How to Invest from Vietnam in International Startups and Projects: A Complete Guide

Vietnam’s economy is growing faster than those of many countries in the region. In the first five months of 2026 alone, the country attracted nearly $25 billion in foreign investment—35% more than a year earlier. Alongside this inflow of capital, interest in investing outward is also growing: some Vietnamese people with money to spare are looking beyond gold and real estate, traditionally favored by local families, to international options, including investments in overseas technology projects.

One such option is international crowdinvesting: collectively financing an overseas technology company through an online platform, usually with a relatively low entry threshold. It is an appealing format, but it has a practical side that is often oversimplified. The rules for transferring money abroad and the legal status of the investment for a Vietnamese citizen are far from straightforward, and in 2026 they are governed by new regulations.

This article examines what Vietnamese law says about this following the 2025–2026 reforms, how to vet a project before investing, and how to take the first step with an understanding of the real rules rather than an oversimplified version.

Source: Vietnam attracts nearly $25 bln in FDI in first five months — VnEconomy / VOV, 2026

First, answers to the key questions

Is this a scam?

That is the right question to ask, especially when an international project is involved. A genuine project can be identified by verifiable facts: a tangible product, a publicly identified team, legal documentation, regular progress reports—and, separately, a clear answer about the legal status of the platform itself and its operator. All of this can and should be checked before investing any money. A specific checklist for doing so appears later in this article.

When will it generate returns?

Investing in early-stage technology companies is a long-term, high-risk proposition. Complex engineering projects typically take several years to begin generating commercial revenue, and no one can guarantee the exact timeline in advance. If someone promises quick or guaranteed returns from an investment of this kind, treat it as a warning sign.

Why does it take so long?

Creating a real product takes time: development, testing, certification, and the transition to serial production. This is normal for a serious technology project and is not, in itself, a cause for concern.

Can I exit early?

That depends on the specific platform and investment format; there is no single rule for the entire international crowdinvesting market. Some platforms have a secondary market or a mechanism for transferring an interest to another investor. On others—particularly projects where you purchase an “investment share” with the expectation that it will later be exchanged for company shares—an automatic early refund of invested funds is generally not available at all, and further transactions involving the investment share become possible only after certain project milestones. You need to clarify the exit terms for the specific platform before investing, not afterward.

How are returns generated?

The exact mechanism depends on the platform’s model, but there are generally three potential sources: an increase in the value of the interest as the project progresses, dividends once the company begins generating revenue, and—in some models—proceeds from a later sale of the asset. None is guaranteed, and you should ask the specific platform which of these apply rather than assume they are universal across the market.

Why Vietnamese investors consider international projects

Vietnamese families traditionally hold their wealth in gold and real estate. These options work, but they have limitations.

International crowdinvesting offers something traditional instruments do not: access to early-stage technology companies with growth potential unavailable in the local market. As explained below, however, it also has legal and tax implications that should be understood in advance.

What is crowdinvesting? A simple explanation

Crowdinvesting is an umbrella term for several different models of collective financing, not one specific arrangement. They share one feature: many people invest relatively small amounts in a single project or company.

The models themselves differ in fundamental ways. In classic equity crowdfunding, an investor actually buys shares or an equity interest in a company and immediately becomes a co-owner. In other formats—for example, platforms that finance a specific engineering project—the investor initially purchases an investment share in the project with the expectation that it will later be exchanged for company shares once funding is complete. In the legal sense, the investor therefore becomes a co-owner of the company not at the time of payment, but at a later stage, if and when the planned exchange takes place. Before investing, it is important to understand which model the particular platform uses and not assume that “you will become a co-owner of the business” is universally true of all crowdinvesting.

This differs from buying shares that are already traded on an exchange, where the investor buys an interest in a company that is already operating and has been valued by the market. Crowdinvesting usually means entering at an earlier stage—before the company goes public or completes work on its product. The entry price is generally lower and the potential upside in the event of success is higher, but the risk of losing the entire amount invested is also considerably greater than with exchange-traded instruments.

