Acceleration grant for innovative startups under HCMC People's Council Resolution 20/2023, funded by HCMC DoST with VIC serving as the incubator of record.
Innovation projects with an MVP and initial customers in HCMC's 9 priority sectors — seeking the VND 400 million non-refundable grant to scale and earn state endorsement.
I. Tax benefits
I. Direct financial support
Non-refundable grant of up to VND 400 million per project.
Group A — Direct labour (up to VND 150 million):
- Engineers, developers.
- R&D staff.
- Business / market development staff.
Group B — Experts, services, facilities (up to VND 250 million):
- Technical & business expert consulting.
- Innovation services (software, tools).
- Labs, incubation facilities.
- Testing and product certification.
II. Additional benefits
II. Non-financial benefits
- State endorsement: HCMC DoST approval boosts credibility with private investors.
- Scale a product that already has market traction with guaranteed resources.
- Access HCMC's expert network and incubation facilities.
- Introductions to investors and strategic partners across the HCMC innovation ecosystem.
- Free project promotion within the startup community.
III. Strategic advantage
III. Co-investment strategy
- VND 400m state grant is an endorsement unlocking VND 1–2 bn of co-investment from private funds.
- Combined with the ISE package, investors can exit tax-free — further boosting fundraising.
- A signed state contract works as collateral when applying for preferential loans.
- Optimise cash flow: use the grant to scale without diluting equity.
IV. Eligibility
- Project in one of HCMC's nine priority sectors
- Finished prototype of the product or service
- Initial customers and/or revenue demonstrating viability
- Credible business plan and operating team
- Sponsorship by a qualified incubator such as VIC
V. How VIC accompanies you
V. How VIC accompanies you
- Screen the project against NQ20 criteria (internal Form 1).
- Prepare the detailed 400m budget plan (Form 2).
- Draft the incubation-task proposal per HCMC DoST template.
- Rehearse the pitching deck.
- Defend the proposal before the selection council.
- Support contract signing and disbursement coordination.
- Free PR after award.
Strategic edge: the VND 400 million non-refundable state grant is a credibility anchor that typically unlocks an additional VND 1–2 billion of private co-investment.
- VND 400 million non-refundable direct grant from the state budget is forfeited.
- State endorsement is lost — co-investment from private funds becomes harder.
- Self-prepared dossiers are typically cut at the screening round due to unclear criteria.
- Access to HCMC's expert network and incubation facilities is lost.
I. Tax benefits
- Non-refundable grant of up to VND 400 million per project
- VND 150 million for direct project labor costs
- VND 250 million for experts, innovation services, and facilities
- VIC partners throughout incubation and disbursement