Female Cooperative Chairwoman in her 20s: Change to Succeed

While you're young, keep trying!

“I started my business with less than 10 million VND in capital,” Ms. Le Thi Trang – a member of the Women's Association of Block 1, Hung Chinh, and Chairwoman and Director of the Nghe An Province Eel Production and Processing Cooperative – began her story with a sincere sharing.

That was over 10 years ago. At that time, she was only 23 years old, newly married, raising a young child, and mostly a stay-at-home mother. She considered the decision to start a business selling freshwater eels a risky move, as neither her husband nor both families supported her. However, at that time, Trang had only graduated from a vocational school with a degree in accounting, so she didn't have many opportunities to get a job in a company. Meanwhile, she had over a year of experience working for an eel processing facility. During her time working there, she nurtured the idea of ​​opening her own production facility with the brand "Trang Lành - Freshwater Eels from Nghe An".

In the early days of her startup, she faced numerous challenges: lack of capital, technical limitations, and unstable product sales. But with the mindset of "I'm young, so I have to keep trying," this young woman in her 20s persevered, researching the market, learning from experience, and meticulously studying recipes to create her own unique flavor.

Ms. Trang shared that eel is a familiar dish, almost becoming a culinary trademark of Nghe An province. Many people had already been involved in this business before her, so the pressure on those who came after her was even greater. However, from the beginning, she set clear goals: to produce clean, diverse products and expand the market beyond the province.

Although she is just a sole proprietor, from the beginning, Ms. Trang has focused on building a process that ensures food safety and hygiene. To build a brand for her products, she meticulously researched raw materials, selecting high-quality freshwater eels; and simultaneously researched and experimented to create a ready-to-eat marinated eel recipe with the authentic Nghe An flavor.

Recognizing the increasingly diverse market demand, she continued to develop more products such as marinated eel, dried eel, crispy dried eel, etc. Alongside production, she opened a small eatery to both showcase her products and directly listen to customer feedback. “Processing eel sounds simple, with familiar ingredients like shallots, caramel coloring, pepper, fish sauce… but creating a unique flavor requires many trials. I've created my own sauce, combining eel bone broth and spices, which makes the eel meat fragrant, evenly flavored, not fishy, ​​and not mushy. Taste preferences also differ between regions in the North and South, so adjustments have to be made accordingly,” Ms. Trang shared.

As the product gradually gained a reputation, many customers living in Europe and Asian countries placed orders, but faced difficulties in transportation due to the weight, high cost, and difficulty in preserving fresh eel. Based on this reality, Ms. Trang continued to research new products such as dried eel, crispy dried eel, and eel floss.

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For every 3 kg of fresh eel, 1 kg of dried eel is produced, making it easy to transport over long distances. However, the biggest challenge in making these products is preserving the unique flavor and characteristics of the eel from Nghe An province. I experimented and failed many times, adjusting numerous processes to ensure that the flavor was maintained at 80-90%, whether it was dried or simply processed into a crispy dried product.

Ms. Le Thi Trang

Expand and connect

Starting from a small family business, after more than 10 years, her family's sales volume has now reached over 17 tons of products per year, with total revenue exceeding 10 billion VND.

Throughout the journeystart a business,Ms. Trang shared that there were many "turning points" that, without the active support and companionship of the Women's Union at all levels, and without her determination, she would have found it difficult to expand and develop the model.

The first milestone was in 2022, when she was selected by the Women's Association of Hung Chinh commune (formerly Vinh city) to participate in the Creative Startup Ideas Competition organized by the Vinh City Women's Union and unexpectedly won first prize. A year later, thanks to participating in the competition, attending training courses, and connecting with relevant departments and agencies, she developed the "Pre-marinated Eel Porridge/Soup" product, which achieved OCOP 3-star status and was the only OCOP 3-star product in Hung Chinh commune at that time.

Building on this success, in 2024, she continued to bring her product to the startup idea competition organized by the Nghe An Provincial Women's Union and won third prize. According to her, competitions are not just a formality but also an opportunity to learn, expand relationships, and access the market.

Participating in larger markets led Ms. Trang to decide in 2023 to transition from an individual business to a collective economic model, establishing the Nghe An Eel Production and Processing Cooperative. This strategic decision helped increase production scale, enhance competitiveness, and create sustainable linkages. As Director, she built a closed-loop production process from raw material procurement, preliminary processing, processing, to packaging and distribution; gradually standardizing according to strict quality standards.

Currently, the cooperative provides regular employment for 12 female workers, mainly women in difficult circumstances, with stable incomes ranging from 6-8 million VND per month. Besides developing the economy, she also actively participates in the activities of the Women's Union and the local community; supports disadvantaged women and orphaned children; and readily shares her experience and techniques with members who want to start their own businesses.

In 2024, she was honored as a "Typical Woman in Economic Development and Successful Entrepreneurship" for the period 2021-2024.

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Women who want to succeed must dare to think, dare to act, and proactively seek opportunities. Without self-reliance, a desire to excel from within each member, and without change starting from ourselves, success will be difficult no matter how much support the Association provides.”

Ms. Le Thi Trang delivered a speech at the commendation conference.

With a spirit of daring to think, daring to act, and daring to take risks, in 2026, Ms. Le Thi Trang - a prominent female entrepreneur - was nominated by Thanh Vinh ward to run for election as a representative to the Ward People's Council for the 2026-2031 term.

Accepting this responsibility, Ms. Trang sees it as both an honor and an opportunity to connect with and voice the opinions of the local community. According to her, Hung Chinh is a suburban area of ​​the former Vinh city, where many residents have given up their land and fields to make way for industrial zones. In recent years, although living conditions have improved, a segment of the population has fallen into a state of idleness and unstable income.

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As a business owner and a local citizen, I hope that through my efforts I can connect and leverage the collective strength of the community, organize cooperatives and associations to support each other in production and product consumption, helping people find jobs and stabilize their lives.

Ms. Le Thi Trang