The legal status of international crowdinvesting in Vietnam

This is the article’s most important practical section—and the area most often oversimplified. Let us examine it step by step.

The new legal framework for 2025–2026

On December 11, 2025, Vietnam adopted the new Law on Investment No. 143/2025/QH15 (Law on Investment 2025), which took effect on March 1, 2026. On March 31, 2026, it adopted Decree 103/2026/ND-CP, detailing the law’s application to outward investment by Vietnamese persons. The decree took effect on April 3, 2026, and replaced the former Decree 31/2021/ND-CP. This is the framework currently governing what Vietnamese law calls “outward investment” (đầu tư ra nước ngoài).

Formally, the decree applies to both organizations and individuals. The key practical thresholds are as follows: projects with capital of less than approximately VND 7 billion (about $270,000) in sectors that are not on the list of “conditional” sectors do not require a full Outward Investment Registration Certificate (OIRC). Declaring a project code through the national information system and registering the foreign-exchange transaction are sufficient. Projects above that threshold must undergo the more demanding procedure of obtaining an OIRC from the Ministry of Finance.

This framework has an inherent limitation that directly affects crowdinvesting: the procedure described above is designed primarily for “direct” outward investment—establishing a company abroad or acquiring an interest that provides actual participation in a specific foreign legal entity. Under current guidance, portfolio or “indirect” outward investments—such as purchasing securities, fund units, and similar financial instruments without establishing a company abroad—fall outside the scope of Decree 103 itself. Historically, they have been regulated separately under the foreign-exchange rules of the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), within which legal channels for individuals to make indirect overseas investments remain narrow and are largely limited to specific programs, such as participation in an overseas employee stock option plan.

The practical conclusion is that “investment share” products offered by an international crowdinvesting platform—like most comparable overseas services—do not fall into a clearly defined category under Vietnamese law. This is not a direct outward investment in the classic sense, because the Vietnamese investor does not establish a company abroad, but neither is it an exchange-traded security in the conventional sense. As of the preparation of this article, no unambiguous regulatory route written specifically for this type of product could be found in public sources. This should be acknowledged directly rather than glossed over with general statements that “money can be transferred if the rules are followed.”

What is clear in all cases is that money sent abroad must be transferred through a bank and comply with the SBV’s foreign-exchange controls, rather than being routed through informal channels or intermediaries. In practice, a small, one-off transfer usually means a regular international bank or card payment stating the purpose of payment. For large or recurring amounts, however, the bank is entitled to request additional proof of the source of funds and the purpose of payment. For investments that formally qualify as “outward investments” under the decree, it may also require registration through the opening of a dedicated investment account.

This leads to a practical recommendation: for small amounts—including the special packages priced at $100–250 discussed below—the risk of encountering formal OIRC procedures is low, but this is an observation based on the decree’s thresholds, not a legal guarantee. If the amount is significant to you personally, and especially if you plan to add funds regularly, there is only one appropriate next step: consult a Vietnamese lawyer or tax adviser specializing in foreign-exchange regulation and outward investment before transferring the money, rather than relying on general online articles, including this one.

Taxation of income

Vietnamese tax residents—generally, those who have spent 183 days or more in the country during a year or who meet other residency criteria—are subject to personal income tax (PIT) on their worldwide income. This includes returns from overseas investments, such as dividends, capital gains, and similar receipts, regardless of where the platform or bank is physically located. The obligation to declare such income arises when it is actually received, not when the funds are invested.

The applicable rate and calculation method depend on the type of income—income from capital, gains in the value of an interest, or dividends—and how it is legally structured. These details are beyond the scope of this article and require advice from a local tax specialist (kế toán or chuyên gia tư vấn thuế), especially when significant amounts are involved.

