TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

InnoEx — short for International Forum and Exhibition on Innovation — is Southeast Asia's premier annual innovation and technology exhibition, held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Organised by the HCMC Young Businesspeople Association (YBA), the Business Startup Support Center (BSSC), and Investment & Business Partners (IBP), under the official patronage of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, InnoEx brings together startups, enterprises, investors, policymakers, and global tech brands to explore innovation, digital transformation, AI, green technology, and sustainable business growth. The 2025 edition attracted over 30,000 participants including 4,000 CEOs and founders, 300+ domestic and international exhibitors, 100+ startups, and 70+ investment funds from more than 60 countries. InnoEx 2026 is scheduled for August 19–20, 2026 at Thiskyhall Sala Convention Center, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City. For technology companies, AdTech brands, startups, and enterprises looking to access Southeast Asia's fastest-growing innovation market, InnoEx is one of the most strategically valuable events on the ASEAN calendar. EventsFreeby helps international businesses participate in InnoEx and similar events across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East with full end-to-end exhibition management.

First Things First — What Exactly Is InnoEx?

There's a moment every few years when a regional event stops being a local gathering and starts being something the global business community genuinely needs to pay attention to. InnoEx reached that inflection point.

InnoEx — the International Forum and Exhibition on Innovation — is held annually in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam's economic powerhouse and the beating heart of Southeast Asia's startup ecosystem. What started in 2011 as a community-level initiative to support Vietnamese innovation has, through years of deliberate repositioning and rapidly accelerating regional relevance, become the premier innovation forum and exhibition in Southeast Asia.

And it is not a title given lightly. The 2025 edition alone brought together over 30,000 participants from more than 60 countries — 4,000 of them CEOs and founders — alongside 300 exhibiting organisations, 100+ startups, and 70+ international investment funds. That is not a regional conference. That is a global convergence happening in one of the most exciting technology markets in Asia right now.

But numbers only tell part of the story. What actually makes InnoEx different — and why technology companies, AdTech brands, startups, and enterprises should be thinking seriously about their participation strategy — is the story this blog is going to walk you through.

The Context You Need: Why Vietnam, Why Now

Before we get into the mechanics of InnoEx, it helps to understand the market it is rooted in. Because InnoEx is not just an event — it is a reflection of Vietnam's extraordinary moment in the global technology and innovation landscape.

In the first half of 2025, Vietnam's GDP grew 7.52%, with Q2 growth reaching 7.96% — the highest in 15 years. The country's digital economy now stands at USD 36 billion, accounting for over 18% of GDP, and is projected to contribute 30–35% of GDP by 2030. Ho Chi Minh City alone accounts for 50% of the country's startups, 40% of its incubators, 44% of investment capital, and 60% of large investment deals.

This is not a market in the early stages of digital adoption. This is a market in the middle of a full-scale digital economy transformation — backed by government policy, private sector momentum, and a young, technology-literate population of nearly 100 million people.

Vietnam's Four Strategic Resolutions (57, 59, 66, 68) and the newly amended Law on Science and Technology provide the regulatory architecture for this transformation. Resolution 57 specifically focuses on developing a national digital ecosystem, creating direct governmental alignment with the kinds of innovation, AI, and digital asset themes that InnoEx covers every year.

When InnoEx's Chairwoman, Ms. Truong Ly Hoang Phi, says "InnoEx is where innovation, investment, and policy converge — it's not just a gateway into Vietnam, it's a strategic platform to co-shape the region's future from the heart of Ho Chi Minh City," she is describing something real. The policy foundation is there. The market growth is there. And InnoEx has positioned itself at the intersection of both.

For any technology company or innovation-led brand with ASEAN ambitions, this context matters enormously when evaluating whether InnoEx belongs in their event calendar.

Who Organises InnoEx — and Why That Matters

Understanding who runs InnoEx tells you a great deal about the quality and credibility of the event.

