Seeking new opportunities beyond Singapore's shores

When Mr Alvin Koh left Singapore seven years ago to set up a cafe business on a busy street in Hanoi, Vietnam, he was drawn to the country's young population and rapidly-evolving digital transformation.

Since then, his entrepreneurial journey has kept pace with rapid changes in Vietnam's food and beverage (F&B) and retail landscape. The 30-year-old is now the co-founder and CEO of fintech start-up LOOP Smart POS.

Mr Koh, who is based in Hanoi, was a moderator at the Singapore-Vietnam Youth Regional Leadership Dialogue on Sept 19, organised by the National Youth Council (NYC) and the National Committee on Youth of Vietnam (NCYV) to raise awareness about emerging trends in the region, and to develop Asia-ready youth. It was attended by 70 participants from Singapore and Vietnam. The participants from Singapore joined in via video conferencing platform Zoom.

Through the dialogue, Mr Koh hoped that participants would be inspired to embrace change in the new normal. The past seven years living and working in Vietnam, he shares in a separate interview, have taught him invaluable lessons.

"The dialogue was about embracing change in the new normal, and I feel that the Vietnamese are the epitome of that," he says. "Things are always changing here, and even though they may struggle, they struggle with a smile on their faces.

"Resilience is the key trait I picked up from the way the Vietnamese conduct their business and their lives. They may have limited resources, but are still able to make things work and grow bit by bit without getting too ahead of themselves. I think that's something very deeply-rooted in Vietnamese culture."

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The expert speakers at the Singapore-Vietnam Youth Regional Leadership Dialogue were Mr Chia Hock Lai, president of the Singapore FinTech Association, co-chairman of the Blockchain Association Singapore and CEO of Switchnovate, and Mr Tran Hoang Giang, product owner of FPT Software's akaChain and Director-General of Fsoft, FPT Vietnam. Dr Nguyen Duc Tung, director of the Youth Start Up Supporting Center in Vietnam, was co-moderator.

The dialogue is part of bilateral engagement efforts organised by NYC and the National Youth Committees from other Asean countries to develop youth who are aware of social and cultural contexts of Asia, and facilitate greater awareness of economic opportunities in the region.

Some of the 50 participants from Singapore were part of the Asia-Ready Exposure Programme (AEP), a youth development programme launched by NYC to provide short-term exposure to the emerging markets and opportunities in the region. AEP is part of NYC's efforts to empower our youth to be Asia-ready and active contributors to the region, developing a resilient global youth citizenry that is civically-responsible and suitably-prepared for the future.

Chief executive officer of NYC David Chua acknowledges the concerns facing youth today: "This global pandemic has challenged our young people, but despite this, we see them staying resilient and capitalising on opportunities. NYC and its partners remain firmly committed to equipping our youth with the skills to pivot and be ready to negotiate and seize opportunities that emerge from this crisis, locally and globally."

"Regional exposure opportunities and cultivation of the Asia-ready mindset remain key priorities for youth development and Singapore's continued competitiveness. Hence, platforms like AEP remain important and become even more critical in a Covid-persistent world to forge cross-cultural competencies and Asean youth networks that can reap positive change for our future," he adds.

Exposure and the enterprising spirit

The participants of the dialogue, who come from diverse backgrounds including students from tertiary institutions and professionals in sectors such as education and training, banking and finance, and social services, shared their concerns on how to stay relevant in today's economy.

A key concern was on how schools could better prepare today's youth for a fintech-driven world.

"With the increasing pace of technological disruption, formal education may not be sufficient anymore," says Mr Chia, elaborating on the increasing importance of supplementing formal education with short courses and lifelong learning.

Mr Chia and Mr Koh concur that soft skills like communication, problem-solving and being able to work well with remote teams in a multicultural environment are just as important as - if not more important than - technical skills.

"Industries like fintech are natively borderless," explains Mr Chia. "Eighty per cent of our [Singapore FinTech Association] members operate beyond Singapore."

Even though the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to the economies of Vietnam and Singapore, there are silver linings in the crisis, say the speakers.

Like many other sectors, fintech has been hit by funding cuts and fewer investments, but has been cushioned by the accelerated adoption of digital finance such as contactless payments and online banking.

And the pandemic has supercharged the transformation of the financial services sector, particularly in the area of fintech solutions.

Now, more than ever, there is a pressing need for fintech talent. And Vietnam, whose e-commerce market is forecast by data and analytics company GlobalData to surpass US$17b in 2023, presents many opportunities for businesses and individuals.

In 2016, Mr Koh seized his chance and first ventured into fintech with mobile payments and rewards platform Peko Rewards Wallet. Last year, LOOP Smart POS was born, and his tech start-up with 30 employees runs a central smart management platform that allows Vietnamese merchants to accept various modes of mobile payments and work with delivery platforms, among other solutions, to connect and engage with their customers online and offline. It also offers one-stop access to various software, from accounting to inventory and human resources management.

Mr Koh explains that Vietnam's young population is likely the reason for the fintech boom: "The speed of change has been so much faster in terms of adoption rates when new services like mobile wallets enter the market here, compared with Singapore. The response is also a lot more tremendous in Vietnam, as the Singapore market is more mature with plenty of existing options to choose from, so the incentive to hop on to a new app is lower."

What advice does Mr Koh have for young people who are keen to explore opportunities in Vietnam or other parts of the region?

Start by taking up internship opportunities with companies with international operations. This will help one learn how to interact and work with co-workers beyond Singapore's borders, explains Mr Koh. He became interested in the Vietnam market through Vietnamese friends he met in his junior college years.

While receiving exposure at a young age may encourage more Singaporean youth to seek opportunities in emerging economies, cross-border networking is another good way to become familiar with the complexities and nuances of different cultures in the region. Mr Chia believes the exchange programmes offered by NYC is one such avenue.

"Our domestic market is relatively small compared to the rest of the world. Singapore is already quite digitally mature with high penetration rates. However, our neighbours in the Asean region are also fast-growing their digital economy and their growth potential is higher," says Mr Chia.

Just imagine the vibrancy and opportunities in the fast-emerging economies, he adds.

"In a country like Vietnam with close to 100 million in population size, the market opportunities are certainly bigger than in Singapore, which has a population size of approximately 5.8 million."

But before taking the leap of faith, one must first understand the reason for taking the risk to leave a comfort zone. Answering that question could unlock the enterprising and risk-taking spirit, says Mr Koh.

"Some of these answers could lie in more long-term thinking, in understanding how things will develop in the next 10 to 20 to 30 years, but it all starts from exposure," he says.

Youth seeking regional opportunities can consider getting involved in NYC's Asia-Ready Exposure Programme (AEP).

AEP provides youth with a more holistic understanding of social and cultural contexts, and greater awareness of economic opportunities in Asean, China and India (ACI countries).

Participants can broaden their personal growth and expand their networks while equipping themselves with cross-cultural skills. The programme, which aims to reach 1,000 youth in phases, is targeted at those who are currently studying in an Institute of Higher Learning (IHL) or have recently graduated.

Click here for more information.