HCM City, Dec. 3 -- Vietnam's startup ecosystem could develop strongly over the next five years with venture capital and government assistance, Eddie Thai, general partner of the venture capital firm 500 Startups Vietnam, said at a Startup Viet Summit held on December 2 in HCM City.

The startup ecosystem would grow like "a dense forest" from its "desert" origins in 2013 when venture capital was under 50 million USD and the government offered little assistance, Thai said.

At that time, many foreign investors had yet to pay much attention to Vietnamese startups.

"The ecosystem's sprout" started in 2016 with a boom in the consumption market, attracting foreign investment. Also, the government began to build a 'startup nation'," Thai said....