From OEM to Deep Tech: Moving Vietnam Up to the Global Supply Chain
“Made in Vietnam” meant someone else’s technology. On 28 October 2026, it meant ours.
For decades, the world met Vietnam through what it assembled. In the second year of the Vietnam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, Silver Lion Enterprise Impact Singapore (SLEI) set out to change the first impression: bring Vietnamese deep tech to SWITCH, Singapore’s flagship innovation week, and let the world meet technology Vietnam owns. As SLEI’s strategic communication partner, The Urgency shaped the story, the stage and the record of it. The result was the first Vietnam Deep Tech Masterclass on the SWITCH Global Stage, and a bridge that now carries the next crossing, to the VIFC-HCMC X SLEI Global Executive Conference.
For Bacte: not a bottle, a Sovereign BioTech story
Working with SLEI, we drafted Bacte’s communication strategy for SWITCH. It started from one decision: Bacte would not come to Singapore as a crop-protection product. It would come as Vietnamese deep tech.
The story is built on two ingredients that grow in Vietnam: cinnamon bark from Trà My and shrimp shells from Cà Mau. From them, after more than ten years of research and development, Bacte’s founders created a patented formula. It eliminates 90% of nematodes within 90 minutes. It is natural, non-toxic and leaves no residue.
That is why we positioned Bacte as Sovereign BioTech: ESG-compliant bio-solutions for next-generation agriculture and clean industry. Its science is owned in Vietnam, made from Vietnamese resources, and ready to help global supply chains meet stricter ESG standards. Agriculture comes first, and the same biology opens doors to many more applications.
The strategy covered:
Five message pillars.
A LinkedIn content plan for SWITCH.
A landing page for partners to scan at Booth M07.
The result: Bacte arrived at SWITCH as the first Vietnamese deep tech startup at the event. Partners met a company that owns its technology, not a seller looking for buyers.
For Vietnam: The first Vietnam Masterclass on the Global Stage
On 28 October, 14:30 Singapore time, the Vietnam Deep Tech Hub took the SWITCH Global Stage for the first time. The session was titled “From OEM to Deep Tech – Moving Vietnam Up the Global Supply Chain”. It was a 40-minute executive masterclass for global investors, MNC executives and technology partners.
Our Co-founder & CEO, Dang Tran, hosted it with co-MC Jun. We wrote the run of show and the MC script, and gave the hour one arc:
The policy. H.E. Tran Phuoc Anh, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Vietnam to Singapore, set out Vietnam’s direction toward its 2045 vision.
The bridge. SLEI’s Founder & CEO, Tuyen Nguyen, showed how the Vietnam–Singapore Comprehensive Strategic Partnership can turn into real investment and partnerships.
The proof. Bacte’s founders, Nguyen Ho and Vuong Ho, presented how a deep tech company is built in Vietnam.
The two hosts wore burgundy and royal-blue brocade áo dài in a hall of dark suits. We chose that on purpose, and called it “Modern Heritage”: Vietnam stepping into the deep tech era with its own identity, knowledge and resources. The session opened to the “Made in Vietnam” melody and closed with a group selfie on stage. The audience was then invited to Booth M07 for meetings, technical data sheets and Vietnamese coffee.