InnoEx is jointly organised by three institutions:

The HCMC Young Businesspeople Association (YBA) — Vietnam's leading institution for nurturing the next generation of business leaders. YBA was established in 1994 and has a deep, institutional relationship with the Ho Chi Minh City business community. Its networks span government, enterprise, and the startup ecosystem in ways that no external commercial organiser could replicate.

The Business Startup Support Center (BSSC) — Vietnam's first dedicated startup incubator and accelerator, with a track record of supporting thousands of startups from Vietnam and abroad. BSSC brings to InnoEx not just credibility but an active pipeline of startups, investors, and innovation programmes that give the event genuine substance.

Investment and Business Partners (IBP) — A strategic consulting and investment firm building innovation centres and accelerator programmes across Southeast Asia. IBP's regional footprint means InnoEx has genuine connectivity across the ASEAN ecosystem, not just within Vietnam.

Critically, InnoEx operates under the official patronage of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee. This government backing is not ceremonial. It means InnoEx has institutional access to policy dialogue, regulatory alignment, and the kind of senior government participation that gives international companies confidence when using the event as a gateway into the Vietnamese market.

This combination — a trusted local association, a serious startup ecosystem institution, a regional investment firm, and active government endorsement — is why InnoEx attracts participants at the calibre it does. These are not organisations running an event for attendance numbers. They are organisations with a genuine mandate to develop Southeast Asia's innovation ecosystem.

The Numbers: InnoEx at a Glance

Let's anchor the scale before we get into the content and structure.

InnoEx 2025, held on August 21–22 at Thiskyhall Sala in Ho Chi Minh City, delivered:

• 30,000+ total participants over two days
• 4,000 CEOs and founders in attendance
• 300 domestic and international exhibitors
• 100+ startups from Vietnam and internationally
• 70+ international investment funds
• 100+ international speakers
• Participants from 60+ countries, including strategic markets such as Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Canada, and Europe
• National pavilions including a dedicated Korea Pavilion organised by NIPA

For context, InnoEx has grown consistently year on year. The 2024 edition attracted over 260 domestic and international exhibitors including notable FDI businesses, SMEs, and technology startups, alongside 85+ investment funds and 150+ startups. The trajectory from 2024 to 2025 — more exhibitors, more investment funds, more international representation — reflects a conference finding its momentum rather than plateauing.

InnoEx 2026 is scheduled for August 19–20, 2026 at the Thiskyhall Sala Convention Center in Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City — a modern, world-class venue purpose-built for large-scale international events.

What Actually Happens at InnoEx? The Six Core Activities

One of the things that distinguishes InnoEx from a generic trade expo is its structural sophistication. Rather than simply opening an exhibition floor and letting attendees wander, InnoEx is organised around six distinct activities, each serving a specific purpose and a specific audience.

1. The Exhibition and Launchpad

The exhibition floor is the spine of InnoEx. Over 300 exhibiting organisations showcase products, services, intelligent solutions, advanced technologies, and breakthrough innovations. The technology categories represented at InnoEx span AI, green tech, smart manufacturing, electric vehicles, digital transformation tools, fintech solutions, logistics technology, and digital assets.

What sets the InnoEx exhibition apart from a standard trade show floor is the Launchpad dimension. A dedicated area within the exhibition is specifically designed for new product introductions and breakthrough technology debuts. Companies that use InnoEx as a launch platform benefit from the concentrated attention of 4,000+ business leaders, 70+ investment funds, and extensive media coverage from over 100 regional media agencies and outlets.

For technology companies and AdTech brands, the exhibition floor offers direct visibility to buyers, partners, and decision-makers who are actively evaluating solutions — not casually browsing.

2. Startup Pitch Competitions

InnoEx is home to the final rounds of two of Southeast Asia's most respected startup competitions: Startup Wheel and the Green Innovation Fellowship.

Startup Wheel is Vietnam's largest and most internationally recognised startup pitch competition, with participation from startups across the ASEAN region and beyond. The Green Innovation Fellowship focuses specifically on sustainability-driven innovation — reflecting InnoEx's consistent commitment to aligning technology advancement with environmental responsibility.