Sources: KPMG Vietnam, Decree 103 on outbound investment, 2026; Alitium, Vietnam Outbound Investment Rules 2026; Viet An Law, Outward Investment Forex Registration for Individuals; PwC Vietnam Tax Summaries — Individual, Taxes on personal income

Step-by-step guide: how to invest from Vietnam

1. Set your budget. The basic rule is to invest only what you are prepared to lose in full—not your last savings or money you will need within the next year.
2. Understand the legal and tax implications in advance—before choosing a specific project, not after making a payment. Read the section above. If the amount is significant to you or you plan to invest regularly, consult a Vietnamese lawyer or tax adviser about foreign-exchange regulation.
3. Vet the project thoroughly using the checklist in the next section. Even if you heard about the project from someone you trust, verify the information independently.
4. Examine how the money will be transferred. Find out which payment system handles the transfer, whether it goes to a company account or an individual’s personal account—these offer fundamentally different levels of transparency—and whether the transaction is subject to the foreign-exchange registration requirements described above.
5. Register on the platform. The standard online process involves providing your name, email address, and country, and confirming your identity.
6. Choose an investment package. Most projects offer several packages with different entry thresholds and payment terms.
7. Transfer the funds and retain all documents—the agreement, proof of payment, and any certificates for the interests or shares acquired. These documents will also be useful when declaring income for tax purposes in the future.
8. Monitor progress regularly. Do not forget about the project after investing: log in to your account, read the reports, and watch video updates. A genuine project consistently demonstrates forward progress.
9. Understand the exit scenario in advance. Ask the platform how and when you can dispose of your interest—by selling it, transferring it, or waiting for it to be exchanged for shares—and do not count on a quick or guaranteed return of your capital.

How to distinguish a genuine project from a scam

The final point is an especially important warning sign. A legitimate project does not create artificial pressure to make a decision.

What to check before investing

Sectors represented in international crowdinvesting

The exact time to market is unique to each project and changes as development progresses. Do not rely on average estimates of “years until results” without checking the current status of the specific project.

Transport and logistics is one of the easiest sectors for a new investor to understand: a tangible product, a visible market, and specific customers.

Where airships could be useful in Vietnam

The examples below are neither a promise of a specific service in Vietnam nor a claim that AERONOVA airships are already performing these tasks today. They illustrate the real-world purposes for which this type of transport is being developed around the world, applied here to the Vietnamese context.

Islands and coastal areas. Phu Quoc, Con Dao, and dozens of smaller islands need regular freight deliveries. Today, these are handled by ferries and flights, which do not always meet every need.

The mountainous areas of Tay Nguyen and the northern provinces. These agricultural regions have challenging terrain, and roads can wash out during the rainy season. Transporting harvests and supplying remote villages remains a logistical challenge.

Agricultural and environmental monitoring. Long-endurance aircraft could, in principle, be used to monitor crops and forests in areas without coverage from ground-based systems.

To emphasize once again, these are potential applications for this class of technology in general, not a current commercial offering for Vietnam. The project’s public information contains no specific plans to launch such services in the country.

About the New Generation Airships project (AERONOVA)

Among the international crowdinvesting projects available to Vietnamese investors through the SOLARGROUP platform is AERONOVA’s New Generation Airships. SOLARGROUP has operated since 2017 as an international IT platform for crowdinvesting in technology projects. According to its official FAQ as of May 13, 2026, the platform had more than 580,000 registered users, over 87,000 of whom had invested in projects, while the total amount raised exceeded $120 million.

The platform has an established presence in Vietnam: SOLARGROUP’s first overseas office opened in Vietnam in the spring of 2020, and a second office opened in Vinh Phuc on October 18, 2022, at the initiative of local partners. Dedicated support is available to Vietnamese users at support.vi@solargroup.pro. The current FAQ also lists an office in Phan Thiet (F4 Lê Đại Hành, Phường Phú Thủy, Tp Phan Thiết, Tỉnh Bình Thuận), open daily from 10:00 to 18:00.

The New Generation Airships project launched in March 2025. By the time of its launch, it had attracted more than $2.5 million in investment and received support from over 4,500 people. As of September 1, 2026, the project was at funding stage 3. A transition to stage 4 was announced on September 2, with the stated result that the discount on investment shares would decrease by an average of 10% and a package at the same price would contain fewer shares than at the previous stage.

