They not only lead their businesses through difficult periods but also help transform production methods, improve product quality, expand markets and address practical social issues. Through their production and business activities, they create jobs, provide livelihoods for workers, and pursue the goals of green and sustainable development by orienting their businesses towards generating social impact.
To mark Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20, 2026), reporters from Nhan Dan Newspaper met and spoke with three women who exemplify social-impact entrepreneurship, listening to their sharing on the role and position of women in modern society in general and female entrepreneurs in particular.
More Vietnamese women are ready and willing to start their businesses, particularly particularly those creating social impacts
Continuing the stories of Vietnamese female entrepreneurs whose determination and aspirations have driven them to succeed, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha, from Ha Noi, shared numerous stories of social-impact enterprises and socially responsible businesses.
Currently an impact investment adviser at Rabo Foundation, the impact investment fund of the Dutch bank Rabobank in Viet Nam, Ha has been closely involved in the establishment and development of social-impact enterprises in the country. She said that, with more than 30 years of experience in various fields, ranging from auditing to advising agricultural businesses on capacity building and acting as a bridge to help businesses access loans from international impact investment funds, she had had the opportunity to work with many female entrepreneurs.
Described as a “highly effective mentor” for social-impact enterprises—particularly those led by women, such as GOng Tho Rice and Hanhsilk – Nam Cao Silk, Nguyen Thi Thu Ha offers an objective perspective on the new generation of Vietnamese businesswomen, especially those running social-impact businesses.
“Personally, I have observed that Vietnamese women are increasingly willing to venture into business. They are ready to start small businesses, eager to learn, and quick to apply new knowledge to their enterprises and household businesses,” Ha said.
According to Ha, the number of women-owned businesses and women holding senior leadership and management positions is growing. Women have demonstrated outstanding leadership abilities, combining flexibility and adaptability with a keen ability to recognise and respond to change. They are not only effective in leading their own businesses but are also making significant contributions to the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Current evidence also shows that women account for a very high proportion of leaders in social-impact businesses.
Sending her best wishes to women on Vietnamese Women’s Day (October 20), Nguyen Thi Thu Ha expressed her hope that female entrepreneurs would always keep their passion alive and retain their compassionate hearts as they lead their businesses through challenges, continue moving forward and achieve breakthroughs.
Journey of women engaging in economic activities is like journey of sowing rice seeds
Duong Thanh Thao, Director of Ong Tho Rice Joint Stock Company in Ho Chi Minh City, was recently recognised by the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) as an outstanding sustainable woman-owned enterprise in 2026. The recognition acknowledged businesses that comply with state policies and regulations, achieve outstanding results in production and business, grow sustainably, protect the environment and actively participate in social activities.
With a focus on supplying Vietnamese speciality rice grown using safe farming practices and with clear traceability, Ong Tho Rice is committed to sourcing rice directly from production areas while ensuring quality and protecting farmers’ interests. The company has become one of Viet Nam’s highly regarded speciality rice brands, recognised for its consistent quality and transparent origin.
Understanding the hardships faced by farmers, from saline coastal areas to mountainous regions, and driven by a passion for discovering indigenous and speciality rice varieties, Ong Tho Rice has remained committed to this pursuit throughout its brand-building journey.
Its ambition to find ways to increase the value of rice produced by Vietnamese farmers, while preserving and delivering to customers the full value of farmers’ hard work and integrity, together with the painstaking research of scientists, has motivated the company’s leadership and workforce to remain dedicated and strive for continued progress.
This is also regarded as a mission for the Ong Tho Rice team in building its brand. Sharing benefits more equitably with farmers and respecting scientists’ intellectual property rights are responsibilities that every employee is expected to understand and uphold.
“We are always proud to stand alongside farmers in our determination to build a Vietnamese rice brand. At every stage, Ong Tho Rice remains committed to improving quality, enhancing the value of rice, and sharing the benefits with farmers,” Thao emphasised.
Notably, in 2016, Ong Tho Rice established the “Viet Nam Rice Forum” community, which it has maintained ever since. The initiative helps people working in the rice sector, including disadvantaged groups who cannot afford access to professional information services, obtain timely and accurate industry information and knowledge. It also helps minimise information and market manipulation, making competition in the sector fairer.
The Viet Nam Rice Forum serves as an information channel through which farmers, businesses and others working in the rice industry can quickly make their voices heard by the media and leaders, enabling urgent issues to be addressed in a timely manner.
