Nguyen Ba Ngoc and the story of starting a business with East Sea squid

As one of the two young entrepreneurs of the province awarded the title of Outstanding Young Entrepreneur in 2023 by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association, Mr. Nguyen Ba Ngoc (born in 1988), Chairman of the Board of Directors of Bien Dong Jumping Squid Joint Stock Company, has affirmed his position in the young business community of the province and society, thereby actively inspiring the spirit of overcoming difficulties and creativity to young people who wish to start a business.

From purchasing live squid

Mr. Ngoc was born and raised in a family that has been fishing for generations in a small fishing village in Ha Tinh province. More than anyone else, he understands the hardships and difficulties of fishermen when fishing depends on the weather all year round, and prices fluctuate with the refrain "good harvest, low price". After many years of traveling from the South to the North, accumulating capital and experience in multi-industry business, at the end of 2019, based on identifying the market and tastes of consumers in the South, he and his colleagues boldly established Bien Dong Jumping Squid Joint Stock Company, investing in some suitable equipment for fishermen in coastal provinces to switch to squid fishing and preserving live squid on shore, then purchasing and transporting to consumer markets in the South Central and Southeast regions.

Mr. Nguyen Ba Ngoc (right) breeds and raises squid in farming area C3

belonging to Thanh Hai commune (Ninh Hai). Photo: V.Ny

Mr. Hai Loi, a long-time squid fisherman in Vinh Hy village, Vinh Hai commune (Ninh Hai), shared: The first time I heard Mr. Ngoc present the idea of cooperation in catching and bringing live squid to shore, I refused, because squid is one of the seafood that is difficult to preserve after exploitation. However, after many times of persuasion and support to invest in separate cages and tanks with aeration equipment on the boat; transporting squid by truck with water tanks with cold and salty temperatures similar to the marine environment, completely fresh to the hands of customers, I believed and called on many other fishermen to join. Thanks to keeping the squid alive, the purchase price is twice as high; in addition, live squid is heavier than frozen squid, so people who sell live squid get higher profits.

According to Mr. Ngoc, the domestic market has a very large demand for live squid consumption each year, so his model is considered to have a lot of potential. Currently, he is cooperating with more than 300 fishermen in large fishing grounds such as: Khanh Hoa, Ninh Thuan , Binh Thuan, Vung Tau, Kien Giang... with a total of 20 purchasing points, over 200 consuming partners, supplying an average of 1 ton/month, with a revenue of more than 10 billion VND/year.

To breed and raise squid semi-naturally

Not stopping at buying and selling activities, in order to proactively supply "live squid" products to the market, while contributing to protecting and regenerating the marine ecosystem, in early 2021, Mr. Ngoc conducted research, piloted breeding and successfully raised commercial squid in a semi-natural environment in Vinh Hy Bay area. Accordingly, the parent squid caught from the sea will be raised by him to lay eggs; then the eggs will be brought to the farm to hatch into young; the young from 15-25 days old will be returned to the sea to be raised into commercial squid. However, due to the characteristics of squid that often eat each other, the commercial efficiency of the first farming batches is low due to the small area.

Not discouraged, in early 2022, Mr. Ngoc borrowed water from the sea in area C3, Nhon Hai commune (Ninh Hai) to invest in 2 modern HDPE plastic cages with a scale of nearly 2,400 m2, meeting the needs of research and piloting on a larger scale. The cages are designed with surrounding walls, the bottom is the natural seabed, completely without nets; saving about 70% of food compared to industrial farming, avoiding the situation of being forced to lower prices when the commercial squid reaches harvest time. Initial efficiency, the rate of finished squid reached over 50%, the 1,000 m2 cage released about 10,000 squid fry, after 6 months, the profit was over 500 million VND. Currently, Mr. Ngoc is trying to learn and innovate with the desire to expand the farming area and replicate it in many domestic fishing grounds, thereby bringing more economic value to fishermen and having many new quality products to serve the needs of the national market.

By choosing green business, accompanying fishermen, and preserving the marine ecosystem, Mr. Ngoc has won many great awards such as: Top 100 outstanding young startups in 2021, 2023 awarded by the Central Committee of the Vietnam Young Entrepreneurs Association; First prize in the Innovation Competition for the Fisheries Industry in Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province in 2022... In particular, in 2021, even when the COVID-19 pandemic was still complicated, Mr. Ngoc successfully called for an investment capital of 5 billion VND at the Shark Tank Vietnam Program - Billion Dollar Deal. Hopefully, in the coming time, young man Nguyen Ba Ngoc will continue to be more successful, bringing good values to life from his close and practical startup ideas.

Xuan Nguyen

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