Opening a Door No Private Company in Vietnam Had Opened
When German exam slots in Vietnam became a bottleneck for the business, I found a partner abroad and negotiated the German-Malaysian Institute's first partnership with a private company in Vietnam, securing priority exam scheduling for our candidates.
- Milestone: First private partner in Vietnam of GMI, confirmed by GMI's international office
- Milestone: Exam capacity of up to ~230 places a month in the agreement (a maximum, not volume achieved)
- Milestone: MOA signed in 2025, with priority exam scheduling
The bottleneck
For Vietnamese candidates heading to Germany, a recognized German language certificate is not optional. In Vietnam, telc exam slots had become extremely hard to get, and several local exam organizers were under investigation.
For Clevermann, this was not an inconvenience. It was a bottleneck for the whole business: no exam, no visa, no career in Germany.
Finding a way around it
I picked up the phone and started calling exam centers in neighboring countries. That is how I reached the German-Malaysian Institute (GMI) in Malaysia, a large institution with strong international programs.
I led our first group of more than 20 candidates to Malaysia to take the exam. At the same time, I emailed GMI’s leadership and asked for a meeting.
The negotiation
The first meeting was a normal exchange. But as we talked, I listened for what GMI really needed, and found it.
- GMI wanted to recruit students in Vietnam. Clevermann had the network to help.
- GMI’s CEO had worked in Vietnam for years, and saw branding and partnerships much the way I did.
That changed what I put on the table. Clevermann would gain significant brand credibility in Vietnam. GMI would lose nothing, and gain access to major universities in Ho Chi Minh City, where I could open doors.
The hardest question they had to answer internally was: why Clevermann? My job was to make that answer easy. It took a long process of building trust, including hosting GMI’s leadership at Clevermann more than twice, before we signed a Memorandum of Agreement in 2025.
The outcome
- GMI’s first partnership with a private company in Vietnam, as confirmed by GMI’s Head of International.
- Priority exam scheduling for Clevermann candidates, always within telc rules, with capacity for up to ~230 candidates per month.
- A business bottleneck turned into a competitive advantage, and a story we could tell every customer.
What I learned
Good negotiations start long before the table. Find what the other side truly needs, know your own walk-away point, and build trust with the people who decide.
A partnership is not won with a pitch. It is won by making “why you?” easy to answer.
