The Vietnam Weekly Podcast Mike Tatarski

Today’s guest is Eddie Thai, co-founder & general partner of Ascend Ventures Vietnam, or AVV. Few people in Vietnam have more tech funding experience than Eddie, and he’s been a great source of insight over the years.
We discussed tech here in the context of the global ‘funding winter,’ the country’s tech strengths and weaknesses, what Eddie looks for when deciding to invest, Vietnam’s nascent AI industry and the rising importance of ‘sovereign’ AI, his wish to see Vietnamese founders aim bigger and understand the hypercompetitive nature of their field, and his outlook for the sector.
You’ll also find out how many people with the last name ‘Nguyen’ work at the Magnificent 7 tech companies in the U.S., meaning Google, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple - the answer surprised me!
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Today’s guest is Bernard Kervyn, founder of the NGO Mekong Plus.
We discussed how the organization’s work has evolved given Vietnam’s rapid economic growth over the last 30 years, shifting their focus to people who live on less than US$1 per day, offering microfinance while avoiding its well-documented risks, the different ways communities support each other in Vietnam and Cambodia, and the broader goal of eliminating - not alleviating - poverty.
You can support Mekong Plus’s work here.




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Due to scheduling issues, there isn’t a new guest today, so I’m taking this opportunity to revisit two previous episodes in the context of a pair of recently passed regulations.
The first is the amended Law on Social Insurance, which goes into effect on July 1, 2025. I discussed Vietnam’s social insurance system with Tu Phuong Nguyen, a lecturer of Asian Studies at the University of Melbourne, in February.
Today, I’m sharing the context she provided on previous social insurance reform efforts, options the government was considering earlier this year, and what needs to be done beyond national laws to ensure a sustainable system.
On a different note, last week the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued a long-awaited decree on direct power purchase agreements, or DPPA.
In May, Giles Cooper, a Partner at the international law firm Allens based in Hanoi, explained what a DPPA is, the dramatic change it heralds for Vietnam’s energy market, and its potential impact.
That section of today’s episode starts at the 11:06 mark.
The full previous episodes are available here:
Vietnam's Social Insurance Dilemma
Vietnam's Energy Plans & Reality


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Today’s guest is Kim Le, founder and CEO of CL2B - short for Closed Loop to Balance - a consulting boutique that facilitates decision-making across sectors and stakeholders to accelerate the circular economy transition in Southeast Asia.
We discussed what ‘circular economy’ means in the Vietnam context, how the informal economy already embraces circular principles like reuse and repair in contrast to developed markets, the need to understand the different circularity contexts between the global north and global south, the opportunities of recycling in both the pre-consumer and post-consumer spaces, Vietnam’s role in the global circular economy as an apparel production hub, and hopes for the near future of the circular economy here.
Related Links:
Vietnam among top 20 waste-producing countries: official (Tuổi Trẻ News)
70,000 tons of garbage form hill on Con Dao Island (VnExpress International)
Ho Chi Minh City canal swamped with garbage (Tuổi Trẻ News)
Garbage 'unavoidable' in world-famous Ha Long Bay: official (VnExpress International)
Hanoi needs urgent, optimal solution for waste treatment capacity (Vietnam Plus)


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Today’s guest is Eddy Malesky, a Professor of Political Economy at Duke University who focuses on Vietnam. Eddy is also the primary author and lead researcher of the annual Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI).
He played an instrumental role in the creation of the PCI in 2005 and remains heavily involved, offering great insight and nuance on the relationship between sub-national government actions and local business communities.
We discussed the concept of ‘fencebreaking,’ the PCI’s background and the desire to create a tool that provincial officials can use to benchmark against other locations and identify best practices, the surprising official embrace of the index, the genesis of the newer Provincial Green Index (PGI) as a tool for provinces to measure compliance with environmental and energy regulations, how the index’s results illustrate Vietnam’s economic evolution, and how it reflects the anti-corruption campaign.
Related Links:
2023 PGI-PCI Full Report
Provincial Competitiveness Index (PCI) for 2023 announced (Vietnam Plus)


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Today’s guest is Stuart McDonald, co-founder of Travelfish and author of the excellent Couchfish newsletter. Stuart has been traveling around and writing about Southeast Asia for about three decades and is also working on a Master’s in Responsible Tourism Management. He’s written previously about sustainable tourism in Vietnam as well.
Stuart recently visited Phú Quốc for the first time in a while and I wanted to get his thoughts on the place through a sustainable lens. If you’re expecting a rose-tinted view of the island, this episode is not for you. We cover some positives of Phu Quoc before getting into its severe problems, what could be done to begin addressing them, and whether you should visit.
Related Links:
Vietnam's Sustainable Tourism Challenge
Couchfish: A Journey Along The Camel’s Back. Part 1
Couchfish: A Journey Along The Camel’s Back. Part 2
Couchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 1—Plastic, People, Power
Couchfish: Sustainable Vietnam Part 2—Three Kinds Of Gold
Vietnam's biggest island long held onto a seductive image as the country's 'last paradise.' Then came the clubs, a casino, and a safari. (Business Insider)
Phu Quoc stops officials from going abroad (VnExpress International)


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