THE ISEE-COVID 2022 SNAPSHOT
THE PROJECT
LEVERAGING VIETNAM'S SOCIAL IMPACT BUSSINESS ECOSYSTEM IN RESPONSE TO COVID-19
The ISEE-COVID project, with sponsorship from Global Affairs Canada, is co-implemented by UNDP and the Agency of Enterprises Development (AED), Ministry of Planning and Investment.
The project aims to enhance the resilience of social impact businesses (SIB) in Vietnam and contribute to reducing the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups, especially women and girls.
TRADITIONAL ETHNIC FOOD TAKES OVER NORTHERN MARKET
TRƯỜNG FOODS
Trường Foods - an SIB led by Hoa - a young woman of Muong ethnic background, produces high-quality pickled pork, a food inspired by the traditional Muong cuisine. Before the project, Trường Foods sold its not-so-different-to-other products in Phú Thọ Province only. The business model was weak with only very few product lines, and the SIB didn’t have a strategic development plan.
The ISEE-COVID project provided Hoa with 6 months professional coaching 1:1 services and seed-funding. Trường Foods has updated its business model and focus into 3 main targets: expanding the brand, creating new product lines, and accessing new investment. With advice from a project coach, Hoa successfully raised VND15 billion on Shark Tank Viet Nam for 20% shares of Trường Foods. Her pitching episode was shown live on TV with 460,000 views. Trường Foods brand became well-known, exceeded its revenue target in 2022, opened 02 new flagship stores in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and reached over 7,000 sales stores. Its products have entered the largest supermarket systems, such as Winmart, Northern shrimp, Siba, and Sea Wolf.
Trường Foods now has over 140 employees, of whom 78% are women and 37% are ethnic minority people. They are building a new factory in Phú Thọ Province, which will have 2000 meters squared of floor area and produce high-quality product following ISO and other international standards.
MAYPAPER FLOWER PUTS A TWIST IN 300-YEAR-OLD TRADITIONAL CRAFT
MAYPAPER FLOWER
Maypaper flower workshop was established in 2019 in Hue Citadel, Vietnam, by Hieu- a woman who quit her job in Ho Chi Minh City to return to Hue city during COVID-19. She was inspired to revive the 300-year-old traditional paper flower craft in Thanh Tien village. The paper flower of Hue is traditional only sold during the New Year. Hieu has used traditional techniques to create modern flower designs and combine them with wall décor. Even though Hieu’s products were modern and high quality, she still struggled to sell them.
After joining the ISEE COVID project, Maypaper flower re-set its market target and started to sell its products through Amazon and Etsy. From July to December 2022, its revenue increased by 50% each month. The new products, supported by the project, received the Second prize in the National Award for Handicraft design by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Hieu had her first official export order to the UK in October 2023. Maypaper flower now provides decent jobs for 16 people (including 14 women and two people with disabilities).
Hieu also employs women from the traditional villages as seasonal employees to make paper flowers. Her innovative assembly techniques mean that rural women could stay back in the village and work during off-farm hours without having to travel to the city.
VUN ART CREATES JOBS FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
VỤN ART
Mr Le Viet Cuong is the founder and CEO of Vụn Art, an SIB that provides handmade high-quality silk canvas paintings made by persons with disabilities. Vụn Art has two main product lines: silk canvas painting (which is high quality, high price and takes a long time to complete one product) and the Do-it-yourself kit for small silk paintings. After getting support from the project, Cuong has upgraded the DIY kit by changing the packaging from plastic bags to paper bag, changing the glue bottle from a recycled eyedrop bottle to bamboo bottle. Vụn Art also organized experiential sessions for children and created the marketing campaign for this product.
Within 2 months, Vụn Art sold over 500 kits to private companies. At the end of 2022, this product was also displayed and sold in a well-known bookstore chain in Hanoi. Thanks to the new model and pricing strategy, Vụn Art sold hundreds of kits in several primary schools and education centers.
Vụn Art trains and provides jobs for over 30 people, 80% of which are persons with disabilities.
SIB INNOVATION CHAMPION
SIB INNOVATION CHAMPION
Nguyen Thi Thu is an entrepreneur and pioneer mentor for ethnic minority women in agriculture. With her hands-on experiences and knowledge, she has supported many women to successfully create livelihoods for themselves and their communities. However, she has realised that the local people are too dependent on mentors to run their business and are not able to solve problems or think through issues themselves.
Thu applied the coaching skills she learnt during the SIB Innovation Champion Launchpad program in her work. By asking the right questions, Thu inspired the rural women to think for themselves and come up with their own solutions.
Thu and the other 54 SIB champions, who graduated in 2022 from SIB Innovation Champion Launchpad Program, provided over 700 free coaching hours for 110 SIBs across Viet Nam. They also aim to share their knowledge to a wider audience to inspire and train more local champions.
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