Aspirations become reality with support from the VBSP

La Van Phong, a 30-year-old from the Thai ethnic minority living in Chieng Bang commune, Quynh Nhai district in the northern mountainous province of Lao Cai, recalled that life growing up in a poor family was full of hardship.

In 2005, Phong's family, together with many other locals, moved from their old village near the site of the soon-to-be-built Son La mega-hydropower plant. Life in the new location gradually settled down with support from the local government, yet a state of poverty for many households persisted, compelling Phong to take action to improve living conditions in his community.

Today, Phong is chairman of Quynh Nhai Travel JSC, but he revealed that when he was a student at Tay Bac University, he received support from Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP), who helped cover his education expenses.

After graduation, Phong and several other friends decided to farm fish and offer trips to tourists. They hired boats from other residents to bring visitors on tours of Uy Phong Bay, considered the Halong Bay of the northwest, and a romantic destination for travellers to Quynh Nhai.

Following positive feedback from customers, Phong and his partners decided to invest in their own boats and build a floating restaurant on the bay. “But we were fresh graduates, having neither the reputation nor collateral to borrow from banks. Luckily, VBSP was running a lending scheme to support job creation in the region," he said.

So, Phong and two of his friends each borrowed around $2,200 from VBSP to establish Quynh Nhai Seafood and Travel Cooperative.

“Without VBSP, I wouldn't be where I am today,” said Phong.

The cooperative has since grown to possess and operate three tourist boats, bringing between 30 and 100 visitors on tours of Uy Phong Bay each day.

The restaurant complex has also grown and now features diverse entertainment and sports activities.

His management team currently consists of six members, three of whom can borrow further from VBSP, with the capital limit now raised to nearly $4,400.

“Our company has a regular workforce of 12 employees, adding maybe five or eight more people on festive occasions, with a monthly salary of approximately $250 for each worker. We counted nearly VND2 billion ($87,000) in revenue in the first half of this year,” Phong said.

Cao Trung Phuc, director of VBSP’s branch in Quynh Nhai district, said, "As of June 30, nearly VND7 billion ($305,000) has been distributed under the bank's job creation scheme, of which over VND3.2 billion ($140,000) has been paid back."

“The local people greatly appreciate their access to the government’s capital support through VBSP. Policy credit has helped many households to get out of poverty and improve their living standards, with quite a few even becoming wealthy,” said Phuc.

Back in Uy Phong Bay, Phong said that due to the dry weather, water levels from the nearby Quynh Nhai Reservoir have dropped considerably, resulting in fewer tours and the company’s revenue falling to just VND110 million ($4,800) last month.

This predicament, however, is nothing compared to the pandemic, when Phong and his company benefited from the support of VBSP, whether through words of encouragement from the staff or a period of reduced interest rates.

“I couldn’t give up, we had to overcome that adversity by all means after we had gained the trust and support of so many people, including those at VBSP,” said Phong.

VBSP praised for efficient operating model Vietnam Bank for Social Policies has been praised by the delegation of the Asia-Pacific Rural Agricultural Credit Association (APRACA) on a Vietnam visit to attend the recent international workshop on “Pro-Poor Rural and Agricultural Finance Best Practices: Experiences of Vietnam.”

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