In 2019, National Australia Bank (NAB), one of Australia’s four largest banks, chose Vietnam to establish its first innovation centre outside Australia. Started as a pilot project with 10 engineers, NAB Innovation Centre Vietnam has grown rapidly at scale to over 2,100 employees after more than 5 years of establishment, contributing hugely to NAB’s digital transformation.

As the first Vietnamese female General Director of NAB Vietnam, who involved from the earliest day of the centre, Tran Minh Hanh reflects on the strategy behind establishing the prominence of Vietnamese talent on the global landscape of technology and innovation.

- What led NAB to choose Vietnam for its first innovation centre outside of Australia, despite not providing banking services here?

- As NAB amplified a customer-centric strategy in Australia and New Zealand leveraging digital transformation, it found that domestic resources alone would not be enough to deliver on the bank’s long-term vision.

Thus, NAB began exploring for an innovation centre in Asia. Vietnam quickly rose to the top of the list, thanks to its exceptional skilled workforce, efficiency and productivity potential , and forward-thinking technology mindset.

In 2019, Vietnam was chosen as the first ‘pilot project’ marking the first time in NAB’s 170-year history that it placed an innovation centre outside of Australia.

- How does NAB Vietnam maintain and strengthen its operating model across locations?

- In the beginning, the questions were whether a team working thousands of kilometers away could truly understand the needs of customers in Australia and New Zealand. How could the local team meet NAB’s high standards for banking technology, security and regulatory compliance?

Having said that, the challenge for the Vietnamese team wasn’t technical expertise, as around 80-90% of our colleagues are IT engineers coming from software companies. They had strong programming skills but lacked extensive experiences in global banking, a sector where deep knowledge in risk management, legal context and cyber security awareness are fundamentally required.

Cultural differences were inevitable, but rather than seeing them as barriers, we focused on training and building connections. NAB Vietnam engineers were sent to Australia regularly for knowledge exchange and customer/banker experience immersion, while global colleagues traveled in the other direction. Over time, through collaboration and trust, the distance became less relevant. Today, NAB Vietnam’s team play active roles in technology initiatives in mobile banking, everyday banking transaction, artificial intelligence (AI), and management infrastructure on the cloud.

- As you are one of the first contributors to NAB Vietnam, what factors do you believe have been crucial to the centre’s success?

- NAB Vietnam’s growth can be attributed to three factors.

First, NAB Vietnam’s engineers were entrusted with strategic projects, from mobile banking to cloud infrastructure management, that demanded our readiness, integration and accountability.

Second, our Vietnamese technologists had a solid technical foundation and are well-versed in a fast-evolving digital market and able to have an immediate impact in critical areas including mobile banking, eKYC and facial recognition giving us a unique edge in building modern banking solutions.

Third, NAB consistently invests in people, creating a workplace that nurtures long-term career development, where each colleague is trusted, empowered, and connected to our global workforce. NAB’s Star Camp program was first initiated in Vietnam and has now been adopted by the bank for all global regions to help foster and develop IT talent.

These foundations have been crucial to our success.

- What is your response to the perception that Vietnamese engineers are good at technical skills and programming but not as strong in critical thinking, creativity, and product design?

- Vietnamese engineers have long been known for their technical competence. However, they have had limited exposure to broader perspective of product design and innovation.

When placed in the right environment, though, they thrive. Take the mobile banking application project at NAB as an example. Initially, NAB Vietnam engineers primarily followed specific requirements from Australia. But after working in the domain and also visiting Australia and observing customers firsthand, they identified and proposed improvements, such as updating the repayment request process, making it simpler for users and reducing time spent on the task. Over time, their role evolved from simply implementing solutions to actively rethinking and creating innovative features for NAB’s digital applications. NAB Vietnam’s technologists are not just coders, they are innovators who really contribute to reshape digital solutions for NAB’s customers in Australia.

- How do you assess the potential and competitive advantages of Vietnamese technology talents in the next 5-10 years?

- Vietnam now holds significant advantages to break through on the global technology landscape. First, the country has more than 530,000 IT professionals and 60,000 technology graduates each year, an impressive figure compared to other countries in the region. The younger generation is not only tech-savvy but also fast-thinking, fluent in English, and increasingly connected to the global community.

As a “latecomer”, Vietnam also has the advantage of adopting the most advanced technologies that are shaping the future of the global digital economy. Meanwhile, government policies and a stable macroeconomic environment support the growth of the industry. STEM education is being promoted, regulatory frameworks are being refined, and incentives are being offered to tech companies – all of these lay the foundation for a sustainable innovation ecosystem.

- At the end of 2024, Vietnam issued Resolution 57 to drive science, technology, and digital transformation for national development. How do multinational companies like NAB plan to engage in this process?

- NAB’s decision to build its first global innovation centre in Vietnam was a pioneer move, not only for a 170-year institution like NAB itself, but also a signal of confidence to other multinational corporations seeking to build a presence in the region. By placing a global tech hub in Vietnam, NAB has profoundly reaffirmed its confidence in Vietnamese talent. With the long-term enhanced economic engagement strategy and cooperation between governments and businesses, I believe that Vietnam can thrive and achieve breakthroughs that rival any nation.

- With increasing competition for talent, what is NAB Vietnam doing to ensure sustainable development?

- Competition for IT talent has intensified as more global companies establish operations in Vietnam. However, we believe sustainable growth matters more than rapid expansion. NAB Vietnam’s response has been to focus on sustainable growth . From day one, we have invested in building a strong foundation, concentrated its first five years on training and uplifting capabilities, aligned with group standards and building a global workforce strategy ready for the future.

Our colleagues have access to cutting-edge technology training like cloud computing certifications, or a Distinctive Leadership Program for future leaders that matches global benchmarks. Our flagship internship programs run by Tech Academy, named StarCamp and WeCamp, have trained over 500 talented grad students, giving them 12 weeks of hands-on experience in IT and project operations. At our core, NAB Vietnam emphasizes on our people-centric philosophy, ensures every employee has more opportunities, more impacts as an integral part of NAB's global workforce.