GGGI Viet Nam

🌾🍃 Building Viet Nam’s low-carbon rice value chain in the Mekong Delta

On 15–19 September, GGGI Viet Nam hosted a field mission to Cần Thơ and Đồng Tháp provinces alongside counterparts from the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment ( ) and the Korea Rural Economic Institute (KREI), bringing together policymakers, researchers, and our green investment officer Mai Hoa Dao CFA and agriculture expert Huong Do for practical exchanges and insights on the readiness of low-carbon rice production in Viet Nam.

The delegation convened a technical seminar with departments of the MAE to explore implementation needs and policy pathways, drawing on Korea’s experience with the Emissions Trading Scheme ( ) and precision agriculture. In Cần Thơ and Đồng Tháp provinces, meetings with the Departments of Agriculture and Environment reviewed current policy, implementation and informed local practices of alternative wet and dry (AWD) and low-emission production. Discussions focused on making measurement, reporting, and verification ( ) simple, digital, and farmer-friendly to move from pilots to scale; aligning national standards and certification with buyer requirements; and strengthening enabling infrastructure, especially irrigation, to accelerate practices such as AWD.

The delegation also visited leading producers and exporters including High-tech Farming, of TAN LONG GROUP, Vinarice, VINASEED, and major retailers , Saigon Co.op. Enterprises shared early progress and interest in expanding low-emission product lines, while noting high certification costs, financing barriers, and the need for a national low-carbon rice standard and government-backed large-scale projects to enable wider rollout.

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The visit is part of the capacity development project Facilitating Low-Carbon & Green Agriculture Transformation, funded by the World Bank through the Korea–World Bank Partnership Facility (KWPF) and implemented by GGGI in collaboration with KREI. Insights from this mission will inform multi-stakeholders that support One Million Hectare Low-Carbon Rice Program in Viet Nam.

💡🌱 On 26 September in Ha Noi, the Agency for Innovation, Green Transition and Industry Promotion (IGIP) -- Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the EU Delegation to Viet Nam, and GGGI wrapped up Batches 1 & 2 of AIS4EE’s Training-of-Trainers program on energy-efficiency (EE) entrepreneurship. Designed as an ecosystem-building intervention under the EU-funded AIS4EE project, this training program forms part of AIS4EE’s ecosystem-building effort to support early-stage entrepreneurs and mainstream EE innovation in training and academic institutions in Viet Nam.

The ten-day training program’s curriculum focuses on sector context (industry, buildings, transport), applied EE technologies, teaching methodology and mentoring for entrepreneurship, investment readiness and venture tools—anchored in case work and international experience. Across two cohorts, over a hundred lecturers and experts from universities, training institutes, and innovation centers nationwide completed the program. The training program reinforces professional linkages and forms a trainer–mentor–expert network for EE and entrepreneurship, equipped to co-develop training modules, support acceleration programs, and provide targeted upskilling for actors across Viet Nam’s EE startup ecosystem.

🔗 Read more at: https://setp.vn/eu_news/ais4ee-training-of-trainers-programme-completes-batches-1-2-building-growth-momentum-for-viet-nams-energy-efficiency-innovation-ecosystem/
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Launched in 2022, the AIS4EE project is funded by the EU, hosted by MOIT, and co-funded and implemented by GGGI. The Training-of-trainers activities were organized by Saigon Innovation Hub (SIHUB) and RCEE-NIRAS, with academic cooperation from the SEPT International Centre, Leipzig University (Germany).

🤝🚀INNOVATE VIET NAM 2025 — Connecting AI-Driven Science and Technology Innovation to a Net-Zero Future

On 2 October at Innovate Viet Nam 2025, GGGI Viet Nam partnered with the NIC - Vietnam National Innovation Center, the Ministry of Finance, together with the World Bank Vietnam, Meta and Qualcomm to organize the Forum on “Promoting Innovation and Development of Strategic Technology Industries”, chaired by H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung.

At the forum, H.E. Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Chi Dung emphasized that Viet Nam must “accelerate and be more decisive to catch up, keep pace, and leapfrog” science–technology, innovation, digital transformation, and strategic technologies as the “golden key” for Viet Nam’s new development phase, to be advanced through deep international cooperation.

Delivering a keynote on “Harnessing Climate-Tech Innovation for the Net-Zero Transition,” our Country Representative Juhern Kim highlighted the importance of connecting AI-driven technological innovation with climate action, making and a shared national agenda to accelerate the net-zero pathway both globally and in Viet Nam.

