From a flower familiar to Vietnamese people, Nguyen Thi Mai Huong (a student of the 47th cohort, Can Tho University) has researched and transformed the lotus flower into many products that have received high praise at startup competitions.
From nurturing to realizing a dream.
Growing up surrounded by vast lotus fields in My An town, Thap Muoi district ( Dong Thap province), Mai Huong has long had a special affection for this flower. This love for lotuses, coupled with her passion for research and learning, has driven Mai Huong to study products made from lotus.
Mai Huong had been nurturing her entrepreneurial dream since high school. Upon entering university, she confidently pursued her dream of starting a business with products extracted from lotus.
"When starting these projects, I faced many difficulties. From researching and creating the product to adjusting the proportions to suit my needs. Facing these challenges, I always tried my best to overcome them. At the same time, I used them as inspiration and motivation to strive for greater achievements in the future," Mai Huong said.
Having accompanied Mai Huong through two consecutive startup projects, Mr. Nguyen Van Nhieu Em (lecturer in Sociology, Can Tho University) highly appreciates this student's eagerness to learn, research, and determination to overcome difficulties.
"Through working with Mai Huong on two projects, I highly appreciate her ideas and her keen insight. As her mentor, I only offered suggestions to help Mai Huong develop her ability to research and explore on her own," shared teacher Nhieu Em.
At the "Potential Startup Project" competition for students of Can Tho University in 2022, Mai Huong excellently won first prize with her lotus-based disinfectant product line. Following that, her lotus-based scented candle project also helped Mai Huong win second prize in the "Searching for Innovative Startup Talents in Can Tho City 2022" competition.
Most recently, Mai Huong's lotus seed and centella face mask product helped her win second prize in the "Potential Startup Project" competition for students of Can Tho University in 2023.
Receiving recognition in startup competitions motivates Mai Huong to continue exploring and researching new products in the future.
Developing indigenous natural resources
The products from her startup project provided Mai Huong with an income even while she was still in school. However, Huong's greatest aspiration in starting her business was to utilize local natural resources to contribute to the economic development of her province.
"Growing up in the challenging land of Thap Muoi, the land of lotus flowers, my love for and awareness of the value that lotus brings to my home province has motivated me to explore, innovate, and resolutely research products derived from lotus," Mai Huong added.
Driven by that motivation, Mai Huong has researched and developed many products extracted from lotus, such as soap, disinfectant, hand sanitizer gel, scented candles, scented wax, face masks, etc., all of which are environmentally friendly and trusted by many people.
Currently, all of Mai Huong's products are inspected and registered for intellectual property rights. In particular, Huong pays close attention to packaging to enhance the appeal of her products.
With her current success, Mai Huong always appreciates her own efforts and the support of her teachers. Huong said that in the future, she will continue to explore and research more lotus-based products to bring to everyone.
Laodong.vn
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