Ho Chi Minh City has launched its Innovation Startup Centre, a 17,000-square-meter facility in Xuan Hoa Ward designed to bolster the city’s expanding startup ecosystem.

Operating through a public-private partnership, the centre provides one-stop services for startups and functions as a hub for resources and policy experimentation.

The first three floors are allocated to government programs, while the upper levels host private-sector resources, including incubators, venture capital funds, and tech companies.

Ho Chi Minh City’s startup ecosystem is valued at $7.4 billion and has attracted $260 million in venture capital, with roughly half of Vietnam’s startups located in the city.

At the centre’s launch, officials underscored the importance of both public and private support, including proposals for state-backed VC funds to increase investment in high-tech and innovation-driven startups.

The centre’s design directly addresses a key structural challenge in Vietnam’s startup scene, which is a heavy dependence on foreign venture capital due to limited local funding sources.

The centre is strategically organised, with the first three floors dedicated to government-run programs and floors four through seven providing private-sector resources, including incubators and venture capital funds.

This structure addresses a key concern raised at the inauguration, where officials stressed the need for state-backed VC funds to share investment risks with private partners.

The need is particularly urgent given that 90% of Vietnamese startups fail within five years, with a lack of capital cited as a major obstacle.

By integrating public support programs with private-sector funding in a single facility, the centre aims to create a more complete financing pipeline, potentially reducing the high failure rate in Vietnam’s startup ecosystem.

Ho Chi Minh City’s approach of consolidating startup resources is economically sensible, given its significant role in Vietnam’s economy.

Although it covers just 0.6% of the country’s land area, the city accounts for 22% of Vietnam’s GDP and is home to nearly half of the nation’s startups.

This concentration generates natural ecosystem benefits. The centre has the capacity to serve nearly half of Vietnam’s startup community while taking advantage of existing infrastructure and local talent.

Indeed, the model reflects globally successful innovation hubs, where close geographic proximity fosters faster knowledge exchange, shared resources, and stronger networks among entrepreneurs, investors, and support services.

With Ho Chi Minh City already home to three of Vietnam’s tech unicorns, VNG, MoMo, and Sky Mavis, the centralised approach leverages existing successes, concentrating resources rather than spreading them thinly across multiple locations.