For startups, these competitions are not just about prize money. Being on the InnoEx stage in front of 70+ investment funds and 4,000+ business leaders is a visibility event that can accelerate fundraising timelines by months. For investors attending InnoEx, the pitch competitions provide a curated pipeline of vetted, high-potential companies at various stages of development.

3. Capital Connect

Capital Connect is one of InnoEx's most practically valuable programmes for companies seeking funding or partnership. The programme directly connects startups with investment funds, banks, and global organisations, creating structured opportunities for fundraising, strategic partnerships, and innovation commercialisation.

This is not casual speed networking. Capital Connect is a curated matchmaking programme — which means companies are connected with investors and partners based on fit, not just alphabetical order. For startups and growth-stage technology companies attending InnoEx, Capital Connect provides the kind of structured investor access that would otherwise require months of warm introductions.

4. CEO Forums and Strategic Conference Stages

InnoEx runs multiple dedicated conference stages simultaneously. In 2025, these included the Innovation Stage, Transformation Stage, Discovery Stage, and Connect Stage — each addressing different themes and audience profiles across the two event days.

The CEO Forum — one of the largest annual events for Vietnamese CEOs, attracting over 10,000 CEO participants historically — runs in coordination with InnoEx, bringing an additional layer of senior executive engagement to the event.

Speakers at InnoEx are practitioners, not just theorists. The 2025 edition featured keynotes and sessions covering Generative AI applications in business (with documented evidence of 2.6%+ growth and up to 95% cost savings in marketing activities reported by GenAI adopters), AI applications in banking and financial services, electric vehicle and clean mobility technology, and the economics of digital assets.

The conference programme positions InnoEx participants not just as exhibitors but as contributors to a genuine regional policy and innovation dialogue — something that carries significant value when building relationships with government officials, institutional investors, and enterprise decision-makers.

5. International Trade Promotion and Launchpad Forum

The International Trade Promotion and Launchpad Forum operates as a strategic marketplace specifically designed to link Vietnamese enterprises with international partners and investors. This forum recognises that one of the highest-value outcomes of InnoEx participation — for both Vietnamese companies expanding internationally and international companies entering Vietnam — is finding the right commercial partnerships that can actually be executed.

For international companies, this forum is the programme within InnoEx that most directly supports market entry. Rather than navigating the Vietnamese business ecosystem independently, international brands at InnoEx get structured access to counterparts who are actively seeking exactly the kind of partnerships they can offer.

This is why InnoEx has been compared to CES Asia in Shanghai and SWITCH in Singapore as a leading regional innovation platform — and why its positioning as "Southeast Asia's gateway to the global innovation network" is substantiated by the calibre of international partnerships it facilitates.

6. The Advisory Circle and Policy Dialogue

In 2025, InnoEx launched the Advisory Circle — an expert network of major partner corporations providing ongoing strategic guidance to the InnoEx ecosystem. This was accompanied by the Strategic Dialogue "Ho Chi Minh City 2030+" on the day before the main event, where 50 leaders from business, academia, startups, and associations contributed actionable ideas for positioning HCMC as a global metropolis.

This policy dimension is what separates InnoEx from a purely commercial event. The ability to participate in shaping how Ho Chi Minh City — and by extension, one of Southeast Asia's most dynamic innovation hubs — develops its digital economy strategy is a form of access that no amount of digital advertising can replicate.

Who Attends InnoEx? The Full Attendee Profile

Understanding the audience at InnoEx is the most direct way to assess whether the event delivers the right room for your business. Based on multiple years of event data, the InnoEx attendee community breaks down as follows:

Senior Business Leaders are the dominant group. With 4,000 CEOs and founders at the 2025 edition, InnoEx is genuinely a C-suite event — not a junior analyst conference. These are decision-makers with budgets, mandates, and the authority to enter into partnerships, contracts, and investment agreements.

International Investors and Investment Funds — 70+ funds representing 60+ countries attended InnoEx 2025. The geographic diversity of the investor community reflects Vietnam's growing attractiveness as a destination for technology-focused capital deployment in Southeast Asia.

