Over three decades of accompanying Vietnamese women with small loans and practical actions, Tinh Thuong One Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM) has helped many women overcome their difficult circumstances and start successful businesses. Not only that, many women have also achieved international achievements. What makes them successful?
Stepping out into the world with small loans
Speaking of microfinance means talking about small loans, which do not require collateral and the repayment is divided into installments of principal and interest. Thanks to access to suitable financial services, nearly 100% of women have been able to repay their loans and have sustainable livelihoods, generating income to take care of their family life, and saving for the future.
The start-up story of Mrs. Nguyen Thi Van (Soc Son, Hanoi) is a clear example. Thanks to loans from TYM and her passion for painting, she has brought her unique rice paintings from the domestic market to the world.
“The rice used to make the paintings is completely naturally colored by roasting rice, and dyes are not used.”, Mrs. Van shared.
Because of that uniqueness, Mrs. Van’s rice paintings are always chosen as gifts by many people. Mrs. Van was lucky to have had good opportunities to introduce her products from the beginning through the support of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and TYM. Fairs, product introductions, and visits by domestic and international departments and organizations have helped her rice paintings become known to many people. In particular, Mrs. Van has many times represented VWU members and local micro-entrepreneurs to participate in important events: She was a delegate in the trade promotion delegation of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam to Thailand; Mrs. Van’s rice painting model is one of the typical models chosen to welcome embassy delegations, etc. Now, many of her rice paintings are also exported internationally.
The secret to success of micro-entrepreneurs
In addition to Mrs. Van, the story of starting a business with a loan from TYM and then “growing up” and stepping out into the world of Mrs. Duong Thi Tuyet (residing in Y Yen district, Nam Dinh) also makes many people admire. Mrs. Tuyet is the woman mentioned by the media as “the scrap dealer who received an international award” when she was honored to receive the World Micro-Entrepreneur Award in France in 2011.
With a loan of 500,000 VND borrowed from TYM, over the years Mrs. Tuyet has built a spacious business. According to Mrs. Tuyet, the secret to her family’s success in bronze casting comes from their efforts, constant creativity, and learning to be able to produce bronze products with many diverse designs and styles. “In the era of information technology explosion, besides loyal customers, we also apply technology to introduce and promote products through livestream sessions, running ads on social networking platforms so that products can reach domestic and international customers,” Mrs. Tuyet shared.
More specifically, the knowledge of family economic management and entrepreneurship acquired from TYM staff training courses is also thoroughly applied by Mrs. Tuyet’s family to the family business. That knowledge is applied by Mrs. Tuyet in the process of purchasing raw materials for production and consuming products; using loans effectively and finding potential customers and partners.
Exploring and creating ways to make products that are both unique and highly applicable, environmentally friendly is also the secret to success of Mrs. Pham Thi Ngan (residing in Hoang Hoa district, Thanh Hoa).
In 2008, Mrs. Ngan and her husband established Trung Kien Handicraft and Fine Arts Export Cooperative, producing environmentally friendly rattan and bamboo products, reducing plastic bag waste, contributing to a green, clean and beautiful environment.
From a small-scale cooperative, her family has now built a factory with an area of up to thousands of square meters. Up to now, this Cooperative has found more orders for sewing export supermarket bags, bringing more jobs and income to the people in the neighborhood.
Right from the idea of establishing the cooperative and until now, Mrs. Ngan and her husband have always oriented the development of the cooperative towards the goal of supporting jobs and increasing income for poor, disadvantaged women and people with disabilities in the locality. It is from these very humane goals and orientations that a large number of customers have bought to the products of the cooperative.
“Not only did we avail loans from TYM, we also had chanceMrs. Pham Thi Ngan (dark blue shirt) is introducing the activities of Trung Kien Cooperative to former President of the Vietnam Women’s Union Ha Thi Nga and the international delegation on May 17, 2022.from these classes was also thoroughly applied by my husband and I in capital management and finding customers for the cooperative,” Mrs. Ngan shared.
From small loans, Mrs. Van, Mrs. Tuyet and Mrs. Ngan have gradually built their careers, brought their products to the international market. Each person has a journey, but what they have in common is perseverance, creativity and a spirit of continuous learning.
Accompanying them on that journey, TYM not only provides loans but also gives them opportunities to develop, connect and confidently assert themselves.
Tinh Thuong One Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution (TYM) – Vietnam Women’s Union has spent 33 years accompanying hundreds of thousands of women on the journey of supporting economic development, enhancing the capacity and position of women in their family as well as in society. With important contributions to the development of women, TYM was honored to receive the Vietnam Women’s Award in 2007 and the First Class Labor Medal in 2012. Currently, TYM is one of the leading microfinance organizations in Vietnam with 125,258 loans for women in 2024.