The Leadership Layer Saigon SMEs Have Been Missing.
Ho Chi Minh City is now a mega-city of roughly 14 to 15 million people generating around a quarter of national GDP. You've built something real - but the gap between where you are and where you need to be requires leadership that hustle alone can't deliver.
Why Full-Time C-Suite Doesn't Work at Your Stage
Hiring a full-time CFO, COO or CMO sounds like the obvious answer. But for most Ho Chi Minh City SMEs, it isn't practical:
The Cost Is Prohibitive
A credible CFO in Ho Chi Minh City commands around VND150-250 million a month (roughly US$6,000-11,000) in base salary alone - before the ~21.5-22% employer on-costs of social, health and unemployment insurance, the customary 13th-month Tet bonus, and the half-month-per-year severance you carry on exit. For a small enterprise taxed at 17% under the new SME tiers, that capital is better deployed elsewhere.
The Process Takes Too Long
A proper executive recruitment takes three to six months minimum. With the senior management-talent gap exceeding 21% by late 2025 - hardest-hit in IT, supply chain and renewables - your business cannot wait on a search that may turn up an empty chair.
The Risk Is High
A wrong hire at C-suite level is expensive to fix - financially, culturally, and operationally. Under Vietnam's Labour Code, exits carry notice periods, statutory severance at half a month per year of service, and operational disruption.
You Rarely Need Them Full-Time
Most SMEs need two to three days of genuine senior strategic input per week, not forty-five hours. For an export manufacturer watching thin margins, paying a fully-loaded permanent package is an expensive way to solve a part-time problem.
A fractional executive is a proven C-suite operator who works with your business on a defined, part-time basis. Not a consultant who produces decks and disappears. A senior operator who integrates with your team, has genuine accountability for outcomes, and executes - without the full permanent package. For Saigon's SME ecosystem, where scarce senior expertise is the binding constraint, this model delivers targeted leadership precisely where it's needed.
What Makes Our Model Different
Most fractional operators work alone. We are a vetted collective of 350+ senior operators with deep Vietnam and regional experience, and we stay with you as a partner throughout the engagement.
The Partner Model
We don't disappear after the introduction. We maintain active oversight of every engagement, ensuring alignment between what you need and what your fractional delivers. You are never left stranded.
The Collective
Your fractional leader draws on the wider Fractional Ho Chi Minh City collective. Your CFO checks in with our CTOs on technology cost decisions. Your COO borrows from our CMOs' experience on go-to-market across Vietnam and the region. You're tapping into a room full of them.
Business Continuity
If your fractional needs to step away, we ensure a smooth handover to another vetted operator already familiar with your business context. Momentum is protected.
Matchmaking Intelligence
We match on personality, business stage, sector context, and leadership style - not just CVs. A technically brilliant CFO who doesn't understand Vietnam's regulatory environment and your culture will cost you more than it saves.
What an engagement looks like
From discovery to delivery in weeks, not months.
Discovery
We spend time understanding your business: challenges, goals, team dynamics, and what 'success' looks like in 90 days.
Match
We introduce the right fractional leader from our vetted collective. You meet them, ask hard questions, and confirm the fit.
Scoped engagement begins
The engagement launches with a defined scope, clear deliverables, and a structured cadence. Your fractional is embedded, not advisory.
Adapt and evolve
As your business changes, the engagement changes with it. Add hours, shift focus, introduce a second specialist, all without restructuring.
Which leader does your business need first?
Not sure where the biggest gap is? Here's how each fractional role maps to common SME challenges.
Backed by executives who have led at