With the philosophy that “Profit is a measure of a business’s operational effectiveness, but it is not the sole objective pursued by Ong Tho Rice. Working together to address social issues and help create a better living environment is the mission that the business’ leadership and workforce should strive towards”, the brand has developed products that meet the stringent food safety and quality standards of various markets. Its products have reached several international markets, including the Philippines, as well as demanding markets such as the US, Australia, and Japan.
The economic journey of women is also like the process of sowing seeds, requiring considerable effort and a keen sense of opportunity. Let integrity be your foundation, resilience your armour, continuous learning your means of reaching further, and determination your driving force. With these four qualities in place, we can certainly reap achievements in our lives that we can be proud of.
Duong Thanh Thao
As Viet Nam ranks among the world’s leading rice-exporting countries, Ong Tho Rice’s participation in global supply chains not only helps build the company’s brand but also contributes to increasing the value of Vietnamese rice. Furthermore, as a business that generates positive social impact for disadvantaged communities, Ong Tho Rice has received recognition from international organisations such as Oxfam and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
Speaking with us, Duong Thanh Thao said that, having worked in the rice business for more than 15 years, she had come to realise that women’s economic journey was much like sowing seeds, requiring great effort and a keen sense of opportunity.
On Vietnamese Women’s Day, (October 20), the most important message Thao wished to share with her female colleagues in the rice business was: “Let integrity be your foundation, resilience your armour, continuous learning your means of reaching further, and determination your driving force. With these four qualities in place, we can certainly reap achievements in our lives that we can be proud of,” she said.
Women preserve traditions while creating new values
We had a brief meeting with Luong Thanh Hanh, known as the “silk girl”, founder and executive director of Hanhsilk and Chairwoman of the Nam Cao Silk Cooperative in Hung Yen Province. The meeting took place shortly after she was named by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) as one of 10 outstanding women in agrifood systems and rural development in 2026.
The recognition was a highlight of FAO Viet Nam’s activities marking World Food Day 2026. It affirmed the role of women in innovation, livelihood development, and the building of sustainable value chains, while underscoring the need to ensure that women have access to knowledge, technology, capital, and markets, and can participate in decision-making and assume leadership roles.
Hanh is known for restoring the silk value chain of Nam Cao weaving village, helping Nam Cao silk weaving craft earn recognition as a National Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2023. As a founder, she also continues to operate a new-style cooperative model that supports more than 250 member households, creates income for nearly 1,000 local households and sustains 700 hectares of mulberry cultivation.
She has also successfully expanded the model to other traditional craft villages in Bao Loc and the Mekong Delta, while welcoming more than 10,000 international visitors from over 50 countries to explore and experience traditional handicrafts.
For more than 12 years, Luong Thanh Hanh has chosen to work alongside artisans to preserve and develop the traditional silk-weaving craft, which has a history spanning more than 400 years. Her work involves more than simply producing silk. It connects agriculture, traditional craft villages, fashion, and culture, bringing Vietnamese handicrafts closer to domestic and international consumers while helping create sustainable livelihoods for rural women.
Speaking with us, Hanh said that women today were not only preservers of traditional values but could also be creators of new ones.
“In the traditional craft village sector in which I work, women play a particularly important role. They are the mothers and grandmothers, the artisans who quietly preserve the techniques of silk reeling and weaving across generations,” Hanh said.
The “silk girl” also hopes that women will not stop at preserving traditional crafts. They need opportunities to learn, innovate and become economically independent, and their contributions deserve proper recognition.
“Through my work with women’s communities in many localities, I have realised that rural women possess considerable capabilities and valuable knowledge. Sometimes, all they need are opportunities, connections, and the confidence to bring those strengths to fruition,” Hanh said.
For Hanh, economic development does not necessarily require sacrificing cultural identity. It is entirely possible to preserve traditional crafts while applying innovation to create products that hold value in modern life. After all, when a woman secures a better livelihood, it not only transforms her own life but also creates new opportunities for her family and the entire community to develop.
Expressing her belief that every woman has unique value and can contribute to society in her own way, Hanh said that making a meaningful contribution did not necessarily require doing something extraordinary. Sometimes, simply doing a job one loves, preserving a traditional craft, creating additional employment or giving another woman an opportunity can already make a meaningful difference.
“Women do not merely preserve the values of yesterday; they can also shape the future through their own hands, intelligence and compassion. This is what I have always aspired to achieve on my journey as the ‘silk girl’,” said Luong Thanh Hanh, Chairwoman of the Nam Cao Silk Cooperative.
