Vietnam Innovators

Michael Ngo, Country Director of ELSA Vietnam joined the ELSA Vietnam family back in June 2020, but due to the pandemic, he had to find a way to manage his new team remotely from Singapore, while waiting for the borders to reopen. The intervening months gave Michael a chance to prove his management chops, which he did with flying colors. Today, the management is applying the same strategic approach that made ELSA’s pronunciation app so successful to their new CSR program, "For a better Vietna...

In 2015, Vietnam's first digital bank, Timo, launched as a platform for clients to manage money, pay bills and buy mobile phone top-ups.According to Manisha Philip, Timo's Marketing Director, as Vietnam's banking industry is preparing to embrace digitization, it faces a number of challenges, including finding a balance between promoting innovation and protecting consumer interests. This episode is brought to you by Jio Health Vietnam.

Homebase is a Vietnam-based proptech startup providing customized co-investment plans, where home buyers, notably millennials, can pay the portion they can afford today, move in from that moment, and then buy out all or part of their stake at a later time when they are ready. In this week's episode, Phillip An, one of the founders of Homebase, opens up with Vietcetera about how his team is gearing up to solve one of the biggest challenges facing today’s younger generation: home ownership...

Spencer Ton joins Fulbright University Vietnam after a long career as an investment and philanthropy executive. As the Director of Fulbright’s Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI), Spencer leverages his 12 years of experience building and scaling startup initiatives to establish and lead the CEI’s student programs, develop executive education, foster partnerships with the private sector and other institutions, as well as design alternative revenue generation activities. ...

4P’s currently has four business units: restaurants, cheese production, cheese wholesale, dairy retail; and they’re constantly developing new business models! 4P’s delivery service has recently been rolled out for Pizza 4P’s, IPPUDO and ABOUT LIFE COFFEE BREWER. All these incredible growth was made possible by Kelly Tran, Chief Innovation Officer at Pizza 4P’s. Kelly oversees all product, technical infrastructure, intelligence and platform teams to ensure only good experiences across all...

Oscar Jesionek has many years of experience working in marketing and programming roles for startups in the US and the UK. With Fonos, he aims to bring quality audiobook experience to Vietnam by working with the country’s largest publishers to produce audio versions of best-selling local and international books. Thanks to the new Vietcetera X Fonos partnership, you can now listen to Vietcetera articles in audio format. Recorded by professional voice talent, the 5 to 15-minute clips are pe...

Kelly Wong was appointed Vice President of Operations at VNG Corporation after nine years as Deputy General Director at Kido Group. VNG engages in information technology, especially in online games, digital platforms, digital payments and cloud services. Its flagship products include Zing MP3 and Zalo application. In this episode, Kelly highlights that the human factor is the premise for VNG’s pursuit of a new mission. This week's episode is brought to you by Jio Health Vietnam.

Saving and investing money always scare the young, especially because most of the fact that people do not really know the right process, or that they get overwhelmed by the complexity of it all. But with Infina – a new saving and investing platform dedicated for everyone – people can invest in a property with an amount that they can actually afford and reap huge benefits afterwards.In this episode of Vietnam Innovators, we meet with James Vuong, the man behind Infina, to tell us more how star...

Bruce is the managing partner of McKinsey’s Vietnam office. He works at the intersection of digital, strategy, and implementation, and leads the firm’s work on merger management in Southeast Asia.Passionate about driving digital innovation in Vietnam, Bruce has spearheaded thought leadership around building digital ecosystems and working alongside leaders in Vietnam to reinvent their businesses and operating models through digital capabilities.This Week's Episode is brought to you by Jio Heal...

Vietnam has become of the most attractive emerging economies in Asia, attracting investors from highly developed economies such as Singapore. Enterprise Singapore, a government agency handling enterprise development as Singaporean enterprises go global, has its eyes on Vietnam.In this episode of Vietnam Innovators, Hao Tran speaks with Leon Cai, the regional director at Enterprise Singapore, to know how the two countries can benefit from facilitating the expansion of enterprises, building tru...

In 2019, VinaCapital, a leading investment company in Vietnam, has expanded to invest in the energy industry, primarily on renewable energy - the SkyX-Solar. SkyX Solar is a solar rooftop power developer focused on the commercial and industrial segment.In today’s episode of Vietnam Innovators, Hao Tran sits with Samresh Kumar, the Executive Chairman and CEO for SkyX Solar to discuss how his team provides an end-to-end long term solution to deliver clean energy in Vietnam.This episode is broug...

Even with the growing economy and technological advancement, the retail industry in Vietnam is still mostly operated in traditional ways. With the launching of Kilo, a Vietnam-made marketplace platform that connects wholesalers and distributors with retailers, the retail ecosystem is now starting to evolve.In this episode of Vietnam Innovators, Hao Tran welcomes Kilo founder and CEO Kartick Narayan to the Vietcetera Studio to discuss Kilo's focus and plans, especially with the new seed fundin...

Vietnam and UK’s bilateral cooperation continues to evolve and create investment opportunities for both countries, as British investors expand their businesses in Vietnam and Vietnamese brands cement their presence in the UK. Banking on mutual trust and respect, Vietnam and UK have made incredible progress in this economic and social partnership through the years.In today’s episode of Vietnam Innovators, we are honored to speak with Emily Hamblin, the British Consul General in HCMC & Dire...

Vietcetera is celebrating five years of bringing Vietnam to the world and the world to Vietnam. Beyond the media we create and publish daily, the company itself has meaningful stories to tell -- from how Founder Guy Truong and Co-Founder, CEO Hao Tran first met to who our first client was, where we had our first ever team meeting and who our first employee was! Join us in this special episode of Vietnam Innovators as we take a trip down memory lane - and share some laughs too - with some...

Vietnam’s food and beverage scene is dynamic and full of promise, according to Taku Tanaka, the Co-Founder and CEO of KAMEREO. An all-in-one supplier that uses the power of technology to optimize purchasing and sourcing, KAMEREO has helped lift the local F&B industry by connecting suppliers and store owners, and thus improving the overall experience from purchasing ingredients to cooking and dining.In today’s episode of Vietnam Innovators, Hao Tran talks with Taku about his journey from J...