Among the technical advances made in the summer of 2026, the AERONOVA team completed the full-size envelope for the NOVA-2 airship. On September 1, 2026, the envelope was filled with air for the first time, and the team completed the first cycle of strength testing. Two gasoline-powered helicopter engines were purchased and delivered for the crewed version of NOVA-2, designed for one pilot and five passengers. The main NOVA-2 assembly work was moved to rented premises in Kirzhach. The team has not yet fully left Voskresensk, where tests of another aircraft, AEROLЁT-01, are continuing. Following upgrades to the propeller-frame pivot mechanisms, the team is using it to practice hovering and holding a set position.

AERONOVA has received a perpetual license from the Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade to conduct activities in the field of aviation technology. The license has been valid since April 1, 2026.

Funding for the Duyunov's Motors project—the Sovelmash enterprise—is at its final, 20th stage. In 2026, the company launched serial production and is now manufacturing and selling its first mass-produced product, an angle grinder. A first batch of 12 different products was also sent to China. This is a separate platform project with its own history and implementation schedule. There is no direct evidence that New Generation Airships is following exactly the same path or is guaranteed to achieve a similar result: each project has its own stage, risks, and pace, and the progress of one should not be used to set expectations for the other.

Special terms for Vietnamese citizens

Since February 9, 2026, Vietnamese citizens have had indefinite access to special investment packages with face values of $100 and $250 in both SOLARGROUP projects—Duyunov's Motors and New Generation Airships. These amounts are below the standard minimum in the platform’s general package range. Since August 22, 2024, investors from Vietnam have also been able to apply to exchange investment shares for company shares through the “Getting Shares” section of their account. The application process itself is confirmed, but the available information does not indicate that any such exchange has already been completed anywhere.

Importantly, the availability of special packages priced at $100 and $250 does not override anything stated above about the legal status of overseas investments by Vietnamese citizens. A small amount reduces the likelihood of encountering formal registration procedures under the decree, but it is no substitute for professional advice if the amount is significant to you or you plan to invest regularly.

Can a resident of Vietnam invest specifically in AERONOVA?

The project’s public information does not provide a clear, unqualified “yes”—and no article, including this one, can give such an answer. SOLARGROUP is an international platform registered outside Vietnam, and the information provided does not indicate that either New Generation Airships or Duyunov's Motors is registered as a project in Vietnam. Rather, Vietnamese citizens are accessing SOLARGROUP’s international projects as private individuals. At the same time, the information also does not indicate that participation by Vietnamese citizens is restricted or prohibited in principle: Vietnam is not included in the platform’s stated list of countries where investing is restricted—Japan, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, and the United States.

The practical conclusion is that it is technically possible to register and pay for a special package from Vietnam, but the investor is responsible for ensuring that the transaction complies with Decree 103/2026/ND-CP, the SBV’s foreign-exchange rules, and Vietnamese tax law—just as when investing through any other overseas platform. The section above, “The legal status of international crowdinvesting in Vietnam,” is the starting point for that review, not a substitute for it.

Participation terms and the status of investment shares

An investor creates an account, chooses a project, an investment package, and a payment method—either a one-time payment or an installment plan lasting from 10 to 30 months. The package terms and payment schedule are displayed before the order is placed. Technically, the investor does not directly acquire company shares, but investment shares. Their number depends on the funding stage and payment method. With an installment plan, the discount is fixed when the first payment is made, while the maximum number of investment shares included in the package is credited after payment in full.

The purchase of investment shares is documented by an investment agreement. Once the package has been paid for, the agreement can be signed and downloaded from the “My Documents” section of the investor’s account, where a certificate for the investment shares can also be issued. Identity verification is not mandatory for the package purchase itself, but it is required to submit a subsequent application to receive company shares.

Once funding for each project is complete, the enterprise is expected to be reorganized as a joint-stock company, followed by an exchange of investment shares for its company shares. Neither the reorganization nor the conversion has yet taken place. The exact exchange ratio and par value will be determined before the shares are issued and have not been published to date. Funds already used to purchase packages and investment shares are not treated as an available account balance: there is no automatic or immediate refund on request, and SOLARGROUP support reviews questions about terminating an agreement individually. If an installment payment becomes overdue, the plan is canceled on the 20th day. The investor retains the investment shares credited for the months already paid, but loses both the payment-discipline bonus and a substantial portion of the package’s investment shares. This should be considered when choosing between a one-time payment and an installment plan.

