Starting Point
Ms. Hoang Thi Bich Ngoc is the Director of the Na Pai Women's Agricultural and Forestry Cooperative. The Tay ethnic entrepreneur was born into a farming family with many siblings. She got married in 2013, and at that time, her family primarily farmed and raised livestock on a small scale with low income.
Peace Journey
In 2017, during a visit to learn about livestock farming experiences in a neighbouring province, she discovered a model of raising ducks in streams and got the idea to start a livestock farming business. In 2018, she discussed with her husband about using their savings to buy 100 ducklings to raise. However, due to a lack of experience in large-scale farming, the flock became sick and nearly half of them died.
She was discouraged by her surroundings from pursuing her desire to start a business, as women are often perceived as staying at home to care for children and engage in farming. However, she was determined to continue. She believed that getting rich does not distinguish between men and women. Therefore, she yearned to rise up, assert herself, and work towards developing the economy using the resources of her hometown. Then she began to set her goals and define a clear direction for growth.
Regrettably, she realised that her limitations as well as those of many other women in the village were a lack of knowledge, skills, and social connections to enable them to take long strides forward. This prompted her to begin learning and gaining experience from effective livestock models. She proactively participated in training sessions, especially in science and technology transfer classes organised by the district's functional agencies. She also went online to learn about good models for developing the family economy.
Success Stories
She asserted that on the path to starting a business, she has always received the companionship and support of the Women's Union at all levels. She especially appreciates the training courses on entrepreneurship and starting a business organised by the Union at all levels. Through these activities, she has access to a lot of business knowledge and has been guided by lecturers on how to set goals, build plans, calculate costs, account for business, as well as how to manage cooperatives.