Policy credit supports ethnic minority youth in starting businesses

From the preferential loan funds of VBSP, Ms. Ka Thuy Diem, a Ma ethnic minority resident of Village 3, Loc Lam Commune, Bao Lam District (Lam Dong), has gained additional financial resources to pursue her dream of establishing a career and prospering on her hometown.

Ms. Diem and her family's herd of goats

According to Ms. Diem (born in 1993), due to her family's difficult financial situation, she had to help her parents work on the farm when she was a child. When she got marriage, her parents gave her one hectare of land to grow coffee. However, due to a lack of capital and technical knowledge, the coffee plantation's yield was low.

In 2023, through the Loc Lam Commune Youth Union, she learned about VBSP loan program for job creation. With the Youth Union’s support, she was able to take a loan of VND 200 million from VBSP. "Thanks to the policy loan, my family raised goats and cultivated our one-hectare coffee plantation. Currently, we have 35 goats in the reproductive stage and eight cows, while the coffee plantation is also yielding higher economic returns than before", she shared.

With the VND 200 million loan and her previous savings, Ms. Diem started her business in Loc Lam. She built livestock barns, purchased breeding goats and cows, and expanded the cultivation of biomass corn to support livestock feed. Ms. Diem shared that her family earns about VND 100 million annually from selling goats and cows. Additionally, raising livestock helps them save a significant amount on fertilizer costs for their coffee plants, as they utilize manure from the animals.

"In the 2024 coffee season, our family harvested four tons of coffee beans. With the current coffee price exceeding VND 100,000 per kilogram, we sold our harvest for over VND 400 million", she said.

This success has motivated Ms. Diem to continue pursuing her dream of prospering in her hometown. She believes that policy credit has provided essential capital for economic development. Throughout the loan process, she also received guidance and support from credit officers and the entrusted organization - the Loc Lam Commune Youth Union.

Ms. Truong Thi Le Phuong - Director of VBSP Bao Lam District stated: "In recent years, the Youth Union has effectively served as a conduit for policy loans to reach eligible beneficiaries, particularly ethnic minority youth. Moving forward, VBSP will continue working with Youth Unions at all levels to expand preferential credit programs for young people, ensuring that more youth have access to financial resources for economic development".

Trieu Ka