The year 2025 comes to a close as a richly colored journey for KisStartup. Not because of the number of events or programs, but because of steady and deliberate steps that took us to new places, new communities, and very real stories of innovation—stories grounded in people and livelihoods, at a time when the world has been undergoing profound turbulence and change.
Throughout 2025, KisStartup focused on these consistent priorities: advancing innovation through inclusive digital transformation for small and medium-sized enterprises in Lào Cai and Sơn La; supporting technology commercialization and incubation by accompanying scientists and innovators on their commercialization journeys through the LIF Global program; incubating and accelerating innovative green export models and building a responsible knowledge voice around data, AI, and practical innovation—key trends shaping the present and future. Programs implemented in Lào Cai, Sơn La, Gia Lai, Đắk Lắk, Bến Tre, Ho Chi Minh City, and university settings reinforced an important lesson for us: innovation only truly matters when it fits the local context and creates measurable value for its users.
2025 was also a year when KisStartup stepped beyond its “comfort zone.” We worked in places we had never been before—alongside agricultural businesses, tourism operators, homestays, cooperatives; with students and lecturers solving real-world problems; and with scientists translating the language of technology into the language of the market. Each journey left small but lasting marks—from changes in digital operating habits and improved revenues to broader perspectives on inclusion and sustainable development.
A particularly meaningful milestone this year was KisStartup’s presence in Europe, marked by the establishment of DHomes GmbH in Germany. This was not merely a legal or market expansion, but an effort to build another bridge—connecting Vietnamese businesses and local innovation with the international ecosystem, where knowledge, standards, and opportunities can meet on a more equitable footing.
Looking back on this journey, KisStartup would like to express our sincere gratitude to:
- The community of enterprises, cooperatives, and SMEs across different localities, who trusted us with real business challenges, real data, and very practical concerns—working with us to experiment, learn, and deliver services together.
- Our implementation partners, experts, and advisors—those who traveled long distances, worked through challenging weather and limited conditions to join KisStartup in fieldwork, classrooms, and direct engagement with businesses and communities. Their hands-on commitment, patience, and “learning by doing together” spirit have brought depth to our programs beyond any report or statistic.
- Universities, lecturers, and students, who played the role of knowledge bridges—turning classrooms into spaces for real work and real learning. The willingness of universities to collaborate with an organization of modest scale like KisStartup has given us both confidence and a deep sense of responsibility to contribute more meaningfully to academic missions.
- Scientists, innovators, and LIFers, who allowed us to accompany serious technology ideas along the challenging path of commercialization.
- Partners and donors, including Swiss Trade, DFAT – Aus4Equality, and GREAT, who have stood alongside KisStartup across multiple programs. Their trust in a market-oriented approach—grounded in the internal capacities of small businesses and in measurable results—has enabled initiatives to move beyond pilots and gradually take root in real-world practice.
- And above all, the KisStartup team—those who quietly arrived early and left late, working in offices, on the road, at events in remote villages, and across different time zones—together writing a 2025 that reflects greater maturity, deeper understanding, and the courage to go further.
As we step into the new year, we do so with the humility of those who still have much to learn, and with a firm belief shaped by practice: when innovation is placed where it truly belongs—inclusive, practical, and human-centered—the small steps we take today can lead to sustainable change tomorrow.
With sincere regards,
KisStartup Team