On November 14, Cultural Industry Startup Day 2025 officially opened at the Startup & Innovation Hub of Ho Chi Minh City - SIHUB. The event attracted leaders of departments and agencies, representatives of institutes and universities, creative businesses, and many young individuals with a strong interest in technology.
The event aims to affirm the role of cultural industries as a key pillar of socio-economic development, where creative values and cultural identity are transformed into sustainable economic resources. It is also a practical activity in implementing Decision No. 1909/QĐ-TTg dated November 12, 2021, by the Prime Minister approving the Cultural Development Strategy to 2030, and Decision No. 4853/QĐ-UBND dated October 25, 2023, by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee approving the Project on Developing Ho Chi Minh City’s Cultural Industries to 2030.
Speaking about the significance of Startup Day, the leader of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology emphasized that through this series of dynamic activities, Ho Chi Minh City—often known as a vibrant “startup land”—once again demonstrates its spirit of innovation and ambition to elevate Vietnamese culture and the city’s identity to the international stage. With the integration of culture, technology, and creativity, the 2025 Cultural and Creative Industries Startup Day is not only a technology showcase but also a platform where cultural stories are presented in digital form, opening new business models in the creative startup ecosystem. This is also the key message of this year’s event, aiming to connect technology with local cultural values.
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thi Hong Xuan, Director of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities Research, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, VNUHCM, attended the opening ceremony, visited the exhibition booths, and engaged with several startup groups about incorporating cultural values into creative business models.
A highlight of the event was the exhibition area featuring more than 50 booths showcasing creative products using 3D, 360-degree, VR/AR, and AI technologies, along with new solutions in gaming, fashion, handicrafts, architecture, design, film, fine arts, publishing, and photography. The space was designed like a contemporary “creative map,” telling the story of Vietnamese culture through modern and visual technologies.
Alongside the exhibition was the startup pitching area, where 65 startups presented their models and sought opportunities to join incubation and acceleration programs. Among them, 47 projects were part of the INNOCULTURE 2025 program and 18 projects were part of the GIC 2025 program on sustainable development, showcasing the diversity of approaches to cultural industries linked with long-term development goals.
This year, four partners of the Institute of Social Sciences and Humanities Research also presented products that attracted visitors’ attention, including:
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Water crystal chess and zodiac chess sets
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Nano perfumes
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Antibacterial paper artworks
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Handicraft products made from cattail grass
These products will continue to be showcased at the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Day event on November 23 at the Áo Dài Museum in Ho Chi Minh City. Through the harmonious combination of technology, creativity, and local cultural values, the 2025 Cultural and Creative Industries Startup Day outlined a promising future where Vietnamese culture, in general, and Ho Chi Minh City, in particular, can grow, expand, and thrive in the digital era.