Startups and Entrepreneurs — 100+ startups from Vietnam and internationally participated in InnoEx 2025. These are not pre-revenue ideas; these are companies that have cleared the selection process for Startup Wheel and Green Innovation Fellowship, meaning they represent genuinely investable businesses in high-growth technology categories.

Government Officials and Policymakers — With the event held under the patronage of the HCMC People's Committee and active participation from Vietnam's Ministry of Planning and Investment, InnoEx creates direct access to the government stakeholders shaping Vietnam's digital economy policy.

Technology Corporations and FDI Businesses — Companies including Qualcomm (which has a strategic partnership with InnoEx through the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge), alongside Korean, Taiwanese, Singaporean, Japanese, Australian, and Malaysian enterprise partners, make InnoEx a genuinely international commercial environment.

Cross-border e-commerce professionals, digital marketers, app developers, technology innovators, brand managers, international business strategists, venture capitalists, and global trade experts all feature in the InnoEx attendee profile — creating a genuinely multi-sector environment that reflects the interdisciplinary nature of modern technology-driven business.

The Themes That Drive InnoEx: What the Conversations Are Actually About

InnoEx is not a technology showcase in the abstract sense. Each edition is anchored to a specific theme that reflects the most pressing technological and economic challenges facing Southeast Asian businesses at that moment in time.

The 2025 theme — "Shaping the Future Economy: From Data to Digital Assets" — positioned InnoEx at the intersection of data governance, digital transformation, blockchain, and the emerging economics of digital asset creation and ownership. This is not a buzzword agenda. It reflects Vietnam's active policy development in digital assets and the practical questions Vietnamese businesses are grappling with as they navigate a digital economy that is growing faster than most regulatory frameworks can keep pace with.

Previous InnoEx themes have addressed green economy and sustainability, Industry 4.0 implementation, and innovation-led business model transformation. The consistency across themes is a focus on actionable, commercially relevant innovation rather than speculative futures.

The 2026 edition continues this trajectory. With AI, sustainable development, digital transformation, and Industry 4.0 listed as focus areas for InnoEx 2026, the event continues to serve as a practical orientation point for businesses navigating the most consequential technology transitions of the current decade.

For AdTech companies specifically, InnoEx themes connect directly to the AI-driven performance marketing, data monetisation, and digital transformation conversations that define the current AdTech landscape. An AdTech brand exhibiting at InnoEx is not presenting to a tangential audience — it is presenting to organisations actively implementing the technologies and business models that AdTech solutions are built to serve.

Why InnoEx Matters Specifically for AdTech and Technology Brands

Let's be direct about this. InnoEx is not exclusively an AdTech conference. But for technology companies and AdTech brands with ASEAN growth ambitions, it represents one of the most concentrated and commercially relevant rooms available in the region. Here is why.

Vietnam Is a High-Growth AdTech Market

Vietnam's digital advertising market is growing rapidly, driven by a young, smartphone-native population and a digital economy projected to nearly double its contribution to GDP by 2030. Companies that establish brand presence and commercial relationships in this market now are building a compounding advantage over those who enter later — when competition is higher and attention is more expensive.

The Room Contains Your Buyers and Your Partners

The 4,000 CEOs at InnoEx are running businesses that need AdTech solutions — whether that's performance marketing infrastructure, data analytics, AI-driven user acquisition, or programmatic advertising technology. The 70+ investment funds are evaluating the next wave of technology companies in the region, including AdTech platforms with regional growth potential. The 100+ startups are building the next generation of digital products that will need exactly the kind of traffic, data, and monetisation solutions that AdTech companies provide.

The Policy Dimension Opens Doors That Sales Teams Can't

Vietnam's government is actively shaping its digital economy policy through the very frameworks — Resolution 57's national digital ecosystem mandate, the amended Law on Science and Technology — that InnoEx is built around. For technology companies that want to operate in Vietnam at scale, having a presence in the policy dialogue at InnoEx is not a nice-to-have. It is a strategic investment in the relationships that determine market access over the long term.

