TL;DR Vietnam is a country of over 100 million people that sells mostly manufactured goods to the world, and most of its people are online. Incomes are rising but still modest. The ideas that fit here help exporters prove what buyers ask for, help farms that ship coffee, rice and seafood, and deal with the batteries and floods of its crowded cities.

The market in numbers

  • Population: about 101.6 million in 2025[1].
  • GDP per capita: about US$5,070 in 2025[2].
  • Internet and mobile: about 84% of people used the internet in 2024[3], with roughly 128 mobile subscriptions per 100 people[4].
  • Exports: manufactured goods made up about 85% of merchandise exports in 2023[5]. Manufacturing was about 25% of GDP in 2025[6].
  • Work and cities: about 25% of jobs were in farming in 2025[7], and about 39% of people lived in urban areas[8].
  • Currency: the Vietnamese dong (VND).

What founders here actually have to work with

The export machine is the obvious customer. When 85% of goods leaving the country are manufactured[5], thousands of factories answer to foreign buyers who send audit forms, traceability requests and cyber questionnaires, and most mid-size suppliers would rather pay someone than build that team in-house.

Farming still employs a quarter of workers[7], so the second market is the farm and the packhouse that ships abroad. That is where proof of origin and residue testing start to pay.

Then there are the cities. Only about 39% of people are counted as urban[8], yet the big cities feel packed, and two-wheelers are everywhere [Requires validation]. I'd test anything consumer-facing in one district of one city before I spent a dong on going national, because habits differ a lot between north and south [Requires validation].

Ideas that fit Vietnam

Every idea below was first researched for India. The rupee figures, UPI and Indian licences don't carry over, so read each page as a brief and rework the numbers for Vietnam.

Export factories and the paperwork buyers want

  • Upstreamly: Mapping the fabric mills and subcontractors behind an apparel exporter. Start with factories selling to EU brands, since they get asked first.
  • Offcutsort: Grading and tracing cutting-room waste so a garment factory can sell it. Line up a recycler who'll buy the lots before you sign a factory.
  • Deskmoat: A managed security baseline that gets suppliers through a buyer's cyber audit. Electronics and component makers are the likely first payers.
  • Presentwell: Checking export documents against the letter of credit before the bank sees them. Swap Indian bank practice for how local banks handle discrepancies.
  • Exportmoney: Following each shipment until the payment lands. Rebuild it around local customs and foreign exchange reporting.
  • Palmvein: Palm-vein readers at factory canteens to stop proxy meals and shifts. Big plants with thousands of workers make the maths work fastest.
  • Millrest: Worker housing built on a factory's spare land and run for it. Land-use rules in industrial parks will decide this one [Requires validation].

Coffee, rice and seafood

  • Plotorigin: Plot maps and lot records for coffee sold into Europe. Highland growers and the traders who buy from them are the place to start.
  • Ricelineage: DNA checks that each lot of named rice is the variety on the bag. Fragrant export rice is the obvious fit.
  • Ricemethane: Field checks and payout statements for rice farmers in methane-credit projects. Only worth building once a credit developer is active in your province.
  • Shoalguard: Farm-matched phage mixes that let shrimp hatcheries cut antibiotics. You need a lab partner and local approval for the product [Requires validation].
  • Peppertrail: Spray records and residue test plans from farm to lot for spice exporters. Pepper and cashew traders face the same buyer checks.
  • Frozenproof: Temperature proof for every frozen seafood shipment. Sell it to exporters who've already lost a container to a dispute.

Scooters, floods and city life

  • Cellreturn: Collecting dead e-scooter batteries for the brands that sold them. Check what take-back duties local rules put on producers first.
  • Packmend: Cell-level repair of tired e-scooter packs. Repair shops are everywhere, so the edge is safety and a written warranty.
  • Waterdepth: Sensors that warn apartment blocks before basements flood. Low-lying parts of the southern cities are where I'd pilot it [Requires validation].
  • Lockerwall: Parcel lockers hosted by neighbourhood shops. Test whether apartment residents will walk to collect.
  • Counterwalk: Payment, export papers and shipping for small shops selling abroad over video. Local craft and fashion sellers with foreign followers are the target.

Rules to check before you start

Companies register through the National Business Registration Portal[9]. Tax administration sits under the Ministry of Finance[10]. Banking, payments and foreign exchange are regulated by the State Bank of Vietnam[11], which matters for any idea that moves money. Food, seafood and health products have their own agencies, so confirm which one licenses your product [Requires validation].

This is a starting list, not legal advice. Check with a local lawyer or the agency itself.

Questions founders ask

Service plays for exporters, like Presentwell or Peppertrail, need a laptop, a phone and patience more than capital. Pick one industrial province and one product and get three paying factories before you hire.

Do foreigners need a local partner to start a company in Vietnam?

I couldn't find a source I'd stand behind, and it may depend on the sector. Check with the National Business Registration Portal[9] and a local lawyer.

Should I sell to exporters or to Vietnamese consumers?

Exporters usually pay sooner. About 85% of goods exports are manufactured[5], and those firms already budget for audits and compliance, while consumer ideas need more time and marketing money.

Talk to Yash

If you're weighing an export-side idea against a consumer one in Vietnam, I'm glad to work through who pays first with you. If you need a hand, you know where to find me.

Talk to Yash →

Sources

  1. World Bank, "Population, total: Viet Nam", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?format=json&mrv=1
  2. World Bank, "GDP per capita (current US$): Viet Nam", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/NY.GDP.PCAP.CD?format=json&mrv=1
  3. World Bank (ITU data), "Individuals using the Internet (% of population): Viet Nam", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/IT.NET.USER.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  4. World Bank (ITU data), "Mobile cellular subscriptions (per 100 people): Viet Nam", 2024. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/IT.CEL.SETS.P2?format=json&mrv=1
  5. World Bank, "Manufactures exports (% of merchandise exports): Viet Nam", 2023. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/TX.VAL.MANF.ZS.UN?format=json&mrv=1
  6. World Bank, "Manufacturing, value added (% of GDP): Viet Nam", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/NV.IND.MANF.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  7. World Bank (ILO estimate), "Employment in agriculture (% of total employment): Viet Nam", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  8. World Bank, "Urban population (% of total population): Viet Nam", 2025. https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/VNM/indicator/SP.URB.TOTL.IN.ZS?format=json&mrv=1
  9. National Business Registration Portal (Cong thong tin quoc gia ve dang ky doanh nghiep), 2026. https://dangkykinhdoanh.gov.vn/vn/Pages/Trangchu.aspx
  10. Ministry of Finance of Viet Nam, official portal, 2026. https://www.mof.gov.vn/
  11. State Bank of Vietnam, official site, 2026. https://www.sbv.gov.vn/

For illustration only. Names are fictional and ideas hypothetical; sourced facts are real but may be out of date. Nothing here is legal, financial or professional advice, and Yash Khatri is not personally liable for any use of it. Read the full disclaimer.