About the Springboard Programme
The Youth SDG innovation platform for Asia-Pacific



VIET NAM
Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam was launched in 2018, by UNDP Viet Nam, Citi Foundation, and the Ministry of Science and Technology. Since 2021, Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam has been implemented by UNDP and Business Forum Magazine, under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Working at both national and sub-national levels, Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam leverages public, private, academic and youth organization partners to create an enabling environment and appropriate incentives for supporting young social entrepreneurs and innovators, to accelerate the national achievement of SDGs.

Despite the recent economic growth, Viet Nam faces many challenges which threaten the country’s continued development, including income inequality, climate change and rapid urbanization. Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam is created to address these challenges, based on the potential of the emerging impact start-up ecosystem in Vietnam with a pool of innovative and ambitious young people.
Key Metrics
Youth Empowerment
Youth Training
500+ youth participated in the sub-national and national policy dialogues at the local and central level, and have been empowered.
500+ young entrepreneurs in which nearly 30% came from marginalized background were trained on SDGs Entrepreneurship.
Mentor Training
110 impact mentors from 28 provinces and cities nationwide joined the Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam training on Impact Entrepreneurship.
Women's Participation
51.4% of female participation in
Youth Co:Lab trainings
Financial and Technical Support
35 startups received financial and technical support through the SDG Innovation Incubation Programme.
Asia-Pacific Youth Co:Lab Summit Hosting
UNDP Viet Nam proudly hosted the second Asia-Pacific Youth Co:Lab Summit in Hanoi, Viet Nam from 2-5 April 2019. The summit brought together 500 key stakeholders from 20 countries including youth, government officials, the private sector, representatives from the UN and other international organizations to collectively work towards building an ecosystem conducive to driving social change through innovation and entrepreneurship.
Startups Showcase
Youth Co:Lab Viet Nam's Journey
2018
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June: 2 National Dialogues to support social impact business research
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October: SDG Innovation Incubator 2018
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November: Youth Co:Lab under TechFest 2018
2019
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October: Training for the youth entrepreneurs in 4 provinces of Vietnam
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November: SDG Innovation Incubator 2019
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December: National Dialogue under TechFest 2019
2020
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September: Conducted a “Research onto Assessment and Projection of resilience and Adaptation of youth for Entrepreneurship and Impact business development”
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October: SDG Innovation Incubator 2020
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November: National Dialogue under TechFest 2020
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December: Entrepreneurship Training Kit for Young Entrepreneurs
2021
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September - October: 4 training courses and 1 bootcamp for impact entrepreneurs & impact mentors
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October: National Competition and Incubation Programme for Youth-led Start-up 2021
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November: International Startup Forum 2021
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December: National Dialogue under Techfest 2021