Social Entrepreneurship in Vietnam – One very prominent learning experience that took place for me on my Social Entrepreneurship in Vietnam trip was on March 17th, when we visited recipients of the micro-credit project. The micro-credit project was developed to provide loans, that would not be considered large in Canada, to people to start their own business with the potential to renew and grow each year with the repayment of the loan at a very reasonable interest rate.

We visited several farms that have been started or developed with the assistance of these loans. They grew fruit or vegetables, raised livestock or a combination of each.  The gentleman who stood out to me was a remarkable entrepreneur. We learned that he had started a wholesaleing business with help from the micro-credit project but also ran a wood working business from his home and rented his farm land. From his wholesaling business, he supplies the seeds and growing advice to farmers who in return sell the produce back to him. He said that he experienced very little issue with this business approach and if he did it was never major. I found it interesting that although we use a similar business model in some farming industries in Canada, from my understanding, it is rarely without issue. Micro-credit also does not seem to be something overly common in Canada which I am curious about learning why or why not.

Brittany Thomas

International Business Student

NSCC Truro Campus