Echoing the H.E. General Secretary To Lam’s call to “link innovation with sustainable development and emission reduction” in his opening remarks of the INNOVATE VIET NAM 2025, Mr. Kim noted that data centers are driving up global energy demand and emissions—underscoring the urgency of accelerating renewable energy deployment. He particularly highlighted a new wave of AI-driven technological innovation as key enablers for the net-zero transition. From satellite imagery for early detection in liquefied natural gas ( ) pipelines, to precision and autonomous farming, drone-enabled and , and advanced municipal solid waste ( ) sorting and recovery, he pointed to -driven climate technologies already growing fast globally and emphasized the importance of adopting and tailoring these solutions for Viet Nam through technology transfer and startup acceleration. These are key areas where GGGI is expanding cooperation with NIC and partners, building on GGGI’s global experience and local results in climate-startup acceleration via — while mobilizing capital by leveraging Viet Nam’s ambition to become an International Finance Center.

🔗 Read more: https://baochinhphu.vn/trao-doi-tam-nhin-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-de-thuc-day-doi-moi-sang-tao-phat-trien-nganh-cong-nghe-chien-luoc-102251002151748425.htm
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🌱 This joint event marks the first follow-up activity after GGGI’s Director-General signed an MoU with the Director of the Vietnam National Innovation Center during the H.E. General Secretary To Lam’s state visit to the Republic of Korea on August 12, 2025.
🔗 https://gggi.org/gggi-signs-strategic-mou-with-viet-nams-national-innovation-center

🚀 Join a rising team driving Viet Nam’s and transition!

Find out more. Apply today:
🔗 Senior Program Associate: https://lnkd.in/gJ56PN53
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🌏 🌿 On 15 September 2025, GGGI participated in the national workshop “Ozone Layer Protection towards Green Transition: Promoting Intergovernmental and Public-Private Cooperation,” organized by the Department of Climate Change ( ), Ministry of Agriculture and Environment (MAE), Government of Viet Nam.

Chaired by Agriculture and Environment Deputy Minister Lê Công Thành; the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol’s Chief Officer Tina Chondraki Birmpili, the workshop spotlighted the Montreal protocol’s progress and Viet Nam’s next chapter of sustainable urban cooling, which is particularly vital for marginalized communities, and the phasedown of HFCs under the Kigali Amendment.

Delivering a speech on “From Pilot to Scale: Unlocking Finance for Sustainable Cooling,” GGGI Country Representative Juhern Kim emphasized three practical levers to accelerate implementation: aggregate today’s small, fragmented cooling projects into portfolios; clarify “sustainable cooling” in policy through clear definitions and criteria, such as the Viet Nam’s ; and mobilize finance through risk-sharing facility and innovative instruments such as cooling-as-a-service ( ) models to mainstream sustainable cooling solutions.

🤝 Having witnessed the Montreal Protocol’s success – with 99% of ozone-depleting substances having been phased out globally – Mr. Kim affirmed that multilateralism can still deliver meaningful change, even in challenging times for global cooperation, while sharing assessment through the GGGI’s recent work on with the Department of Climate Change (MAE), UN Environment Programme Cool Coalition — funded by ClimateWorks Foundation —that turned conceptual frameworks into city-level projects, underscoring the role of partnership as the engine that advances global action locally.

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🔗 Learn more about the workshop: https://vnexpress.net/viet-nam-giam-phat-thai-240-trieu-tan-co2e-4939215.html
👉 Find out more about GGGI’s recent joint efforts with MAE and UNEP-Cool Coalition to advance sustainable urban cooling in Viet Nam cities: https://gggi.org/viet-nam-advances-sustainable-urban-cooling-expanding-climate-smart-solutions-in-cities/

🚀💡 trainers program completes Leipzig field study, building energy-efficiency venture capabilities for Viet Nam

Under the EU-funded Accelerating Innovative Start-ups for Energy Efficiency (AIS4EE) project, the trainers’ program on innovative startups in energy efficiency completed a four-day field study at Leipzig University’s Competence Center. This second part of the training program focused on entrepreneurial approaches, from business-model design and validation to financial planning and growth strategy; and investor readiness. An introductory session at SEPT’s Process Living Lab demonstrated process mapping, motion-tracking and VR simulation to analyze workflows and quantify efficiency and productivity gains.

🇩🇪Held in Leipzig, Germany from 23-30 August, the learning was anchored in the startup and energy ecosystem touchpoints including SpinLab - The HHL Accelerator — one of the top European accelerators, offering sector-focused, non-dilutive programs that connect startup founders to corporate and city partners to shorten the path from pilot to scale; and the European Energy Exchange AG (EEX Group), a leading global energy exchange platform for energy products, emissions and other commodities.

The delegation also explored energy efficiency startups’ solutions such as greenhub solutions GmbH’s data-driven indoor-farming platform, with AI features, that optimizes growing conditions to raise crop yields while reducing energy and resource use; r3leaf’s use of satellite imagery and AI to map heat-island and flood risks and translate analysis into practical solutions; and the case of Glashaus 3D GmbH on how rapid prototyping and manufacturing design choices influence both productivity and energy footprints.

