Attending the program, were Dr. Vu Tien Loc - President of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Vietnam (VCCI), Member of the 14th National Assembly, Head of the National Start-up Program Steering Committee; Vietnam National University Vice President Nguyen Hong Son; VNU UEB leaders; Mr. Moritz Kleine-Brockhoff - Southeast Asia Director of Friedrich Naumann Institute (Federal Republic of Germany), co-organizer of the contest; Mr. Mark Stanitzki, Country Director of the Institute of Friedrich Naumman Vietnam; representatives of sponsors, partners, investors, the participating teams’ mentors...

Business Challenges 2018 took place throughout Hanoi. The contestants are not only university students but also high school students and graduates with passion for business. Over the past 8 months (from April 2018 to present) and through 5 rounds and 6 workshops, 6 out of the 52 participating teams were qualified for the Grand Final round which was divided into 2 branches: Branch 1 with Yolife, Vi Do and Jackstraw; Branch 2 with S4U, Felix and Lumos. The 6 finalists presented and defended their business projects, and the highest prize of the contest went to the Vi Do team for their technology start-up project based on the idea of a network of renting out spare furniture at your place.

Business Challenges 2018 was accompanied by the BestB Startup Probation Partner and sponsored by organizations such as the Thrive Foundation, Medlatec Group, South Asia Bank, and Vidic Company. Candidates had participated in a series of events and workshops, including: Workshop 1 – Start-up Preparation; Workshop 2 - Unlimited Marketing; Workshop 3 - Breakthrough technological thinking; Workshop 4 - Human resource investment – Opportunity Grabbing; Workshop 5 - Mastering finance - The secret of success; Workshop 6 - Issues to notice in mobilizing capital investment. In addition, within the framework of Business Challenges 2018, there were many events organized to create a strong entrepreneurial spirit, such as: Connection Day - Demo Day, Golden Day of Investment (9/9/2018), Business Challenges Startup Fair (11/11/2018).