I-Star 2020 has witnessed a boom of a large number of promising startups.
One prominent candidate is Be – an app for tech-based taxis. Only 18 months after launching, Be takes the second largest portion of the market share in Vietnam.
Another promising contestant is House3D – a platform for interior design using 3D/Virtual Reality/AI cloud rendering technologies.
Other excellent nominees are MVV Everlearn – an administration system for learning to help businesses successfully organize training sessions with a low cost; Consultant Anywhere – the first app in Vietnam to connect consultants to businesses in need; Heebee – a Vietnamese startup using nano technology to produce nature-based cosmetics; Pando – brick made from recycled plastic and with high durability, high heat endurance.
Some outstanding projects submitted to the contest are Triip – decentralized tourism idea to help partners save cost by 50-90 percent; BravoHR – an idea to implement technology in HR management; Upshift Vietnam – a project to boost the inner strength for the Vietnamese youth via equipping necessary soft skills for the 21st century.
Noticeably, even high school students participate in the contest with innovative projects. The students from Tan Tao A Junior High (sited in Binh Tan District) handed in their project to take care of the health of sanitation workers; the students from Le Quy Don Senior High (in District 3) submitted their idea of making paper soap from available materials at home.
Significantly in the time of Covid-19 is the product Rice ATM and Face Mask ATM by PHGLock.
One practical project is Smartcity by Vu Hoang Thuong in Binh Thanh District to popularize common databases about land management, traffic, healthcare, links between the authorities and citizens.
After 2 years launching, the project of using a hotline to register for children’s psychological checkups by Children Hospital No.1 has experienced many improvements to suit patients’ needs. A similar medical app is S4Life – developed by the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union of District 1 – to mobilize voluntary blood givers and monitor the blood storage effectively.
I-Star also received various nominations for excellent organizations. One prominent example is BestB – a business ecosystem and the first private incubator in Vietnam for young startups; HCMUT-TBI – an incubation center for technological startups, controlled by HCMC University of Technology; and QTSC Incubator – a place to successfully incubate nearly 50 businesses.
One last candidate worth mentioning is the Creative Idea Contest (CiC), an innovative startup playground for students nationwide for the last 5 years.
From 303 submitted papers, the organization board selected the 40 most outstanding ones in the 4 categories of startup business, innovative solutions, individuals and businesses with great contribution to the community.
The list of winners will be announced in WHISE 2020.
