation phase (October 20, 2025 – January 20, 2026) will be considered for non-refundable Innovation Grant funding from the Giving to UEH Fund to develop prototypes and test them in the market.
Showcase Day 2025 (January 2026): 17 projects showcasing prototypes, 11 projects pitching to a panel of experts.
Image: 22 projects participating in the UII Sandbox 2025 intensive incubation phase. Source of evidence: Sandbox Program 2025 – Seeds of Change: Sowing the seeds of innovation, nurturing a sustainable future (UEH Portal, October 31, 2025) – Original image file
Image: The Seed of Change award goes to the ViLaw LegisAI project. Source of evidence: UII Sandbox – Showcase Day 2025: Where UEH students transform ideas into practical solutions (UEH Portal, January 14, 2026) – Original image file |
Cash prizes at Showcase Day 2025: Seed of Change (ViLaw LegisAI) 5,000,000 VND; Innovative Tech Solution (Parking Hub) 3,000,000 VND; Potential Creative Idea (4IHealth) 2,000,000 VND.
22 projects are eligible for Innovation Grant grants. |
| Connecting startups with funding through the UII Incubation Program. | Form of funding: angel investment, seed funding through UII’s connections.
Target audience: pre-seed and seed-stage startups within the community. |
Twenty projects received free incubation for six months, including assistance in preparing funding proposals and connecting them with a network of investment funds.
UII aims to raise over 1.4 billion VND from domestic and international organizations by 2025 for its research, training, and startup incubation programs.
Image: The Ministry of Education and Training honors the UEH Institute of Innovation as a model for entrepreneurship activities in 2025. Source of evidence: UEH Innovation Institute honored as a model startup organization in 2025 (UEH Portal, April 15, 2026) – Original image file
Image: UEH Institute of Innovation receives a Certificate of Commendation from the Prime Minister. Source of evidence: UEH Innovation Institute awarded a Certificate of Merit by the Prime Minister for outstanding achievements in promoting the national innovation and startup ecosystem in the period 2017–2025 (UEH Portal, April 21, 2025) – Original image file |
The total funding raised for incubation projects increased from over $700,000 (April 2025) to $1.5 million (end of 2025).
Notable examples: BioWraps raised VND 1.5 billion from angel investors and VND 638 million from Golden Gate Ventures; Tikera received VND 1 billion from angel investors. Thirteen incubated projects have established businesses and acquired paying customers. |
| UEH BizTech Hackathon 2025 Cash Prize | Format: Cash prize.
Target audience: Economics and technology students from universities in Ho Chi Minh City and international students studying in Vietnam. |
The total prize value is 40 million VND: 1 first prize of 25 million VND, 1 second prize of 10 million VND, and 2 third prizes of 2.5 million VND each.
Five outstanding teams have been nominated for the UII Sandbox Program 2025 to continue receiving incubation support and funding.
Image: Final round and awards ceremony of UEH BizTech Hackathon 2025 Source of evidence: Nurturing innovation, building a creative ecosystem at UEH (UEH Portal, February 9, 2026) – Original image file
Source of evidence: UEH BizTech Hackathon 2025 – The Z Flow: Flowing Vietnam’s Values by the Z Generation (UEH Portal – undated, approximately July 2025) – Original image file |
A total of 40 million VND in prize money was awarded to 4 teams: First Prize: Heritech – Gen Z Keeping Pottery (25,000,000 VND; an AI and AR application platform connecting young people with the traditional Lai Thieu pottery craft); Second Prize: LanternVerse – 3D lantern museum (10,000,000 VND); and 2 Third Prizes: Wecare Fomo – To He Blind Box and Fusion X – Nacelle (2,500,000 VND each).
323 applications were received from 32 educational institutions; 31 teams with 150 students reached the finals; 5 teams were nominated for the UII Sandbox to continue receiving support. |
| UEH Mekong Startup Award | Format: cash prizes and incubation support.
Target audience: Students of UEH Mekong and partner universities both domestically and internationally. |
Thinkathon Greenovation 2025 (July 9–16, 2025): Total prize money of 8 million VND, including 1 First Prize of 2 million VND, 1 Second Prize of 1.5 million VND, 2 Third Prizes of 1 million VND each, and 5 Consolation Prizes of 500,000 VND each.
UEH Mekong Startup Ideas and Projects Competition 2025 (June 21, 2025): Outstanding ideas will be incubated at the Innovation and Entrepreneurship Center.
Image: Overview of the Final Round of the “UEH Mekong Student Startup Ideas and Projects” Competition 2025 Source of evidence: UEH Mekong organizes the “Startup Ideas and Projects Competition for UEH Mekong Students” in 2025 (UEH Portal, June 23, 2025) – Original image file
Source of evidence: UEH Mekong Summer Camp 2025 – Local Life, Global Mind (UEH Portal, April 8, 2025) |
Thinkathon Greenovation 2025: Nearly 60 students, 9 finalist teams; total prize money of 8 million VND.
