Local staples introduced at a startup and innovation conference in the province (Photo: baodaklak.vn) Dak Lak (VNA) – The Central Highlands province of Dak Lak is makingconcerted efforts to develop its local startup eco-system so as to concretiseall business initiatives.
Blessed with fertile soil, tepid climate suitable for agricultural development,Dak Lak is described as a large-scale production area in Vietnam, with a widerange of key products such as coffee, pepper, cocoa, cashew, rubber, avocadoand durian, among others.
Under its economic development strategy, the locality has channeled focus onbranching out hi-tech agriculture in tandem with shaping up a value chain forlocal agro-forestry goods to gain competitive edge in both domestic and foreignmarkets.
Developing renewable energy, trade, services and tourism also takes greatinterest of the province.
To that end, the provincial People’s Committee has carried out a string ofmeasures to form a startup eco-system, encourage startup and innovation,improve business climate, raise competitiveness and support entrepreneurship development.
According to Deputy Director of the provincial Department of Planning andInvestment Huynh Van Tien, the department recommended the provincial People’sCommittee to sign a cooperative deal with the Startup Vietnam Foundation (SVF)in building a startup eco-system during 2018-2020, and launch the Dak Lakbusiness incubator joint stock company.
Hoang Minh Ngoc Hai, a senior consultant at SVF, said local staples shouldbecome the main focus of startup, and any individuals who want to begin theirbusiness should pay due attention to trade and tourism services andtechnologies besides high-added value agricultural products.
As more visitors have come to the locality, he suggested organisations andindividuals, especially young people, begin their startup with local farmproduce, tourism products and services to popularise local images as well asimprove livelihood of the residents.
He said it is necessary for startups to promote connection with otherbusinesses and organisations to form a firm value chain.
Under the provincial People’s Committee’s plan, Dak Lak will support at least50 startup and innovation initiatives and projects in the locality during2018-2020. It targets to back 125 startup initiatives, and have at least 25startups by 2025. Besides, the province will work to improve mechanisms and policieson startup and further develop the local startup ecosystem.
Dak Lak province has sought investment inagricultural production and processing, especially for exports and those usinghi-tech, industrial livestock breeding attached to the food processingindustry, regional-level schools and training centres, and supermarkets andmalls.
The 13,125sq.km province has an airport and a fairly developed road network,with a network of key national highways passing through it.
It has more than600,000ha of forests with timber reserves of more than 50 million cubic metres.
With nearly 540,000ha ofagricultural land, the province grows high-value commercial crops like coffee,rubber, and pepper, suitable for developing a processing industry around them.
Livestock andpoultry farming have developed rapidly in the province, providing investors agood foundation for investing in industrial-scale animal breeding, feedproduction, and animal and poultry meat processing plants.
A hi-tech agricultural complex, expected to cost 66 million USD, will bedeveloped in the province late this year.
The complex's construction follows a Memorandum of Understandingsigned in May in Buon Ma Thuot City between the provincial People’sCommittee and Hung Nhon Group from the southern province of Bunh Phuoc andthe De Heus Group from the Netherlands.
Construction on the project, spanning 200ha, is scheduled to extendfrom the third quarter this year to the fourth quarter of 2025.
The complexincludes an 80-hectare farm for 2,400 breeding pigs selected and importedfrom the Netherlands; a 30-hectare chicken breeding area; and a 15-hectareplant for pork slaughtering and organic fertiliser production.
Once completed, thecomplex will become a leading centre for hi-tech application in animalhusbandry, creation of chained products, animal feed, organic fertiliser, andcommercial livestock products with the best quality in Vietnam, according tothe company.
The province also has potential in minerals like feldspar and lead and sand andgravel for construction, meaning investors can develop processing industries.
It has an abundantworkforce with more than 900,000 workers, 400,000 of them trained, to basicallymeet investors' human resources needs./.
VNA
