“Embracing Vietnamese Products”: The Highlighted Message at Better Choice Awards 2025

Better Choice Awards, the annual technology awards organized by the National Innovation Center (NIC) and VCCorp, has officially entered its third season with groundbreaking changes. Aside from expanding the awards system, integrating AI into scoring criteria, and introducing a new cluster of awards for consumer finance, Better Choice Awards 2025 emphasizes a market-orienting message: Vietnamese Embracing Vietnamese Products.

This message is not just a slogan but a reminder with a solid basis. An increasing number of domestic brands are investing seriously in technology but still struggle to gain trust in the domestic market.

“If Vietnamese do not embrace these values, the journey of new products cannot continue,”

shared Mr. Pham Xuan Ha, Head of the Better Choice Awards Organizing Committee.

Vietnamese Embracing Vietnamese Products: From Message to Award Criteria

This year, the criterion of “suitability for Vietnamese users” is officially on par with two other essential criteria: “green” and “smart.” This shift in evaluating technology products considers the device’s friendliness to new users, its support for the Vietnamese language, ease of repair, and compatibility with Vietnam’s infrastructure, rather than solely focusing on specifications and global design.

A device can still win even if it’s not the most powerful or expensive if it is user-friendly, offers good Vietnamese language support, is easy to repair, and suits Vietnam’s infrastructure. User groups are also more clearly defined to ensure that scoring aligns with actual needs, ranging from tech-savvy GenZers to elderly newcomers to digitalization, ride-sharing drivers, new female drivers, and content creators.

This year’s evaluation ecosystem has been expanded to include an independent board of experts, the consumer community, and the KOC Better List model. Nearly 20 representative consumers will directly experience and evaluate products weekly. After three weeks, the products with the most positive feedback will be honored at the Gala Awards Night held on October 3, 2025, in Hanoi.

Expanded Awards System: Reflecting Actual Needs in Vietnam

In its third year, Better Choice Awards 2025 broadens its award structure to mirror the shifts in Vietnam’s technology consumer market. Aside from the three familiar award groups—Smart Choice Awards for devices and technology platforms, Car Choice Awards for automotive products and brands, and Innovative Choice Awards for digital innovation initiatives—this season introduces the Consumer Finance Awards, a cluster of awards honoring financial platforms serving Vietnamese consumers.

This new cluster includes categories related to investment applications, digital banking, payment platforms, and tech-based card products. For the first time, personal financial behavior is included in a national-scale technology awards system, reflecting the dynamic shift in the digital lives of Vietnamese people.

Aside from the awards, the Vietnam Mobility Festival will be held from October 1 to 3, offering a combination of electric vehicle and smart transportation technology experiences, along with the Car Choice Awards ceremony. This event will provide an open space for people to directly interact with the award-winning products.

The collateral activities of the awards also carry long-term strategic significance. Within the event, several thematic workshops will be organized, focusing on artificial intelligence, semiconductor technology, and quantum technology. International experts, including Nobel Prize and Tate Medal winners, will participate, marking the first time a high-level technology forum in Vietnam has gathered such global luminaries.

Additionally, the talk show series “Nation-Building: Vietnam Pride” will be periodically broadcast from August to November on the Government Web Portal, featuring outstanding Vietnamese individuals who are changing society through technology and innovation. Following the awards ceremony, an AI Hackathon will be held, bringing together startups and young engineers to develop practical solutions.