Next Big Idea is a market access program to North America via Canada's largest city, Toronto—the fourth-largest city in North America and one of the fastest-growing tech hubs in the world.
Next Big Idea began at Zone Startups India in 2013 and has helped over 30 companies with international expansion by educating companies and making connections to potential customers in the North American market. We are now bringing Next Big Idea to our Vietnam program, to give the best Vietnamese startups a chance to establish invaluable connections in the USA and Canada.
Our team at Zone Startups Vietnam will accept submissions from across the country to participate in our inaugural NBI Vietnam cohort, conducting pitch sessions in both Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi. Founders who can demonstrate significant market validation and customer acquisition, as well as the ability and desire to flourish in the North American market, will be considered.
Program Highlights
A trip to Toronto in 2019, with all travel costs covered for one founder.
Meetings and networking opportunities with industry leaders.
Mentorship from the Zone Startups team in our Toronto-based accelerator, Ryerson Futures.
Advice on growing a Canadian presence by government officials.
It's incredibly difficult to determine what your next move should be from India—and for startups, time is money. Through our relationship with Zone Startups, we were able to identify Canada as a launchpad for our international operations.
– Sandeep Todi, Remitr
Zone Startups essentially helped to position us in the North American market. It gave us good exposure to meet new connects and find new business opportunities.
– Mukund Mudras, Heckyl Technologies
The program really helped us to reach the next level. The networking opportunities, connections, and mentoring sessions were super helpful in terms of getting to know the market, as well as customer feedback and validation.
– Jibin Jose, Flipmotion Technologies
If we had not gone through NBI, we would never have given a serious thought to looking at Canada as a potential gateway to the North American market. It was an eye-opener.
– Pankit Desai, Sequretek