We cannot answer to this question in a simple and radical answer.
On the first hand, we can say Hanoi is an innovative city. The innovation may easily be found everywhere in Hanoi, for instance: innovation start-up/ innovation companies (Apota, Cococ); innovation in banking activities (TPBank LiveBank); innovation communities (Co-working Space, Creative Lab Project, Hanoi Creative City); innovation education (USTH, MPIE). It is the results of government’s efforts to develop the innovation in the recent years. The government understand that sciences, technologies and innovations are important for the development of the city then they plan to foster an ecosystem of start-ups. But how it acts in this way?
Actually, to support innovation, government gives support to innovative structures like the accelerator VSV (Vietnam Silicon Valley) that helps start-ups to get a networking with investors in this aim to have enough money to launch their project. Moreover, Hanoi People Committee is setting up a strategy up to 2020 to encourage and develop innovations of science and technology. For example, they decided to establish the Hanoi Foundation for Science and Technology Development in charge of financial support for the innovative project. Other structures like FIIS, the incubator of the Foreign Trade University, finances and helps several projects a year (which are selected by their jury) from students to develop innovative projects.
In another hand, Hanoi could be described as a non-innovative city regarding the fact that Innovation only involve few people or groups/start up. The reality of the Hanoian population is really far of the aim of Innovation and we could affirm that the most part of the population in Hanoi don’t know anything of the innovation in their city. They don’t even know what could be the impact of this kind of economy. To be innovative, a city as to provide this aspect to the largest part of the population and involve them concretely in it.
In conclusion, although there are still some disadvantages factor such as lack of financial resources, lack of advanced technologies, etc., we strongly believe that Hanoi is extremely potential to become an innovative city and also on the right track to head this target in the near future.
Nguyen Thi Khai Phuon Flo Léa Robin Bucau Le Ngoc Anh
