Beyond the Summit: Keeping Ecosystem Connections Active

Creating Space for Collaboration

Over the past decade, Vietnam’s entrepreneurial ecosystem has become more established and connected, with a broader range of support organizations, investors, universities, public institutions, and other actors contributing at different stages of the founder journey. As the ecosystem matures, the challenge is no longer simply bringing more actors together. It is also about keeping those connections active and creating opportunities for relationships to develop into meaningful collaboration.

Swiss EP’s Partner Summit has provided a space for Partner Organizations to connect across the network, exchange experiences and explore common interests. Over the years, partners have implemented elements of this experience into their own contexts. WISE organized its WISE Circle Meetup in 2022, while New Energy Nexus convened the NEX Partner Summit in 2023, the Vietnam Climate Tech Showcase in 2025, and is continuing through the upcoming Vietnam Climate Week 2026. Different in their focus and communities, these initiatives reflect a common appreciation for closer connections and practical exchange across the ecosystem.

For BizCare and Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE), the Hanoi Ecosystem Gathering was another opportunity to take this forward at the local level. Co-hosted by the two organizations with support from Swiss EP, the Gathering brought together 25 representatives from 13 organizations, including Swiss EP Partner Organizations and other ecosystem actors connected through their networks. The co-hosts carried forward elements they appreciated from the Summit: closer connection, practical exchange and a stronger focus on collaboration.

The format reflected this intention. Participants first connected informally, introduced their organizations and shared current priorities. The hosts then used a WHY–HOW–WHAT framework to move the conversation toward more purposeful exchange: why collaboration matters, how it can work in practice and what value it can create. BizCare and WISE shared their Mastermind Program as an example of complementary strengths being combined, before opening the discussion for organizations to share resources, interests and potential areas for partnership.

This also reflects an approach that has guided Swiss EP’s engagement over time: supporting local organizations in strengthening their own capabilities while facilitating connections, peer exchange and opportunities to learn from one another. The value of a network lies not only in bringing people together, but also in keeping those relationships useful as organizations and their needs evolve..

From “How Can We Help?” to “Who Else Can Benefit?”

One exchange captured this particularly well. When Mr. Dung Trung Nguyen from BK Holdings joined the discussion, he asked WISE and BizCare: “How can other POs, like BK Holdings, support your ideas and initiatives?” Hien Tu from WISE then turned the question around: “How can this collaboration create value for the beneficiaries and communities served by other POs?”

The shift was subtle, but meaningful. The conversation moved from what one organization could contribute to another toward how an existing initiative could create value across a wider part of the ecosystem. Collaboration is not only about accessing resources; it can also mean extending expertise, networks and opportunities beyond an organization’s immediate community.

The discussion also showed why these connections matter as the ecosystem evolves. Quat Hong Pham, General Director of NACENTECH (National Academy for Advanced Technology and Innovation), highlighted a shift in how national innovation is measured: from participation and training outputs toward commercialization, capital mobilization and market impact. He pointed to areas where closer ecosystem collaboration could add value, including equipping researchers with business and fundraising capabilities, exploring venture studio models to commercialize technologies, and piloting impact-driven startup approaches at the provincial level.

These are increasingly complex challenges. They are unlikely to be addressed by one accelerator, investor, university, or public institution alone; they require different capabilities to connect around shared needs.

What the Gathering Revealed

The evaluation following the Gathering reinforced the value of a closer form of exchange. Participants appreciated the opportunity to connect networks that had previously been relatively fragmented, gain a better understanding of each other’s roles and resources, and identify opportunities for collaboration and resource sharing. The informal setting supported natural conversations, while timely follow-up helped maintain momentum afterwards.

The discussion also generated practical lessons. Participants had different preferences for structured exchange and informal networking, while punctuality and facilitation affected the overall experience. More importantly, the evaluation highlighted the importance of consistency and follow-through in keeping relationships active beyond individual gatherings. BizCare and WISE agreed to remain involved in the next sessions and support other organizations interested in hosting.

For Thang Dam, CEO of BizCare, this connects with a broader reflection on what partners value from Swiss EP’s long-term engagement in Vietnam:

The Gatherings, especially the Summit, have become a way of carrying Swiss EP’s impact forward. They are not only about what Swiss EP has supported us with today, but about enabling POs to step up tomorrow, build on what we have learned, and continue passing that value on across the ecosystem.

His reflection points to a wider development across the network. The Hanoi Gathering is not a replication of the Summit, but another example of partners applying practices they have found useful: open exchange, peer learning and collaboration, and adapting them to their own context.

Keeping the Connections Active

What happens next does not need to follow a single model. The value lies in creating opportunities for ecosystem actors to reconnect around relevant needs, bring different networks together and explore where collaboration can add value.

BizCare and WISE plan to stay engaged while other organizations are encouraged to take on hosting roles. Rather than focusing on how often the Gathering takes place, the evaluation emphasized consistency over frequency, with themes shaped by the interests and challenges of participating organizations.

Swiss EP has also prepared a Standard Format & Host Playbook as a practical reference for future hosts. The Playbook captures lessons from the Gathering, including the importance of two-way value, a balance between structured discussion and informal connection, timely follow-up, and rotating hosts.

Rather than setting a fixed model, it gives partners a simple format they can adapt when there is a useful reason to convene. The aim is to make future gatherings easier to organize while retaining enough structure to support meaningful exchange and follow-up.

As Hien Tu, CEO of Women’s Initiative for Startups and Entrepreneurship (WISE), reflected:

We hope to keep this initiative going, not perfectly, but consistently. By staying connected, sharing proactively, and extending each other’s reach, we can create greater value across the ecosystem.

The Hanoi Ecosystem Gathering is an example of how partners are keeping connections active and creating opportunities to work together. Over the years, similar efforts have taken different forms across different partners and communities.

For Swiss EP, this reflects an important part of its longer-term approach in Vietnam: supporting capabilities, relationships and collaborative practices that can continue to create value in different forms across the entrepreneurial ecosystem. After 11 years, it’s encouraging to see partners find their own ways to keep those connections useful.