The ANDE East and Southeast Asia Chapter, in collaboration with SPARK Hub and RMIT University Vietnam, warmly invites entrepreneur support organizations (ESOs), entrepreneurs, and funders to our “Scale through SCALE” workshop. This event will share key evidence-based insights from research by the Argidius Foundation, highlighting what sets apart cost-effective, high-impact Business Development Services (BDS) programs from less effective ones.
The workshop will also present practical tools and resources that ESOs can leverage to enhance their impact. Attendees will gain valuable insights from a panel discussion featuring real-world practices and engage in deep discussions with fellow BDS professionals on how to apply the methodology to their specific ecosystem segments.
Eric Kong Vong, Director of Public-Private Partnerships, Reactor School
Eric serves as the Director of Public-Private Partnerships at Reactor School, where he leverages his expertise in building strategic relationships and driving collaborative initiatives across government agencies and multinational corporations.
With over 10 years of robust background in developing and managing high-impact partnerships, Eric is instrumental in facilitating program growth and expanding Reactor School’s influence in the startup ecosystem.
His role involves negotiating deals, aligning program goals with stakeholder interests, and ensuring the effective implementation of partnership agreements to support startup development and ecosystem advancement.
Quan Doan, Project Manager, Dalberg
Quan Doan is a Project Manager at Dalberg’s Ho Chi Minh office, where he also serves as the Deputy in the Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning Practice Area for Dalberg APAC. He brings extensive experience in advising organizations on growth strategy, impact measurement and management, data analytics, and implementing evidence-based pilot programs.
Recently, Quan has been leading the design and management of a technical assistance facility for women-led SMEs in Vietnam. His work also includes collaboration with a major impact investing fund in ASEAN, focusing on portfolio impact assessment and learning. This has involved working with a top autism care provider in China, an integrated financial services provider for small-scale farmers and rural businesses in China, an out-of-hospital care service in India, an EdTech company in India, and a leading dental clinic chain in Vietnam.
Before Dalberg, Quan worked with the Boston Consulting Group and held positions as a Quantitative Research Manager at Nielsen and Kantar. He was also part of the founding team of an EdTech startup targeting the Vietnam and Japan markets.
Thao Tran, General Director, New Energy Nexus Vietnam
Thao Tran is currently General Director of New Energy Nexus Vietnam (NEX VN) – a non-profit accelerator supporting startups in the clean energy and climate tech areas. She is an entrepreneur with over 8 years of building business ventures and innovation ecosystems in Vietnam.
Thao Tran has been actively supporting over 50 startups and entrepreneurs across tourism, hospitality, clean energy, and climate sectors through a wide range of business development and open innovation programs.
Trang Vu, Landing Pad Manager, Austrade
Trang Vu is the Landing Pad Manager at Austrade, where she plays the leading role in facilitating the expansion of Australian startups into Vietnam markets. Previously, she served as a Program Manager at BLOCK71 Saigon, a leading co-innovation space for startups, corporates, and investors in Vietnam, and was involved in the Science Technology Industrial Park Project at Becamex IDC Vietnam, a prominent industrial and urban development corporation. She holds a Master of Science in Innovation Management and Entrepreneurship from the University of Portsmouth, where she was honored with the Chancellor’s Global Academic Merit Scholarship.
With many years of experience leading cross-border initiatives to enhance the Vietnam startup ecosystem, Trang has developed a robust network among key regional and international players. Her expertise includes conducting scientific research on startup and innovation policies and providing impactful services and consultations for startups and ecosystem builders. Notably, she has successfully driven collaborative projects between the National Startup Support Center (NSSC) and UNDP, supporting the scaling of high-impact startups throughout Southeast Asia through initiatives like Youth Co:Lab Vietnam and the UN’s Global SDG Challenge. Trang is deeply passionate about nurturing a vibrant, inclusive startup community capable of tackling global challenges and seizing new opportunities.
Van Pham, Founder, CEO and President, Emmay
Van Pham is the Founder, CEO and President of Emmay, a pioneering food technology startup revolutionizing the alternative protein industry with healthier and more sustainable plant-based protein sources from fungal microbes called mycelium. Van’s entrepreneurial journey has earned her many international championship awards, including recognition as an outstanding businesswoman in Vietnam and participation in the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial conference to reshape future trade practices globally. As a typical female entrepreneur, she was selected to write about her startup journey and green innovation technology in a Book published by World Scientific in 2023. The book was written by a group of Professors at Singapore Management University and the Institute of Green Innovation Technology and Entrepreneurship. In 2022, she was selected as the best female business owner in Southeast Asia by Metaverse (global Facebook).
Van is not only an innovative female business owner with a mission to create a positive impact on the community, society and the environment, but also a sought-after speaker, consultant, trainer and mentor for other entrepreneurs and students. Through her ventures like We Balancee, and Smiley Mushroom, she shares her expertise in green technology and entrepreneurship, driving innovation and sustainability in the food-tech industry as well as business generally.