InnoEx Provides Genuine Market Intelligence

For any technology company evaluating Southeast Asian expansion, InnoEx is an extraordinarily efficient market intelligence event. In two days, you can understand the competitive landscape of Vietnamese technology adoption, assess the maturity of the programmatic and digital marketing ecosystem, meet the investors actively deploying capital into technology businesses in the region, and gauge the appetite of Vietnamese enterprises for the solutions you are bringing to market.

That intelligence — gathered through direct conversations rather than desk research — is worth considerably more than any analyst report.

The Qualcomm Factor: What Corporate Participation at InnoEx Looks Like

Qualcomm's strategic partnership with InnoEx through the Qualcomm Vietnam Innovation Challenge (QVIC) is worth examining as a case study in how global technology companies are using InnoEx.

QVIC supports deep-tech startups in AI, 5G, IoT, and smart devices — areas that align directly with Qualcomm's core technology portfolio. By building a challenge programme into InnoEx, Qualcomm achieves multiple objectives simultaneously: it identifies and supports the next generation of Vietnamese technology companies, it builds brand equity within the developer and startup community, and it establishes itself as a committed partner in Vietnam's innovation ecosystem rather than an extractive foreign corporation.

This model — corporate partnership built around genuine ecosystem contribution, not just brand sponsorship — is the template that the most sophisticated international technology companies are using at InnoEx. For AdTech and technology brands evaluating their participation strategy, it is instructive. The companies getting the most from InnoEx are the ones showing up with something to give — a programme, a challenge, a resource — not just a booth.

InnoEx vs. Other Southeast Asian Innovation Events: Where Does It Sit?

InnoEx is frequently mentioned alongside CES Asia in Shanghai and SWITCH in Singapore as one of the leading regional innovation platforms in Asia. Understanding how these events compare helps clarify where InnoEx fits in a broader event strategy.

SWITCH (Singapore International Week of Innovation & Technology) is Singapore's flagship innovation event — well-established, international, and particularly strong for deep tech and enterprise technology. Its strength is geographic: Singapore's position as Asia's financial and corporate hub gives it exceptional access to institutional investors and multinational corporations.

CES Asia historically served as the Asian edition of the Consumer Electronics Show — focused on consumer technology and product innovation with a strong hardware and consumer brand orientation.

InnoEx occupies a different position. It is rooted in Vietnam's innovation ecosystem — a market that is growing faster than Singapore and is significantly less mature, which means the partnership and first-mover opportunities are correspondingly larger. InnoEx's combination of government policy alignment, startup ecosystem depth, and genuinely international investor participation creates a room that the other regional events don't quite replicate.

For technology companies and AdTech brands building an Asia-Pacific event strategy, the strongest approach is not to choose between these events but to understand what each one does best — and allocate participation accordingly.

Practical Guide: How to Participate in InnoEx

If you've made it this far, you're either already planning InnoEx participation or seriously evaluating it. Here's what you need to know to approach it strategically.

Exhibiting vs. Attending as a Delegate

Exhibiting gives you a dedicated booth presence on the InnoEx exhibition floor, visibility to 30,000+ participants, the ability to run live demos and product launches, and the credibility signal of being positioned as an active player in Southeast Asia's innovation ecosystem. For technology companies and AdTech brands where lead generation, partnership development, and brand positioning in the ASEAN market are primary objectives, exhibiting is the right entry point.

Attending as a delegate provides access to the conference programme, exhibition floor, and the Capital Connect and CEO Forum sessions. For companies doing a first exploratory visit to InnoEx — gathering market intelligence before committing to exhibitor participation — delegate attendance is a lower-cost way to assess the event's value for your specific business.

Getting the Logistics Right for an International Exhibition in Vietnam

This is where many international companies run into friction — and where the difference between a successful InnoEx participation and a stressful one is determined long before the event opens.

Exhibiting internationally in Vietnam involves booth material freight and customs clearance, local vendor coordination for on-site setup and dismantling, visa processing for team members, accommodation in a city that books out quickly during major events, and on-ground support throughout the two event days. None of this is impossible to manage. But managing it in-house — without local knowledge, established vendor relationships, and experience navigating Vietnamese customs requirements — consistently adds cost, stress, and operational risk to what should be a focused commercial trip.

