Facebook helps small businesses in Vietnam

Small business owners with Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg

As part of the small business roundtable talk, Vietnamese entrepreneurs shared stories of setting up their businesses, including the challenges they faced and the digital tools they used to grow.

The business owners represented Vietnam's diverse community of entrepreneurs, from fresh graduates to working mothers and professionals who have changed their career to pursue their goals of becoming entrepreneurs.

“Small businesses are at the heart of our economies and create the majority of new jobs all around the world. I'm proud of the role Facebook plays in helping small businesses grow and create jobs, and we’re committed to creating more programmes that make a difference,” Sandberg shared on her page.

In Sheryl’s words, 74 per cent of small businesses in the APEC report that being on Facebook helped them increase sales and nearly 70 per cent of small businesses that use Facebook start hiring more employees.

There are 70 million small businesses on Facebook, and one of them is run by Canh.

Canh is s a homegrown entrepreneur who is creating opportunities in rural communities that struggle to create stable jobs.

His business—Doc Moc Corporation—is a company that sells traditional salt minerals to help with the treatment of arthritis.

It is based in a small village of only 5,000 people in the northern province of Ninh Binh. He employs 100 people from his village, 60 per cent of whom are women.

“The roundtable was an opportunity for entrepreneurs like me to connect with and learn from others who are growing the digital economy in Vietnam. I was inspired by businesses such as Topica Edtech and iMedia that are harnessing technology and Facebook to build their businesses and help support the economic growth of the country,” said Canh.

“Empowered with these new insights and best practices, I look forward to continuing to build my business on Facebook, promote Vietnamese traditional products, reach out to more potential customers in other countries and help inspire the next generation of entrepreneurs in Vietnam,” he added.

Facebook has trained 4,000 small businesses in Vietnam in person through collaborations with both governmental and non-governmental partners this year.

It has also trained more than 100,000 people in Vietnam through the online Facebook Academy.

Facebook's Boost Your Business and SheMeansBusiness programmes provide digital skills training to entrepreneurs who are looking to start and grow their businesses. Facebook has committed to expanding both programmes to more cities and provinces in Vietnam next year.

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