UEH Mekong 2025 Startup Ideas and Projects Competition: 29 entries, 12 finalists, 7 awards – Second Prize INTUITPUMP by bmX-robotics (500,000 VND), Third Prize TINYJOY RENTALS (400,000 VND), 5 Consolation Prizes CARE CONNECT, RICE SHELL, BIOCARBONBANK, GẠCH XANH MEKONG, ORACLEAN (300,000 VND each); no First Prize. |
| Demo Day 2025 – Connecting startups with investment capital. | Format: connecting investment capital, no fees charged.
Target audience: startups within the UEH community and the Ho Chi Minh City startup ecosystem. |
Organized on December 19, 2025, by UII, UEH School of Technology and Design, Expara Ventures, and SIHUB.
13 startup pitching sessions; over 20 one-on-one investor office hours. The UII Startup Awards 2025 were presented, including the Sustainable Business Model Award (Ecombox) and the Social Impact Award (Survival Skills Vietnam).
Image: View of Demo Day 2025 Source of evidence: Demo Day 2025: Connecting the investor and startup ecosystem (VNA) (UEH Portal – Press, December 29, 2025) – Original image file
Image: Sustainable Business Model Award at Demo Day 2025 Source of evidence: Looking back at the Demo Day 2025 journey: A milestone in the maturity of the UEH startup community (UEH Portal, January 21, 2026) – Original image file |
Over 70 delegates attended, including 10 venture capital funds, 3 accelerators, and 6 angel investors.
Since 2022, Demo Day has connected more than 50 startups with investors and investment funds. |
| Startup Exchange – Connecting investors and international markets | Format: connecting investment capital and international markets, no fees charged.
Target audience: Startups within the UII community and international startups exploring the Vietnamese market. |
During its working visit to Singapore Management University (SMU) and the 6th AUN-UIE Annual Meeting (September 30, 2025), UII introduced the Otter Raft project to connect with Cocoon Ventures, 22 Health Ventures, Block 71, and universities such as SMU and SUTD.
UII welcomed venture capital funds Quest Venture and One Tree Hill Ventures (South Korea), Block 71, and supported startup teams from South Korea and Singapore in exploring investment and business opportunities in Vietnam. 
Image: UII connects startups with investors in Singapore. Source of evidence: UEH Innovation Institute Welcomes Projects from Quest Ventures and NTU (Singapore) – Expanding Opportunities for Global Collaboration |
Opening channels to access international investment funds in Singapore and South Korea for the startup UII. |
| Connecting non-refundable funding from the Ho Chi Minh City budget according to Resolution 20/NQ-HDND | Form of support: funding for incubation and acceleration from the City budget through science and technology projects.
Target audience: Early-stage and growth-stage innovative startup projects in Ho Chi Minh City. |
The incubation package “Selection and Incubation of Innovative Startup Projects for Digital Transformation for Sustainability – Digital Transformation for Sustainability” (November 2024 – August 2025): selecting 10 projects from 47 applications (SkinMatch, S’Tieng Concept, BioWraps, Newsunlab, Rainbow Emotion Class, A.N Paper, Ibody, Tikera, Hololab, Rebo); intensive 6-month incubation, connecting with experts, partners, and investors. Each project will receive 80,000,000 VND in funding.
The “Market Development for the Holo Speak Foreign Language Communication App” acceleration package includes support for market research, product improvement, marketing, and accelerated incubation services over 12 months, with a grant of VND 400,000,000. 
Image: Acceptance of the startup project incubation task according to Resolution 20/NQ-HDND (July 21, 2025) Source of evidence: Supporting innovative startup projects: Ho Chi Minh City |
Acceptance on July 21, 2025: 100% of MVP projects developed; 6 out of 10 projects generated revenue; Tikera and BioWraps established businesses; |
| Mobilizing businesses to co-finance startups – A collaboration between UEH and GELEX Group | Form of funding: commitment of sponsorship from businesses.
Target audience: research projects, startups, innovation projects, and UEH students. |
Signed on August 15, 2025: GELEX will partner with and support research, startup, and innovation projects; and sponsor scholarships, programs, and events through the Giving to UEH initiative.
In line with GELEX’s 10-year “Connecting” program (2025–2035).
Image: Overview of the signing ceremony between UEH and GELEX Group Source of evidence: Signing Ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and GELEX Group (UEH Portal, August 18, 2025) |
Open up more long-term funding sources from businesses for the UEH startup ecosystem. |
These examples confirm that UEH not only provides knowledge, mentorship, and facilities but also directly connects and provides financial resources – from awards and grants to investment capital – to enable sustainable startup ideas to be tested, launched, and developed.
Compared to the previous year, the financial resources that the UEH startup ecosystem has connected to startups have increased significantly. In 2024, UIIxBASIC Demo Day helped 10 projects raise $520,000 and 6 startups received $6,600 in non-refundable funding, bringing UII’s total seed capital to $638,600. In 2025, the total capital raised by incubated projects is expected to reach $1.5 million; Demo Day 2025 will bring together 10 venture capital funds, 3 accelerators, and 6 angel investors. In addition, UEH has added the Innovation Grant non-refundable funding channel from the Giving to UEH Fund for Sandbox projects, structured cash prizes at the BizTech Hackathon and Thinkathon Greenovation, and committed to long-term support from GELEX Group.
From this, it can be seen that UEH is gradually perfecting its financial support chain for the startup community, contributing to bringing financially and socially sustainable ideas from the classroom to the market.