The 2020 SK Startup Fellowship Programme winners. The 2021 SKSF has announced a shortlist of the top 13 start-ups that will compete in the final round in October. — Photo courtesy of the organiser

HCM CITY — The second annual SK Startup Fellowship Programme has announced a shortlist of the top 13 start-ups that will compete in the final round.

They come from a wide range of sectors such as mobility, healthcare, medtech, fintech, edutech, agritech, and artificial intelligence. Despite the difference in sectors, most start-ups share the same vision of creating a positive social impact with their products or solutions.

They have two approaches in their business development which are "starting from Việt Nam then go global" and "starting globally then entering Việt Nam."

In the first approach, the startups had strong R&D capabilities, especially in trendy sectors such as foodtech. In the second approach, the startups showed a high adaptation to the local market when bringing new technology or solutions from the world to Việt Nam. These startups also believe that Việt Nam could be a launchpad for them to penetrate into the Southeast Asian market. 

These 13 finalists will continue to have intensive training programmes organised by SKSF’s partners such as KPMG, the Business Start-up Support Center (BSSC) and Nextrans, and networking activities in the start-up eco-system in Việt Nam and neighbouring countries.

They will also participate in the 2021 Vietnam Startup Day, one of the largest and most intensive start-up events in Southeast Asia organised by BSSC. There, they will make pitches to more than 500 investors and venture capitalists and approach 15,000 potential customers.

The 2021 SKSF’s final round is scheduled to take place in October, with the top four receiving grants (non-equity funds) of US$50,000 each and the other nine, $16,000 each.

Nguyễn Thị Diệu Hằng, CEO of BSSC and one of the judges of SKSF 2021, said: "There is little difference between the start-ups, which has created fierce competition. The jury has struggled to decide who qualifies. "

Organised by SK Group, SKSF attracted nearly 200 contestants this year, three times the number in 2020. — VNS