Techfest HaiPhong 2026 opens

The Hai Phong Department of Science and Technology officially opened Techfest HaiPhong 2026 under the theme ‘Converging intelligence – Setting sail for innovation’ at Vietnam Maritime University on August 4.

The two-day event, held on August 4 and 5, brings together delegates from five countries, namely South Korea, China, Singapore, Japan and Thailand, with more than 3,000 in-person participants and around 10,000 online attendees.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Hoang Minh Cuong, Vice Chairman of the Hai Phong People's Committee, said that following the merger of provincial-level administrative units, Hai Phong now has broader development space, a population of more than 4.6 million, and the country's third-largest economy, reinforcing its role as a strategic growth pole in the Red River Delta.

He said the city has identified science and technology, innovation and digital transformation as key drivers of development and opportunities to transform its growth model while building a knowledge-, technology- and innovation-based economy.

Hai Phong also reaffirmed its commitment to supporting startups and young entrepreneurs by improving the startup ecosystem, expanding innovation space, investment funds, expert advisory services, regulatory sandbox mechanisms and other policies needed to help innovative ideas grow and enter international markets.

Addressing the ceremony, Hoang Minh, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology, said Techfest HaiPhong 2026 should become a platform connecting stakeholders across the innovation ecosystem, linking ideas with technology, research outcomes with the market, and startups with businesses and investors, while helping Vietnamese products, technologies and enterprises expand into regional and global markets.

According to the StartupBlink 2025 report, Vietnam climbed five places to rank 55th globally. Hai Phong was included on the global startup map for the first time, ranking 765th among the world's top 1,000 startup cities.

The city has also ranked among Vietnam's leading localities for the Provincial Innovation Index (PII) for three consecutive years, placed third in the Digital Transformation Index (DTI), and is home to more than 200 innovative startups and 71 science and technology enterprises.

To capitalize on these strengths, the Deputy Minister urged the city to focus on six key tasks to realize its goal of becoming a modern, civilized, ecological and worth-living industrial port city of regional standing in Southeast Asia, taking the lead in industrialization, modernization, innovation, digital transformation and green transition.

He also expressed hope that the event would help foster more technology companies capable of competing with "Make in Vietnam" products, bring more inventions to market and produce more "unicorns" from Hai Phong at future Techfest events.

A highlight of Techfest HaiPhong 2026 is its exhibition area, designed around the concept of the "Voyage of Five Techn Ports," featuring the Global Techport, National Techport, Innovation Port, Heritage Techport and Connectivity Port.

The exhibition includes 125 physical booths and 125 virtual ones showcasing more than 1,000 innovative products from over 200 enterprises. Featured technologies include semiconductors, artificial intelligence, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), industrial Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, green energy, digital transformation and advanced materials. Hai Phong’s OCOP products, specialties and brands enhanced through Industry 4.0 technologies are also on display.

Another highlight of the opening ceremony was welcome remarks delivered by leaders of the Gangneung Branch of the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) and the Big Data Development Bureau of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China. Their participation opens up further opportunities for cooperation in research, technology transfer, human resource development and investment attraction for Hai Phong.

VAN NGA – HOANG PHUOC