Nghe An businessmen join hands to develop their homeland

On the occasion of Vietnam Entrepreneurs Day (October 13), Nghe An Newspaper, Radio and Television recorded the sharing, concerns and expectations of the business community in their journey of dedication and companionship with their homeland.

Mr. Nguyen Manh Hung - General Director of Nafoods Group: "Efforts to accompany the province's development on the journey of digital - green - sustainable agriculture"

Since the early 1990s, when the concept of “private enterprise” was still new, Nafoods Group chose Nghe An as its starting point with the aspiration to bring Vietnamese agricultural products to the world. After more than 30 years of development, from a small processing facility in Nghe An, Nafoods Group has now become a leading corporation developing a digital, green, and sustainable agricultural value chain.

During its journey, Nafoods Group has had the opportunity to witness the strong transformation of the province in recent years. From investment attraction policies, traffic infrastructure, to improving the quality of public services; reforming administrative procedures, shortening the time for investment licensing as well as enhancing dialogue, accompanying businesses to remove obstacles have helped improve Nghe An's acute competitiveness (PCI).

Thanks to that, the investment environment in Nghe An is increasingly stable, attracting many domestic and foreign strategic investors, creating an ecosystem - where local businesses such as Nafoods Group have more opportunities to expand their scale, connect and share values.

Nafoods Group hopes that Nghe An province will continue to promote its role of "creating - accompanying" to help businesses go further. We hope that the province will perfect the mechanism and preferential policies for high-tech, green and circular agricultural enterprises; strengthen the development of logistics infrastructure and agricultural export supply chains. At the same time, accompany businesses in digital transformation and human resource development and enhance dialogue and public-private cooperation in the agricultural sector.

Nafoods Group always believes that the development of the enterprise is only sustainable when it is closely linked to the development of the locality. We are committed to continuing to invest in expanding the raw material area in Nghe An in the direction of a digital - green - sustainable agricultural value chain, accompanying local farmers in improving production capacity, improving income and people's lives.

Mr. Do Sy Quang - Vice President of Nghe An Young Entrepreneurs Association, General Director of ABT Trading Joint Stock Company: "Courage and aspiration to rise up are the most important foundations of an entrepreneur"

Over the years, I and the members of the Nghe An Young Entrepreneurs Association have always been struggling to find ways for businesses to not only stand firm but also closely accompany the development of the province. Regarding our own business, when we started to develop new interior materials such as wood-like wall panels, bamboo charcoal panels, etc., we encountered many difficulties. That is, the technology was still new, the market had not really accepted it, and the cost of research and importing raw materials was high.

But in that challenge, I realized that if a business does not dare to innovate, does not dare to go ahead, it will not be able to create different values. From there, ABT persistently invested in technology, expanded production links, proactively explored new markets and built a Vietnamese brand based on the criteria of green - durable - creative.

From practical experience, I believe that the province needs to create more policy space for innovative businesses: Support research, encourage testing of new technologies, prioritize procedures and land funds for environmentally friendly projects. A transparent, open investment environment operated in a spirit of companionship will help unleash the great potential of Nghe An's young entrepreneurs.

In my role as Vice President of the Nghe An Province Young Entrepreneurs Association, I believe that for businesses, it is important to proactively transform business models associated with innovation and sustainable development, improve management capacity, and dare to take responsibility for their choices. Along with that, focus on promoting the spirit of "entrepreneurs leading entrepreneurs" - predecessors guiding the start-up generation, together creating a cohesive, humane and developing business community.

Finally, entrepreneurs do not only do business, but also carry responsibility to the community and the homeland. I believe that if every business is aware of that mission and works towards the goal of "Nghe An development - stable business", the economic picture of the province will become more and more prosperous.

Mr. Phan Kim Tien - Director of Uncle Ho's Hometown Lotus Agricultural Cooperative: "Developing product brands associated with promoting hometown tourism"

Over the past time, the products of Bac Sen Agricultural Cooperative have affirmed their brand in the domestic market, however, they still face many difficulties and problems: The Cooperative is currently lacking experienced human resources in the field of brand development and marketing. To solve this problem, it is necessary to have training programs to improve the skills of staff and workers. Currently, the abuse and counterfeiting of product brands are widespread, affecting the reputation and trust of consumers. This requires the drastic intervention of competent authorities to protect the brand and the interests of consumers.

In addition, the Cooperative currently needs to promote the destination at the Cooperative to domestic tourist groups when returning to Uncle Ho's hometown, by building and consolidating the current destination and increasing recognition and sales on digital platforms, so it needs the support of the Provincial Investment, Trade and Tourism Promotion Center in training livestream courses... The Cooperative hopes to continue to receive support from all levels and sectors for sustainable development.

GrandfatherNguyen Van Tai - Director of Anh Duc Tai Garment Company, Top 100 outstanding young entrepreneurs in Vietnam in 2023: "Starting a business to contribute to the homeland"

For me, starting a business is not just about building a business, but also about asserting my own value and contributing to the development of my hometown. Studying and working in Vinh city (old) has given me many opportunities to gain experience, grow up and understand that: To develop sustainably, businesses must attach themselves to the needs of society and the general development orientation of the province.

From the early days of starting a business with countless difficulties in capital, market and human resources, I have received practical support from the Youth Union, the Provincial Young Entrepreneurs Association and the local government. That is a great source of motivation to help me and other young businesses boldly invest, innovate technology, and expand production. Up to now, my company has more than 50 regular employees, creating stable jobs with good income, contributing to the budget and actively participating in community activities.

In my opinion, for young businesses to develop further, a more favorable startup environment is needed, especially in accessing capital, production premises and training quality human resources.

Mr. Nham Sy Thanh - Director of Lotte Mart Vinh: Always try your bestBring new experiences to customers

With the motto "Shopping, dining and entertainment destination for the whole family", Lotte Mart Vinh has become the top shopping - entertainment - recreation destination in Nghe An, not only for Vietnamese families, but also a trusted destination for the foreign community living and traveling to Vinh.

In addition to the strength of the network, services, and rich, high-quality goods, these are the strengths that attract customers to shop at Lotte Mart. Fresh products sold at this supermarket system are strictly controlled according to VietGAP and GlobalGAP standards, and must undergo a strict quality control process from input to display on the counter, with periodic or random sampling for inspection. At the same time, deep discount promotions for essential goods and food are always continuously implemented by Lotte Mart Vinh.

In addition to shopping directly at the shopping mall, with the Lotte Mart Online online shopping application on 2 platforms including the Lotte Mart Online application and the Website, consumers have more convenient experiences when they can shop anywhere with a delivery time within 2 hours with more than 15,000 high-quality items.

In addition to serving millions of customers and promoting economic development, fulfilling community responsibilities is also one of Lotte Mart's long-term missions, such as implementing the Eco-green Project chain "I act, you too" in 2019, "LOTTE Love Human" meaningful activities in education, health - medicine, charity and recycling to protect the environment, joining hands to prevent and fight epidemics...

Through the cooperation process, Lotte Mart found that OCOP enterprises are still limited in 3 points: Legal documents are missing or not up to standard, need to fully comply with documents such as food safety, HACCP, VietGAP, labels... Second, packaging and designs are still monotonous, not competitive, need to invest in technology, traceability to enhance the brand; Third, many owners have not guaranteed output, uniform quality and freshness of goods when distributing. Lotte Mart hopes to increase trade promotion activities, connecting supply and demand, besides, owners coordinate better with Lotte Mart in the coming time.