Project Cần Thơ 2030
Building the Mekong Delta’s Innovation & Compliance Engine
Transforming a Regional City Into a Southeast Asian Innovation Hub
In 2025, a strategic opportunity emerged in the heart of the Mekong Delta: a rapidly growing metropolitan region with strong agricultural, environmental, and educational foundations — but an underdeveloped innovation and compliance ecosystem.
This region, centred around the city of Can Tho, was defined by:
- A government with a forward-looking 2030 Master Plan and 2050 Vision
- A leading university with deep expertise in ICT, agriculture, and environmental science
- A high-potential private sector
- A growing urgency to respond to global shifts such as digital transformation, export compliance, PDPL, CBAM/EUDR, ETS readiness, climate resilience, and high-tech agriculture
The question was clear:
How do we turn an underutilised ecosystem into a regional centre for innovation, RegTech, ClimateTech, and sustainable growth?
This became the genesis of the Our supporting Project 2030 Plan.
⭐ The Opportunity: A Greenfield Innovation Ecosystem
Compared to major cities like Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, the Mekong Delta lacked:
- A startup engine
- International accelerators
- Compliance and regulatory innovation capacity
- Large-scale R&D–industry collaboration
- Private capital structures
- University-industry-government alignment
However, what it did have was powerful:
- 9 universities, producing tens of thousands of graduates
- A city government committed to digitalisation
- A strategic role in Vietnam’s agricultural exports
- Serious needs around flood resilience, salinity monitoring, and energy transition
- A rapidly expanding metro population
- Ambitious plans to become the ecological & innovation hub of southern Vietnam
This combination made the region an ideal testbed for a 5-year innovation transformation.
⭐ The Response: A Three-Pillar Innovation Architecture
Our organisation introduced a structured, multi-stakeholder innovation model, built around three core pillars:
1. Public Leadership & Policy Enablement
The People's Committee provides strategic direction, pilot access, smart-city pathways, PDPL alignment, and governance for early innovations.
2. University-Anchored Talent & Research Engine
A CTU-led Innovation Hub housing:
- A Data Sandbox Unit (PDPL-compliant)
- A Climate & Environment Lab (ETS/MRV, salinity, flood analytics)
- A Digital Governance Lab (e-permits, workflow tools, credentialing, compliance)
3. Private Sector Execution & Investment Engine
Our organisation coordinates accelerators, venture-building, micro-pilots, technical workshops, and private investment vehicles (VCC/SPV model).
⭐ The Master Plan: 2026–2030 Transformation
Phase 1 (2026): Foundation & Activation
The goal is to build trust, visibility, capability, and alignment — not rush into accelerators prematurely.
Activities include:
- International keynote speakers on innovation, RegTech, climate, and governance
- Workshops with government departments and CTU academics
- Identification of 2026–2027 pilot problem statements
- Launch of the Innovation Hub concept
- Co-design of 10–15 micro-pilots
- Development of the Challenge Book 2026
Phase 2 (2027–2028): Acceleration & Deployment
Once alignment is achieved, the initiative scales:
- Two accelerator programs (RegTech + ClimateTech)
- Attraction of 20–40 startups per year
- Deployment of 100 micro-pilots across agriculture, logistics, environment, and digital government
- Launch of private capital structures
- Student-led MVP programs and bootcamps
- Industry-university innovation loops
Phase 3 (2028–2030): Scaling, Integration & Regional Leadership
The ecosystem becomes self-sustaining:
- Smart Port compliance systems
- City-wide PDPL & digital governance rollout
- DER/microgrid deployment
- Agricultural CBAM/EUDR readiness
- Climate dashboards for government decision-making
- Mekong SmartCity & RegTech Summit (3,500–5,000 delegates)