Hai Phong launches Creative Startup Talent Search Competition 2026
Hai Phong has collaborated with the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) to introduce Techfest Hai Phong 2026 and launch the Creative Startup Talent Search Competition 2026.
On the afternoon of May 26, the Department of Science and Technology held a conference to implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the City People’s Committee and KIST, introduce the Techfest Hai Phong 2026, and launch the “the Creative Startup Talent Search Competition 2026.
Within the program framework, the parties signed an MOU to implement a technology transfer cooperation project between the Hai Phong Innovation and Science-Technology Application Center (ISC), KIST Gangneung Center, and ECO-HOPIA Company.
Techfest Hai Phong 2026 is scheduled for August 4–5, 2026 at Vietnam Maritime University, featuring 120-150 technology booths both on-site and online, and is expected to attract more than 1,000 in-person delegates and over 5,000 online participants from six countries.
Organizers also launched the Creative Startup Talent Search Competition 2026 under the theme “Smart City Operations,” aiming to identify high applicability technology ideas and solutions for smart urban management and operations, logistics, seaports, and digital transformation.
The competition offers the largest prize pool to date including one first prize of VND 70 million; three second prizes; three third prizes; and four consolation prizes.
Hai Phong currently boasts a robust growth economy with a GDP of USD 29.4 billion and has maintained double-digit growth for 11 consecutive years. The city targets an average GRDP growth of 13–14% per year during 2026–2030 and has entered Startup Blink’s list of the world’s top 1,000 notable startup ecosystems for the first time, ranked 765th globally, 23rd in Southeast Asia, and one of four localities in Vietnam included in the ranking.
Hai Phong News