EventsFreeby manages every element of international event participation for businesses attending and exhibiting at InnoEx and similar events across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. From booth design and fabrication through to freight forwarding, local vendor coordination, customs clearance, and on-ground support, our team handles the operational complexity so your team arrives in Ho Chi Minh City focused entirely on the conversations and partnerships that matter.

Explore our international event participation services to understand how we approach InnoEx logistics — or post your event to get started on your 2026 participation planning.

Your Pre-Event Strategy: Don't Overlook This

The most common mistake international companies make at InnoEx is treating pre-event planning as a logistical exercise rather than a commercial one. Booking your booth and sorting your flights is the minimum. The companies that close partnerships and generate pipeline at InnoEx do three additional things:

They research the attendee and exhibitor list in advance. InnoEx attracts participants from 60+ countries. Your top 20 target organisations are almost certainly attending. Identifying them before the event and initiating contact ahead of time — whether through shared connections, pre-event digital outreach, or the event's matchmaking channels — means the conversations at your booth are continuations of existing dialogue, not cold introductions.

They build a post-event follow-up process before they travel. InnoEx generates a high volume of new contacts over two intensive days. Without a structured follow-up process built before the event, the window for converting those contacts into active pipeline closes quickly — typically within 48 to 72 hours of the event ending.

They use InnoEx as a market intelligence opportunity, not just a sales opportunity. The CEO Forum, conference sessions, and competitor booth visits at InnoEx provide market intelligence that is impossible to replicate from a desk. Building time into your InnoEx schedule for structured observation and competitive assessment — not just booth staffing — consistently improves the quality of strategic decisions made in the months after the event.

What Makes InnoEx 2026 Worth Watching

InnoEx 2026 takes place on August 19–20, 2026 at the Thiskyhall Sala Convention Center, Thu Duc City, Ho Chi Minh City.

The venue upgrade to the Thiskyhall Sala — described as a world-class convention centre — reflects the ambition of the 2026 edition to continue the scale trajectory of recent years. With the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee's confirmed support for InnoEx through 2028, this is an event with institutional backing for multi-year growth.

The Intelligence Hub is a new programme feature for 2026, providing curated access to strategic insights and discussions for senior decision-makers. The Capital Connect programme continues, alongside the Startup Pitch competition finals and the International Trade Promotion Forum.

In the context of Vietnam's extraordinary economic trajectory — GDP growth at 15-year highs, a digital economy approaching USD 40 billion, and government policy aggressively supporting private sector innovation — InnoEx 2026 will host some of the most commercially significant conversations in Southeast Asian technology and business this year.

For international companies that want a seat at that table, the planning window is now.

Final Word: InnoEx Is the Room Where Southeast Asia's Digital Future Gets Decided

Vietnam is not an emerging market in the way that term is typically used — suggesting something not quite ready, not quite mature. With GDP growth rates that would be remarkable by any global standard, a digital economy on track to be the region's largest by 2030, and a government infrastructure actively channelling policy into innovation and technology development, Vietnam is an arrived market. A high-momentum market. A market where the companies establishing presence now are building a durable competitive advantage.

InnoEx is the annual event where that market concentrates. Where 4,000 CEOs, 70 investment funds, 100 startups, and 30,000 practitioners come together to do what business has always done at its most important moments — meet, decide, and build.

For technology companies, AdTech brands, and innovation-led enterprises with any ambition in Southeast Asia, InnoEx belongs in your event strategy. Not as a speculative try. As a deliberate, well-prepared commitment to a market and an ecosystem that is going to matter enormously over the next decade.

And when you're ready to make that commitment — with a booth that communicates your value, logistics that actually work, and a team that arrives focused rather than exhausted — EventsFreeby is built to make that happen.

Ready to exhibit at InnoEx 2026 or explore other Southeast Asian innovation events? Visit EventsFreeby to learn about our end-to-end international event participation services across Asia, Europe, and the Middle East. Or post your event and our team will be in touch.