Q&A: Vietnamese entrepreneur reflects on NZ visit with Southeast Asian tech leaders
We spoke with Trịnh Khánh Hạ (Ella), co-founder and COO of Vulcan Augmetics, about her experience as part of a delegation of Southeast Asian tech entrepreneurs visiting New Zealand to explore the local tech scene and build industry connections. Vulcan Augmetics is a pioneering medtech company in Vietnam that develops advanced prosthetics and wearable sensor technology.
Ella and the tech entrepreneurs visiting venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures in Auckland
Why did you want to take part in the tech visit to New Zealand?
I wanted to see how New Zealand makes such a big impact in tech with a small market. I’d heard about the deep tech scene here and was curious to experience it for myself.
As someone building a med-tech company, I’m always looking for new market insights, different ways of working, and interesting people to connect with. This trip was the perfect chance to meet Kiwi founders and investors while also spending time with other Southeast Asian entrepreneurs.
Coming back from the trip in May, I found myself constantly sharing the story of the New Zealand startup ecosystem with my founders network in Vietnam, and every time, people were impressed.
Kiwi founders’ stories are worth spreading, and after this trip, I’m happy to call myself an “ambassador” for New Zealand’s startup ecosystem.
What do you think the main differences are between launching a tech startup in New Zealand and in Vietnam?
In Christchurch, the group visited the Ministry of Awesome (MoA) where they got to meet companies incubated at MoA
I had the opportunity to visit New Zealand during Tech Week, where I met some of the country’s most prominent VCs and ecosystem builders, including Icehouse Ventures, Outset Ventures, and MoA. I also attended the fantastic Hi-Tech Awards and spoke with more than 10 startup founders.
What I learned is that New Zealand’s startup ecosystem is very well developed. Because New Zealand is a relatively small market, most industries or startups can’t reach critical mass locally. Everyone in the ecosystem understands that to scale, you have to go global, expanding both your customer base and your capital search beyond NZ at later stages.
With this in mind, the ecosystem is designed to strongly support early-stage startups. There’s a clear understanding that if they miss investing and engaging at this stage, they risk becoming less relevant to the startup’s journey.
The delegation were taken on a tour of venture capital firm Icehouse Ventures in Auckland
It’s almost a dreamland for launching a startup, founders are supported from ideation through incubation, R&D, fundraising, and launching to market. It’s a fantastic playground for early-stage ventures, with founders, VCs, universities, and government agencies all playing their part.
In contrast, Vietnam, with a 100 million population, offers startups the potential to reach a good scale even just within the domestic market. As a result, most VCs prefer to wait until a startup shows clear commercial traction before investing. This means that launching a startup in Vietnam often requires founders to be extremely self-reliant and resourceful in the beginning.
Are there areas where New Zealand excels in the tech space, and others where you think the country is lagging behind?
The entrepreneurs visiting Creative HQ in durng a hackathon, at which three of the entrepreneurs spoke as part of a panel
What really struck me about New Zealand is how strong it is in deep tech, especially in areas where hardware and software intersect, like aviation, medtech, and other advanced technologies. Everywhere I went, I met highly skilled tech talent and saw how well early-stage founders are supported.
I honestly don’t think of New Zealand as “lagging” in any way. For a country of its size, the ecosystem is doing an incredible job: there’s a clear long-term strategy, and a natural instinct to think beyond the domestic market right from the start. The smaller market isn’t a weakness here; it’s what shapes the global mindset that so many founders have from day one.
Was there anything you heard or saw during your visit that stood out to you as particularly innovative or interesting?
My startup in Vietnam builds bionic hands and biosensors, and in our early days it was not easy to find industry peers or a shared space where we could learn, exchange knowledge, and access industry-specific support.
The group visiting incubator and early stage investor Outset Ventures in Auckland
Outset Venture’s setup with more than 20 startups sharing one building, complete with labs and resources, was exactly the kind of environment I dream of bringing to Vietnam when I have the opportunity to contribute to the investment side of our startup ecosystem.
The Hi-Tech Awards were also incredibly impressive. I’ve attended tech awards in the US, Europe, and Asia, but nothing came close to New Zealand’s perfect combination of an “Oscar” vibe, great food, insightful conversations, and genuine humour on stage. It was both inspiring and welcoming, a celebration that truly reflected the spirit of Kiwi culture.
What was it like travelling with a group of tech entrepreneurs from Southeast Asia?
YBLI curated an incredibly diverse group for this trip, founders from a wide range of industries, backgrounds, and countries across Southeast Asia.
It was my first time having such close, day-to-day engagement and cultural exchange with so many peers from the region.
Ella: "Along the way, we built real friendships, explored potential cross-border collaborations, and even struck the beginnings of business deals within the region."
What fascinated me was how we came from at least four different cultures and religions, with completely different cuisine expectations ( that can make any host stressed out), yet every single meal and experience was spot-on for everyone. That level of thoughtfulness from YBLI and our Kiwi hosts was impressive!
The trip was designed not just for us to connect with the New Zealand tech ecosystem, but also to create space for deep interaction among SEA founders.
Along the way, we built real friendships, explored potential cross-border collaborations, and even struck the beginnings of business deals within the region.
We all walked away feeling lucky to be part of YBLI 2025, not just for the connections we made in New Zealand, but for the bonds we built with each other.
Looking back on the trip, what do you think made it special?
Looking back, what made the trip truly special was the incredible thought and creativity the YBLI team put into designing it. They managed to create an experience that was seamlessly integrated: business-focused, culturally rich, and personally meaningful for us founders from all over Southeast Asia.
The Icehouse Ventures visit was a chance to hear about 'portfolio companies' the venture capital firm work with
We came from different industries, backgrounds, and certainly had different expectations and goals, yet somehow the programme delivered something valuable for everyone. Every founder, VC, government agency, and ecosystem partner we met welcomed us with open minds, warm hearts, and a generosity of wisdom that was always shared with humility (by now I think It’s the Kiwi way, being humble)
And on a lighter but important note: everywhere we went, the food was delicious and the coffee was outstanding! It felt like New Zealand was showing us not just its business strengths, but its hospitality and culture at their very best.
The Foundation's Entrepreneurship Programme supports emerging New Zealand entrepreneurs to build connections and facilitate business relationships in Asia, and supports Asian entrepreneurs to build connections in New Zealand.
The ASEAN Young Business Leaders Initiative (YBLI) is a key part of the New Zealand Government’s ASEAN strategy. The aim of the programme is to facilitate trade and build connections between business leaders and entrepreneurs in New Zealand and Southeast Asia. The Foundation manages the YBLI programme on behalf of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