The direct engagements highlighted the vibrancy of Leipzig’s entrepreneurial community and opened avenues to connect Viet Nam–Germany startup ecosystems for future collaboration. Led by Agency for Innovation, Green Transition and Industry Promotion ( ), MOIT in collaboration with GGGI Viet Nam Office and Saigon Innovation Hub, the delegation comprised 13 government officials and selected lecturers and trainers from universities and training centers nationwide.

On 21 August, our Country Representative Juhern Kim met with Mr. Le Truong Duy. Director and Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Mr. Nguyen Anh Thi, Head of Policy & Strategy Research at the Ho Chi Minh City’s Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution ( ), a unit under the city People’s Committee, to explore potential collaboration on greening the economic sectors in HCMC.

On 22 August at the INNOEX Green Economy Summit, he joined the startup finals judging panel for the Green Innovation Accelerator 2025, where N&E Innovations took the top prize with a patented antimicrobial made from upcycled food waste—advancing chemical-free packaging and post-harvest solutions.

🌿 GGGI Viet Nam joins international conference “Unlocking Global Green Financing to Drive Sustainable Development and Financial Inclusion in Viet Nam,” organized by Ngân hàng Nam Á - NAM A BANK on 5 September in Da Lat.

Speaking at the conference, our Country Representative Juhern Kim shared views on Viet Nam’s path to mobilize , highlighting two priorities: , building a strong pipeline of bankable green projects to drive the net zero transition via rigorous origination, preparation, and de-risking; and , ensuring that finance keeps pace with rapidly evolving innovation – particularly in the era of AI race – so that SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) positioned not merely as ‘small enterprises’, but as ‘scalable’, ‘system-shifting’ medium enterprises.

He also shared GGGI’s global track record—and in Viet Nam in particular—in supporting the development of the green bond market, which is rapidly expanding into a multi-trillion-dollar asset class. He stressed that Viet Nam’s timing is advantageous: with Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City emerging as international financial centers ( ), the country can position itself as an ASEAN green-finance hub. His call to partners was practical and collaborative: banks, institutional investors, regulators, and development partners must join forces, leveraging one another’s expertise and resources to scale up the green finance market.

We were pleased to engage alongside leaders from The State Bank of Vietnam, Private Sector Development Research Board, Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Finance Corporation (IFC), IDG, FiinRatings, KPMG Vietnam, responsAbility Investments AG, BlueOrchard Finance among other investors, companies and business associations. Thank you to Nam A Bank and all speakers for a thoughtful, forward-looking dialogue.

🏙️🍃Viet Nam advances sustainable urban cooling, expanding climate-smart solutions in cities

On 28 August in Ha Noi, DCC (MAE), UNEP and GGGI convened the closing meeting of Sustainable Urban Cooling in Viet Nam’s Cities, highlighting progress in developing city action plans and identifying early investment pathways to bring climate-friendly cooling closer to households and businesses. The closing meeting sessions were led by Mr. Le Ngoc Tuan, Deputy Director General of DCC, with support from Mr. Benjamin Hickman of UNEP’s Cool Coalition, and Maria Cecilia Paña of GGGI.

👉 Launched in 2022, the project supported Urban Cooling Action Plans (UCAPs) for Can Tho and Tam Ky – Quang Nam Province (now Quang Tri Province), and conducted a rapid assessment with recommendations for D**g Hoi – Quang Binh Province (now Quang Tri Province). The UCAPs, with GGGI’s contribution led by Huong Ta, Policy Lead at GGGI, analyze current city conditions, drivers of extreme heat, and cooling demand, and translate findings into practical measures—better urban planning and building design, nature-based passive cooling, efficient systems and, where relevant, district cooling—while expanding access to finance. Can Tho’s UCAP, recognized by UNEP as the first comprehensive UCAP in ASEAN, now serves as a regional reference.

To inform and promote green public investment activities, the project identified a pipeline of investment opportunities and conducted pre-feasibility for two pilot projects the Centralized Information Technology Center in Can Tho and the Phu Binh Residential Area (Tam Ky; now Quang Phu Ward, Da Nang City)—both showing potential with expected environmental, economic and social benefits, facilitated by Mai Hoa Dao CFA, Green Investment Officer at GGGI.

Funded by the Clean Cooling Collaborative and led by DCC (MAE) in partnership with UNEP and GGGI, the collaboration supports Viet Nam’s broader commitment to sustainable cooling—underscored by the Global Cooling Pledge (2023) and strengthened policies on managing and phasing out ozone-depleting substances and controlled greenhouse gases.

Read more at: https://mae.gov.vn/lam-mat-ben-vung-huong-toi-do-thi-than-thien-voi-khi-hau-19378.htm?