The easiest way to review the current terms of the special packages for Vietnam, the current stage of both projects, and the registration procedure is directly through your account on the platform: SOLARGROUP — registration and project selection.

Tax considerations for Vietnamese investors

To briefly summarize the section on legal status above, Vietnamese tax residents declare income from overseas sources, including returns on foreign investments, as part of their worldwide income. The obligation arises when the income is received, not when the funds are invested. For large amounts or regular investing, consult a local tax adviser (kế toán or chuyên gia tư vấn thuế) for guidance specific to your circumstances. The general principles set out here are no substitute for such advice.

Frequently asked questions

Is it legal to invest in an overseas project from Vietnam?

There is no simple, definitive answer. Private individuals in Vietnam are not barred from directing personal funds to overseas projects, but since April 2026 this has been governed by Decree 103/2026/ND-CP and the SBV’s foreign-exchange rules. For portfolio or “indirect” investments in particular—such as purchasing an investment share on a crowdinvesting platform—no separate, unambiguously defined regulatory route was identified in public sources. For small amounts, the practical risk of encountering formal procedures is low, but for significant amounts, we recommend consulting a local lawyer or tax specialist before transferring any money.

What is the minimum amount needed to get started?

It depends on the platform. Some international crowdinvesting services have entry thresholds starting at a few dozen dollars. For example, since February 9, 2026, Vietnamese citizens have had indefinite access to special packages with face values of $100 and $250 in SOLARGROUP projects—below the standard minimum in the general package range.

How can money be transferred to an international project?

By bank transfer or another payment method available on the platform, in compliance with the SBV’s foreign-exchange rules. Confirm the specific methods directly on the platform when registering. For large or recurring transfers, the bank is entitled to request additional supporting documents.

Does income from this type of investment need to be declared?

Yes. Vietnamese tax residents must declare income from overseas sources as part of their worldwide income. Ask a tax adviser about the details and applicable rate, as these depend on the type of income and how the investment itself is legally structured.

How long will it take to receive the first dividends?

There is no universal timeline; it depends on the particular project and its stage. Procedures for dividends, exchanging investment shares for company shares, and potentially selling an interest generally take place only after funding is complete and the relevant contractual conditions have been met. Check the current status of the chosen project for specific timelines rather than relying on averages.

What if the project does not reach its funding target?

There is a risk of losing the funds invested, as with any venture investment. The basic rule is therefore simple: invest only money whose loss you are prepared to accept.

What if the person who told me about the project earns money through an affiliate program—is that normal?

Yes. Affiliate programs are standard practice for many legitimate companies, including international crowdinvesting platforms. This makes a project neither good nor bad; the decision should be based on vetting the project itself, not on who told you about it or how they did so.

Conclusion

In 2026, investing in an international technology project from Vietnam is technically possible, and some platforms, including SOLARGROUP, offer Vietnamese citizens special entry terms—for example, packages starting at $100. But “technically possible” does not mean “simple and free of complications.” A new regulatory framework—the Law on Investment 2025 and Decree 103/2026/ND-CP—has been in effect since April 2026, while no unambiguous regulatory route for portfolio investments such as crowdinvesting has been established in public sources. This is not a reason to abandon the idea, but it is a reason to take the issue more seriously than simply assuming, “I sent the money, so everything is legal.”

The key steps are to set a budget, understand the legal and tax implications in advance—with professional advice if the amount is significant—vet the project thoroughly, examine how the money will be transferred, register on the platform, retain all documents, and monitor progress. The key rule is to invest only money you can spare, resist pressure to rush, verify the facts independently, and consult local tax and foreign-exchange specialists if the amount is significant to you.

If you are interested in the New Generation Airships project, its current stage, special packages for Vietnam, and webinars with the team are available directly on the platform. Registration does not commit you to anything: SOLARGROUP — explore the project.