Viet Nam is one of the most energy intensive countries in East Asia Its energy elasticity of GDP is estimated at 2 compared to less than 1 for most countries. As a result, the final energy consumption tripled over the past decade Viet Nam’s emissions are expected to increase dramatically by 2030 particularly according to the proposed NDC update to increase total emissions by 12%. Meeting future energy demand and its NDC target by improving energy efficiency ( is the best and cheapest option Viet Nam could save up to 11 GW of new generation capacity by 2030 if comprehensive EE investments are carried out.

As presented to the VEPG Working Group, MOIT is currently proposing the Viet Nam National Energy Efficiency Program (VNEEP) – Phase III (2019-2030) which sets out 12 priorities for actions focusing on strengthening public interventions and private sector development. Recognizing the important role of private sector, one of the actions proposed in VNEEP 3 focuses on promoting innovative start ups to create EE products and solutions for the market (Task 6). This task is also aligned with the government’s broader Industrialization V4.0 agenda, supporting innovations and start up ecosystems (Decree 38/2018).

However, the start up scene in Viet Nam is still nascent, facing multiple challenge:

• Finance: Most of the innovative start up funds are foreign-owned. Domestic finance, including concessional loans from the government,
  is still limited.
• Policy framework: Policies for innovative start ups need to be further developed although Decree 38/2018 provides high level regulatory guidance
• Technical capacity Vietnamese start ups require significant technical mentorship, especially gearing towards a particular sector such as
  energy efficiency.

1. Component 1 – Acceleration Programs:

• Engagement and selection of innovative start-ups for further support from the Initiative through call for proposals, hackathons, tech fest etc.
• Technical support: international/national experts (on energy efficiency, finance, business, etc.) will be available to provide technical guidance to selected start-ups through deep-dive technical mentoring programs.
• Financial support: selected start-ups will be awarded with grants/concessional loans (from the Initiative and other potential partners such as SME Development Fund)

2. Component 2 – Enhancing policy development: providing policy advice to MOIT, MPI and MOST to enhance policy environment for EE innovative start-ups in Viet Nam.

3. Component 3 – Network of EE innovative start-ups: networking and sharing platforms will be provided to foster an EE start-up ecosystem. Experience can also be shared and learned with other initiatives in the region, from Europe and globally.