University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and Leipzig University - Germany support innovative businesses in Vietnam to access the European market

04 Aug, 2021

With the goal of supporting startup businesses to innovate, improve their capabilities and perfect their business models to expand overseas markets, the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City (UEH) and Leipzig University - Germany cooperated in organizing the International Innovator Award (IIA) 2021. The International Innovator Award creates opportunities for Vietnamese SMEs and startups to connect and explore new markets in the European Union in general and in Germany in particular.

The International Innovators Award is one of the annual activities of The International SEPT Competence Center, Leipzig City. The contest has supported many Vietnamese businesses to launch commercial products and services in Germany and Europe successfully. In 2021, the contest will be jointly organized by The International SEPT Competence Center - Leipzig University and the UEH Institute of Innovation. In addition to supporting excellent businesses, innovative startups from Vietnam and Germany will receive support for incubation and accelerating development. In addition, startups are also supported with co-working spaces at two universities, connecting with mentors and participating in workshops to learn about Vietnam - Germany market and potential customers.

With the cooperation with world-renowned universities (Singapore Management University, Leipzig University), incubation activities at the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City will help innovation startup ecosystem of the City participate more deeply in the regional and global network of innovative startups, promoting innovation cooperation, sharing, attracting resources and supporting startups to reach out to the world market.

The excellent project IIA 2019 participates in commercial connection in Leipzig, Germany

The European market with 27 member countries is the third-largest economic region globally, currently accounting for 15% of the global total goods trade. It is also a common market, free to exchange goods within the region, so as long as businesses can access one member market, they can easily access the remaining markets. However, businesses that want to participate in this market need to meet the strict standards of European importers and consumers. Especially for innovative startups, accessing this market is both an opportunity and a challenge. The International Innovator Award is not simply a competition to find startups with innovative products and services and new technology applications. The program's content is a combination of training and skills training with workshops that provide businesses with knowledge on how to approach the European market, model design methods and global business strategies.

In addition, IIA also offers Vietnamese businesses opportunities to develop their businesses abroad: presenting their business to the international jury, promoting commercialization and connecting potential partners in Europe, testing products and services with customers in Germany, developing business networks and long-term cooperation in Germany, interacting with the Vietnamese community in Leipzig. The two best businesses of the competition were sponsored a field trip in Germany (including airfare and business trip) and worked at the office of Leipzig University.

A training course on global business models and strategies with foreign experts

Businesses that meet the following requirements can apply:

Innovative startups, small and medium enterprises providing innovative products, services and technologies;
Businesses that are interested in business development in the German and European markets;
Businesses that can present in English or German;
Businesses that have a market-oriented spirit, global thinking and innovative capacity.