On 28 August 2025, at the Viet Nam Finance Forum during Da Nang Finance & Tech Week, GGGI Country Representative to Viet Nam, Mr. Juhern Kim, spoke on “Developing Green Finance in Da Nang: Opportunities & Challenges,” outlining a pathway for to progress as a Green International Financial Center ( ).

In his session, Mr. Kim highlighted how effective financial centers can operate within global and regional ecosystems by offering a pipeline of green bankable projects. Viet Nam is well placed to serve as a regional node for green capital flows, matching green infrastructure and climate-tech ventures with capital and market standards aligned to international practice.

GGGI stands ready to work with national and global partners Da Nang to build that pipeline, enhance bankability, and mobilize green finance, connecting opportunities in Viet Nam with global investors and technology. This direction builds on GGGI’s engagement with Da Nang earlier this year, working with city leadership and departments on integrating green growth into the city’s next development phase and IFC roadmap—alongside priorities in and .

The Forum convened national and city leadership, including Mr. Nguyen Thanh Nghi, Chairman of the Party Central Committee’s Central Policy and Strategy Commission; Mr. Nguyen Van Quang, Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee; and Mr. Luong Nguyen Minh Triet, Chairman of the Da Nang People’s Committee -- alongside regulators, market institutions, and international partners including BIDV - Ngân hàng TMCP Đầu Tư & Phát Triển Việt Nam, Vietcombank, the Swiss FinTech Association (SFTA), the Franklin Innovation Research Strategies & Technology, Frankfurt Financial Center, underscoring cross-sector momentum behind Da Nang’s green-finance agenda.

💡 🌱 The Agency for Innovation, Green Transition and Industry Promotion (IGIP), Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the Delegation of the European Union to Viet Nam, and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) concluded technical consultations in Ha Noi (12 Aug) and Ho Chi Minh City (15 Aug) on the draft Handbook for Innovative Startups in Energy Efficiency: From idea to implementation.

Developed under the EU-funded Accelerating Innovative Startups for Energy Efficiency ( ) project, the Handbook is part of broader efforts to strengthen Viet Nam’s energy-efficiency startup ecosystem and catalyze innovation in this field.

The Handbook aims to help translate the potential of EE startups’ innovative solutions into practice with Viet Nam-specific guidance. These include the regulatory and market landscape, with a clear founder journey from ideation and prototype to business model, scaling technologies, market access, and case examples from Viet Nam and abroad. The Handbook is expected to be published by the end of 2025 in both Vietnamese and English.

Robust discussions brought together over 130 representatives from government agencies, universities, technical institutions, startups, investors, and support organizations, who contributed inputs to further align the Handbook with practical needs.

GGGI and the Banking Academy of Vietnam completed a two-day Training-of-Trainers on Sustainable Finance on 6–7 August in Ha Noi, building faculty capability on essentials and current developments in sustainable finance for lecturers across finance, banking, business administration and related fields.

Developed under the Viet Nam Green Bond Readiness Program (the Program), a GGGI–Ministry of Finance collaboration supported by the Government of Luxembourg, the 12-hour training course covered: Foundations of Sustainable Finance, Gender Lens, and Social Inclusion. The training course was delivered by senior experts from the Institute of Sustainable Finance, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City.

This educator-first initiative complements earlier trainings under the Program in collaboration with CBI, ICMA/HOSE, and the LGX Academy, with an aim of strengthening capacity, market practice, and the talent pipeline for Viet Nam’s sustainable finance and green bond market.

Read more: GGGI and the Banking Academy of Vietnam completed a two-day Training-of-Trainers on Sustainable Finance on 6–7 August in Ha Noi, building faculty capability on essentials and current developments in sustainable finance for lecturers across finance, banking, business administration and related fields.

Developed under the Viet Nam Green Bond Readiness Program (the Program), a GGGI–Ministry of Finance collaboration supported by the Government of Luxembourg, the 12-hour training course covered: Foundations of Sustainable Finance, Gender Lens, and Social Inclusion. The training course was delivered by senior experts from the Institute of Sustainable Finance, University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City.

This educator-first initiative complements earlier trainings under the Program in collaboration with CBI, ICMA/HOSE, and the LGX Academy, with an aim of strengthening capacity, market practice, and the talent pipeline for Viet Nam’s sustainable finance and green bond market.

Read more: https://doanhnghiepkinhtexanh.vn/khai-giang-khoa-dao-tao-ve-tai-chinh-ben-vung-sustainable-finance-a35502.html?gidzl=Ry1JKkq0U3nis5HSxHXwE6pSKLZsJteuTejVMgTC8pWhYbqChKvrR2_Q3G_-I7HgUejO1JYqzXrNwWvwCW