When the largest investment is no longer capital
For many years, the relationship between banks and businesses has mainly been linked to credit and financial solutions. However, as AI, data and technology are changing the way businesses operate, which is no longer the only factor creating a competitive advantage. VPBank is probably the first bank to deeply understand this issue.
If SME Forum 2026 opens up a panoramic view of business operation trends, then Alibaba Study Tour is the next practical step to bring leaders to touch real-world growth models. In this in-depth phase, VPBank SME continues to partner with Newing - a leadership development and organization transformation consulting partner in Vietnam to jointly design a specialized learning journey for 28 CEOs who are strategic customers of the bank.
Affirming that this is not a business tour, a representative of VPBank said that the program consists of 3 consecutive days built according to a roadmap from awareness, analysis to application, helping SME CEOs witness firsthand how a global technology company operates, makes decisions and adapts in the AI era.
Each program participation slot is invested by VPBank SME with resources equivalent to nearly 100 million VND. With 28 business leaders and accompanying operating personnel, the total cost of implementing this journey is up to billions of VND. However, we do not see this as a normal customer care program, but as a long-term investment in the capacity of businesses that are ready to break through, thereby contributing to creating model growth models for the SME segment," shared a representative of VPBank SME.
People who "decode" growth from the Alibaba ecosystem itself
It is no coincidence that Alibaba was chosen as the destination of the program. For more than two decades, Alibaba has been considered one of the typical case studies on innovation, digital transformation and building a business ecosystem based on data. But what VPBank SME and Newing are aiming for is not to bring businesses to "learn from Alibaba".
One of the different values of Alibaba Study Tour lies in the speaker team. Instead of inspiring shares or summaries from case studies, the program gathers experts who have been and are directly involved in building, operating and expanding the Alibaba and Ant Group ecosystems.
Dongye Yang, Senior Director of Ant International's Global Strategy Development Center, will bring a perspective on how to turn a strategy into real growth through business development experience in many international markets.
Meanwhile, Ray Weng – co-founder of Weishi Research Institute, who used to work at Ant Group, Taobao and PayPal – focuses on the topic of AI, data and operational capabilities. Instead of answering the question "What can AI do?", he will share how businesses build a faster and more accurate decision-making organization based on data.
From the perspective of organizational development, Chandee Zhuang - Senior Advisor to eWTP, co-founder of Alibaba Global Initiatives (AGI) with nearly 20 years of experience working in the Alibaba ecosystem - will help CEOs access the core operating principles that have contributed to Alibaba's development, and at the same time suggest how to transform those lessons into management frameworks suitable for Vietnamese businesses.
The special point of the speakers is not in their personal profiles, but in the fact that they directly answer the problems that CEOs are facing every day: how to make businesses grow based on internal capacity, where should AI start to create real value, or how the organization needs to change to continue expanding in the coming years.
In addition to the training content, the 28 CEOs participating also create a special value for the program. Selected from VPBank SME's strategic customer group, businesses come from many different industries but share the same desire for growth. The diversity of experience and the spirit of learning has created a connecting space where each exchange can open up a new perspective, a cooperation opportunity or a long-term companion relationship.
Invest in CEO capacity to create sustainable growth
Alibaba Study Tour is not only a program for business customers, but also reflects how VPBank SME is expanding its role in its relationship with the SME community. More importantly, the journey does not close after three days of studying at Alibaba. According to the plan, VPBank SME and Newing will continue to implement a 6-day bootcamp series, supporting CEOs to gradually transform knowledge into specific action plans, suitable for the reality of each business. This is also a clear expression of the program's philosophy: Value is only truly created when knowledge is transformed into results in business operations.
With the journey "Joining together to create prosperity with knowledge", VPBank SME not only invests in a trip, but also invests in what creates the most sustainable value: the capacity of the leader. That is also the way the bank chooses to accompany the Vietnamese SME community on the next development journey - not only with financial solutions, but with knowledge, connection and real-world learning experiences, helping businesses be ready to seize growth opportunities in a business environment that is changing every day.
