NextGen Business Innovator 2026 Finale: Top 12 Break Through with Practical Mindsets and Technology

After more than three months of companionship with a series of training, mentoring, and project development activities, the Finale of the NextGen Business Innovator 2026 competition officially took place on June 27, concluding an inspiring journey of young innovators.  With the theme "Seal the Deal – Practical Resilience, Technology Optimization!", the decisive round pushed teams beyond the limits of paper-based ideas to prove their projects' feasibility through strategic thinking, business models, persuasion skills, and critical defense capabilities before an expert panel.

NextGen Business Innovator 2026 concludes with many milestones.

Attending the program on behalf of the University were Mr. Do Quoc Anh - Vice Chairman of the University Board; Dr. Nhan Cam Tri - Vice President, alongside teachers from the Faculty Dean Boards and lecturers from the Faculty of Business Administration and the Faculty of Information Technology.

On the corporate guest side, the program featured the attendance of Mr. Vo Hoang Nam - Country Manager of Diaflow Co., Ltd.; Mr. Nguyen Minh Hai - CEO of MakerHub Co., Ltd. and Founder of the Unikorn platform; Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - General Director of Golden Land Real Estate Joint Stock Company; Ms. Vu Thi Tuyết Thanh - Deputy Director of DBV Insurance Group Joint Stock Company - Saigon Branch; Mr. Nguyen Thanh Long - Head of Personal Customer Relations at An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank) - Quang Trung Branch; Mr. Tan Lam - okviphoatdong Manager, and Ms. Uyen Nhi - okviphoatdong Specialist from Chan Tam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company; Mr. Tran Bui Quang Linh - Senior Product & Partnership Consultant at IT Viec Joint Stock Company; Mr. Luong Hoang Phan - Former Head of Digital Innovation at Heineken Vietnam; Ms. Do Thi Phuong Thanh - Modern Trade Manager at Kirin Interfood Vietnam; Mr. Su Dinh Khoa - CEO of Betma English Center System; and Mr. Dao Quang Chung - Director of Nuphaco Vietnam Co., Ltd.

Playing the role of orienting, advising, and supporting teams in perfecting their projects from concepts to business models was a mentor team comprising experienced okviphoatdong store lecturers and corporate experts. The mentor team included Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan Huong - Lecturer at the Faculty of Business Administration and Business Consultant at Zalo Group; Mr. Nguyen Son Ha - Lecturer at the Faculty of Business Administration; Mr. Nguyen Hong Thach - Lecturer at the Faculty of okviphoatdong and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Thach Anh Telecom IT Joint Stock Company; Ms. Hoang Thị Hang - Assistant to the Dean of the Faculty of Information Technology; Mr. Dang Vinh Hien - Lecturer at the Faculty of Information Technology; Mr. Nguyen Minh Hai - CEO of MakerHub Co., Ltd. and Founder of Unikorn; and Mr. Tran Bui Quang Linh - Senior Product & Partnership Consultant at IT Viec Joint Stock Company.

Representatives of the Organizing Committee present letters of appreciation to the mentors.

Accompanying NextGen Business Innovator 2026 was the support from enterprises, contributing to creating a practice-linked learning environment and injecting resources into the journey of nurturing creative entrepreneurial ideas among pupils and students. The competition received companionship from Diaflow Co., Ltd., MakerHub Co., Ltd., Golden Land Real Estate Joint Stock Company, DBV Insurance Group Joint Stock Company - Saigon Branch, Chan Tam Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, IT Viec Joint Stock Company, and An Binh Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ABBank).

Representatives of the Organizing Committee present letters of appreciation to the Sponsors.

The Board of Judges at the Finale consisted of experienced experts, entrepreneurs, and managers across multiple fields: Mr. Vo Hoang Nam - Country Manager of Diaflow Co., Ltd.; Mr. Luong Hoang Phan - Former Head of Digital Innovation at Heineken Vietnam; Ms. Do Thi Phuong Thanh - Modern Trade Manager at Kirin Interfood Vietnam; Mr. Su Dinh Khoa - CEO of Betma English Center System; Mr. Dao Quang Chung - Director of Nuphaco Vietnam Co., Ltd.; and Mr. Nguyen Van Hung - General Director of Golden Land Real Estate Joint Stock Company.

Representatives of the Organizing Committee present letters of appreciation to the Board of Judges.

NextGen Business Innovator 2026 was structured following an end-to-end training model, helping learners step-by-step transform an idea into a business project capable of practical deployment. Each competing team was accompanied by an experienced practical mentor, forming a lineup model consisting of 3 okviphoatdong store students, 2 high school pupils, and 1 mentor. This was a prominent new feature of this year's season, helping to connect academic perspectives with corporate experience while creating a multi-dimensional learning environment across generations.

After the process of training, product refinement, and continuously receiving feedback from mentors, the top 12 outstanding teams officially entered Phase 2 – Seal the Deal, where every idea had to be proven by data, strategy, and feasibility.

Entering the Finale, the 12 teams took turns delivering meticulous presentations, showcasing their research and project development after more than three months of accompanying the program. Within the regulated timeframe, each team structured their pitching session standardly, beginning with identifying the problem and target customers, analyzing market demand, presenting solutions, business models, customer acquisition strategies, communication plans, revenue generation methods, and financial puzzles. Specifically, the Business Model Canvas (BMC) was thoroughly invested in by the teams, clarifying customer segments, distribution channel systems, cost structures, revenue models, and the project's profitability. Besides, the teams screened AI-applied communication videos produced by themselves, demonstrating their ability to exploit digital technology in marketing and branding activities.

Competing teams confidently present their business projects, operational models, and development strategies.

Following each presentation, the Board of Judges directly posed numerous counter-questions revolving around the project's feasibility, customer understanding level, competitive advantages, market expansion strategies, as well as future operational and development plans. Particularly, contents related to the business model and financial efficiency, such as selling price determination, cost structures, profit margins, break-even points, and sustainable revenue generation capabilities, were deeply exploited by experts to evaluate the readiness of bringing projects into reality.

Many professional questions regarding business models, market strategies, and project feasibility are posed.

Assessing the overall quality of the competition, the judges acknowledged the clear progress of the teams in their business model formulation mindsets, artificial intelligence application capabilities, presentation skills, and teamwork spirit. Many projects were evaluated to have novel ideas, closely matching market demands and demonstrating a serious investment in research.

The final awards named:

• Champion: GOLDEN RAYS

• First Runner-up: PENTAGON

• Second Runner-up: YOUNGLIFT

Additionally, several thematic awards were presented to honor the prominent strengths of the teams:

• Technology Elite (Best Use of AI): NEXTUG DIGITAL

• Order-Closing Machine (Best Sales Performance): SPARK

• Master of Storytelling (Best Video Storytelling): GOLDEN RAYS

• Connection Ambassador (Best School Connector): PHNIX

The most outstanding projects of NextGen Business Innovator 2026 are officially named.

The NextGen Business Innovator 2026 Finale closed, but the values brought by the program will continue to spread. From an initial idea, the competing teams learned how to research the market, build business models, apply artificial intelligence, develop communication strategies, defend financial plans, and persuade an expert board with well-founded arguments.

More importantly, the competition contributed to nurturing an innovative spirit, igniting entrepreneurial mindsets, and creating opportunities for high school and university students to connect with enterprises right from the school benches. The experience accumulated throughout the journey is not only equipment for upcoming competitions but also a foundation for them to confidently step into the working environment, ready to turn today's ideas into future practical values.

Center of Information and Communications