Innovative Start-up and Regulatory Sandbox

Abstract

Inovative start-up is a novel terminology that emergedrecently and for the first time officially defined in the 2017 Law on Support for Small- and Medium-sized Enterprises. However, in Vietnam, start-ups and policies aiming at supporting start-ups have not been adequately examined from legal perspectives. The many unique properties of start-ups call for a regulatory mechanism with sufficient flexibility and adaptability. Regulatory sandbox (or "sandbox" for short) is expected to be one such novel mechanism to match with those requirements on legal adjustment. The focal point of this article is to dissect the legal nature of start-ups and their unique properties; and to examine various peculiar aspects of sandboxes alongside issues in their workings of governing start-up activities. From that standpoint, the article proposes a number of recommendations on the development and implementation of regulatory sandboxes in Vietnam in the near future.