VBA (Vietnam Business Alliance) is a comprehensive digital ecosystem for the business community, developed by GPIT – helping business associations, federations and clubs manage members, run events and enable trade connections on a single platform.
The challenge for business associations and federations
Most of the work of a business association is still managed manually with Excel files, group chats and paper. This leads to:
- Manual management is time-consuming and error-prone – member lists, dues and event registrations are all entered by hand.
- No system to help organise events and send reminders – members miss meetings, networking sessions and coffee networking.
- Activity is recorded and assessed in a fragmented way – there is no consistent data to fairly evaluate and honour members’ contributions.
- No place to showcase members’ products and services – members find it hard to learn about, support and trade with one another.
These difficulties not only reduce the association’s effectiveness but also directly affect members’ experience and engagement.
How does VBA solve this?
VBA uses modern technology to build a comprehensive platform that streamlines managing the business community, organising events and enabling trade connections between members. The ecosystem has two complementary parts:
- A member app (mobile) – digital business card, events, directory, newsletter, connections.
- An administration console for the executive board / association office (web) – member management, event scheduling, activity and trade analytics.
Features for members
Digital business card
Right on the home screen, each member has a digital business card showing their name, title, company, phone, email and address – replacing paper cards when networking. The information is pulled from the member profile and updates automatically, with no need to reprint when it changes.
QR code & scanning
Exchange contact details instantly at meetings: show your QR code for someone to scan, or scan theirs to save it straight into your connections directory – no manual entry.
Events
The Events section brings together all of the association’s activities, with two tabs: “Upcoming” and “Past”. Each event shows the date, time, venue and a summary; tap to view details and follow it.
Connections & member directory
All exchanged business cards and the member list are stored here. You can search for members by name or filter by industry; the “Saved cards” section holds the cards you have scanned. Tap a member to view their full profile (industry, phone, email, Facebook, website) and contact them right away with four quick buttons: Call – Email – Facebook – Save profile.
Notifications
The notification centre reminds you of things you shouldn’t miss: member birthdays so you can send timely wishes, new newsletters and good news from other members.
Newsletter
Keep up with the association’s and members’ news, achievements and activities – with photos and publication dates.
Tools for the association’s executive board
VBA provides a dedicated interface for administrators, which allows them to:
- Manage members – profiles, industry, join date, groups / chapters.
- Schedule and manage events – create events, manage attendees and sponsors.
- Groups & internal network – members post, exchange information and trade like a social network built specifically for business associations; the “Discover” feature helps find and join other groups / associations.
- Trade points (business matching) – when members trade, they confirm the transaction so the system can measure the association’s connection and trade activity.
- Automatic contribution tracking – when a member attends or sponsors an event, the system records and tallies it automatically, providing criteria for end-of-term recognition & awards.
- Analytics – total members, business sectors, and the community’s overall activity.
vCard Pro – smart business card
Alongside the app, VBA comes with vCard Pro – a physical business card with built-in NFC and QR code, replacing the traditional paper card:
- Dynamic personal information, easy to update – no need to reprint when it changes.
- Share information via NFC or QR code, while also recording face-to-face trade connections.
- Compact, cost-saving and environmentally friendly.
- Can be used as a membership card.
Get started in 3 steps
- Sign in with the phone number you registered with the association.
- Complete your business card – check and add your contact details and photo.
- Connect – scan QR codes, join events and start connecting with other members.
Who is VBA for?
- Young Entrepreneurs Associations, provincial and district-level business associations / federations.
- Industry associations, business clubs, startup communities.
- Organisers of business-matching, trade and investment promotion programmes.
Already deployed in practice
GPIT is running VBA for the Tay Ninh Young Entrepreneurs Association (phase 1) and has signed deployment agreements with business chapters such as the Tan Phu chapter. The platform supports real activities: gala dinners for entrepreneur networking, cross-border trade connection programmes, innovation and startup forums, and more.
Coming soon
VBA is developing more features: Trade connections (direct trading between members), Dues management (track and pay right in the app), Association activities and Contribution tracking.
Try and deploy VBA
VBA is offering a free trial of the event-management feature at app.vba.net.vn. To deploy VBA for your association – including process survey, configuration, training and operational support – please contact GPIT.
Bring your association onto VBA
GPIT advises on and deploys VBA to fit the size and way of working of each association. Call 0945 886 818 or leave your details.
