Supporting ethnic minority youth in starting businesses.

Instead of leaving their homeland, many young people from ethnic minority groups in the ancestral land have confidently stayed, determined to pursue their ambition of becoming wealthy in their homeland, which still faces many difficulties. Although the entrepreneurial process encounters numerous difficulties and challenges, these young people always use them as motivation to overcome them with their youthful energy, daring spirit, and readiness for innovation.

The Provincial Youth Union honored exemplary young people from ethnic minority groups who have successfully started their own businesses at the festival showcasing and promoting local agricultural products linked to tourism.

Examples of overcoming difficulties

Through an introduction from the Secretary of the Yen Lap District Youth Union, we visited the integrated farm of Mr. Nguyen Van Thoai's family in Tam Buoi area, Dong Thinh commune, Yen Lap district. The farm, spanning over 6 hectares, is lush and green with red-fleshed dragon fruit, Dien pomelo, green-skinned pomelo, oranges, Thai jackfruit, and ponds for raising snails and commercial fish – a testament to the tireless efforts and hard work of this young man from the Muong region.

After graduating from Hung Vuong University, Thoai returned to his hometown to realize his dream of starting a business and getting rich on the very land he had cherished since his school days. With a capital of 50 million VND, supported by the Dong Thinh Commune Youth Union and borrowed from the District Social Policy Bank, he began building his business model starting with the first seedlings.

Starting with 200 pomelo trees (including Dien and green-skinned varieties), 100 red-fleshed dragon fruit trees, intercropped with over 200 Thai jackfruit and orange trees, and 4 hectares of acacia trees to increase income, in 2017, Mr. Thoai began renovating the swamp area to raise nearly 0.3 hectares of snails and 0.36 hectares of commercial fish. With his diligent and hardworking nature, he learned from experience as he went along, and today, Mr. Thoai's farm provides his family with a stable income of 200-250 million VND per year.

Leaving Dong Thinh commune, we visited the fashion business of Ms. Dinh Hong Nhung in Vuong 1 area, Lai Dong commune, Tan Son district. Ms. Nhung is one of the successful entrepreneurs from the "Gen Z" ethnic minority group, and also a dynamic and enthusiastic Youth Union Secretary who has made many contributions to the Youth Union's activities and youth movements in the district. Recognizing the increasing demand for fashion and beauty products, in 2019, Ms. Nhung started importing and selling goods on social media platforms like TikTok and Facebook with an initial capital of 50 million VND borrowed from the District Social Bank through the support of the Lai Dong Commune Youth Union.

By 2022, having accumulated sufficient capital and experience, Ms. Nhung rented a space and opened a store in Lai Dong commune, Tan Son district, offering a diverse range of products with constantly updated designs to cater to all demographics, from students to office workers. In addition, she continued selling through live streams on social media platforms, attracting thousands of viewers, with many items selling well. With guaranteed quality and diverse designs, Hong Nhung fashion store, owned by her, has a stable customer base, generating an income of over 200 million VND per year.

“The fact that the Youth Union facilitated my access to loans from the District Social Policy Bank was a practical support for me during the initial stages of my business when I was facing many difficulties. In the future, I will continue to research the market and expand the scale of my store to further improve economic efficiency,” said Ms. Nhung.

The entrepreneurial journey and wealth creation in their homeland of ethnic minority youth like Thoai and Nhung demonstrates the spirit of daring to think and act, the will to rise above challenges, and contributes to affirming the position and role of youth, especially those in ethnic minority and mountainous areas still facing many difficulties.

The integrated farm model of Mr. Nguyen Van Thoai in Tam Buoi area, Dong Thinh commune, Yen Lap district, yields high economic efficiency.

The "Igniting the Flame" Team for Startups

Mr. Nguyen Van Thoai and Ms. Dinh Hong Nhung are two of the 15 ethnic minority youths honored and rewarded in the program "Festival to introduce and promote agricultural products linked with local tourism and to commend and reward successful ethnic minority youth entrepreneurs; outstanding youth volunteer clubs, teams, and groups in 2024" organized by the Provincial Youth Union and the Provincial Committee of the Vietnam Youth Union. They are all owners of effective economic models with creative and groundbreaking approaches in production development, bringing high economic efficiency.

The festival showcased 20 stalls displaying agricultural products and local specialties from businesses and cooperatives. Among them were many businesses and cooperatives owned by ethnic minority youth, featuring key products and OCOP (One Commune One Product) products of the province such as Tan Son salt-cured chicken, Long Coc tea, Ga Gay sticky rice, and Tinh Nhue honey.

Simultaneously, the Provincial Youth Union has established the fanpage "Youth Booth of the Ancestral Land" to introduce and promote the province's products that have been certified as OCOP products and startup products of young people. Although newly launched, the fanpage currently has over 1,000 followers and many positive shares and comments about the products. The creation of the "Youth Booth of the Ancestral Land" fanpage keeps pace with the trend of applying digital transformation in all areas of life, contributing to the development of the digital economy and helping to improve the production and business efficiency of units, enterprises, and cooperatives producing OCOP products in the province.

In the first six months of 2024, youth union and association branches at all levels in the province organized communication, counseling, orientation, and job placement services for over 17,000 young people. Effectively implementing the loan capital from the National Employment Fund channeled through the Central Committee of the Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union (fund source 120), by the end of June 2024, the Phu Tho Provincial Youth Union managed 34 loan projects with a total outstanding loan balance of over 3.2 billion VND. By the end of June 2024, the Provincial Social Bank had signed contracts with youth union organizations at all levels to manage entrusted loan capital with a total outstanding loan balance of over 1,327 billion VND for 24,440 borrowers.

Thanks to loan support from the Youth Union, many ethnic minority youth have boldly built and expanded production and business models, creating jobs for many local workers. On average, each year about 5,000 ethnic minority youth receive media counseling, guidance, and job placement assistance, and more than 800 ethnic minority youth receive loans from entrusted loan funds from the Provincial Social Bank...

To further fuel the entrepreneurial journey of ethnic minority youth, the Youth Union and Youth Association at all levels in the province have implemented numerous programs and activities such as: intensifying propaganda and encouraging youth entrepreneurship; coordinating career guidance and vocational training linked with support for the transfer of scientific and technological knowledge; providing information, knowledge, and skills for entrepreneurship. They have also collaborated with relevant agencies and departments to advise the Provincial Party Committee and the Central Youth Union on developing flexible mechanisms and policies to support youth entrepreneurship and career development; increasing support for youth access to loans for economic development; organizing entrepreneurship festivals and competitions; and commending and rewarding successful ethnic minority youth entrepreneurs.

Comrade Nguyen Van Ky - Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Youth Union, Vice President of the Vietnam Youth Union of the province, said: The entrepreneurship movement has spread among young people, with more and more examples of young people who dare to think, dare to act, and become rich right in their homeland. To encourage entrepreneurship in general, and entrepreneurship among ethnic minority youth in particular, in the coming time, the Provincial Youth Union will continue to propagate, inspire, and encourage young people to develop a sense of self-reliance and career building, focusing on entrepreneurship in their homeland, while connecting organizations and businesses to support economic models owned by young people, implementing mechanisms and policies on supporting youth entrepreneurship, and providing preferential loans for young people to engage in economic activities.

Ha Trang

Source: https://baophutho.vn/dong-hanh-with-thanh-nien-dan-toc-thieu-so-khoi-nghiep-221328.htm