Ms. Le Hoang Diep Thao - CEO of King Coffee - who just received the 2020 Global Inspirational Entrepreneur award (Most Admired CEO) from Global Brands Magazine (GBM) has launched a project to help 100,000 women start businesses. 'Women Can Do'.
Also in 2020, Ms. Thao was officially appointed by the Vietnam Coffee and Cocoa Association (VICOFA) to the position of Vice President of the Association for the 9th term (2017-2020).
On the threshold of Spring Tan Suu, Ms. Thao had a conversation with Tuoi Tre about her passion for coffee, inspiration, and experience in starting a successful business.
The fate of "Coffee Girl"
* When talking about coffee, her face exudes a very strong passion. How did this passion come to you and be nurtured?
- Le Hoang Diep Thao: I have lived and grown up with coffee beans. People living around me such as friends, farmers, and traders all saw my passion for coffee and they called me "coffee girl" throughout my childhood.
To me, coffee is a treasure of humanity. Vietnam is fortunate to be given this magical treasure by nature. And I am determined to do my best to make coffee a strategic industry for the country.
The opportunity to interact with people in the industry and read books in the field helps me understand more about the dark side of the production chain. I think I have to do something for the farmers and the country's coffee industry.
The next chance was that I met Mr. Vu - a very outstanding person - who shared this passion with me. Together, with Trung Nguyen, we pushed the third wave of coffee forward, changing the way Vietnamese people enjoy coffee. Vietnamese people know that choosing coffee is choosing a way of life, choosing their ego and taste.
While in Italy, I often went to "second hand" markets to hunt for antiques from the coffee industry. Seeing my passion, one person said "I will sell the coffee museum that I love so much to you".
* Experts say that Vietnam is facing a rare opportunity to break through and become the number 1 coffee power. As Vice President of VICOFA, do you believe that?
- I believe and have repeatedly affirmed that Vietnam is the second largest coffee exporting power in the world and number 1 in the world in exporting Robusta coffee, and can absolutely rise to become the world's number 1 powerhouse in terms of exporting Robusta coffee. coffee.
The entire world coffee industry is more than 200 billion dollars. The coffee industry is also the most traded industry after oil. We need to further elevate the coffee industry with other segments in the global value chain. We need to create motivation for Vietnamese coffee to make a breakthrough, we need innovative and radical thinking towards responsible creativity and sustainable development.
We have a good brand, good coffee quality and good conditions. Therefore, please support Vietnamese brands, Vietnamese coffee helps develop globally faster and stronger, instead of going foreign because foreign brands do not contribute to the coffee industry or Vietnamese farmers. Currently, a kilo of green coffee sells for 5,000 VND, while a cup of finished coffee costs up to $5. A terrible difference! Farmers work hard to cultivate and love coffee trees, but do not receive the rewards they deserve because coffee prices are too low and unstable.
"Women Can Do"… with coffee
* In 2020, she received the Global Inspirational Entrepreneur award, and at the same time, launched the project "Women Can Do" to help 100,000 women start businesses. What is the message you want to spread?
- I wonder what to do to support the community, especially women. I think of a livelihood for them to proactively earn an income, an opportunity to supplement their financial knowledge. There, they will receive capital support, policies, specific instructions, and join a community to help each other...Coffee is the answer to that problem.
Thinking is doing, since mid-June 2020, King Coffee has coordinated with the Vietnam Women's Union to implement the Women can do project, targeting women who want to do their own business. I encourage women to be strong, courageous, and step out of their comfort zone to practice business and become financially independent. This project not only helps bring stable families to women, but also helps society gain new resources.
Over the past twenty years, I have traveled to many countries around the world, attended many international conferences, interacted with friends and partners at home and abroad, and everyone praised Vietnamese women for being smart and beautiful. I hope the role of Vietnamese women will be recognized and affirmed in a worthy way in society.
* To inspire women to start businesses and young people who want to start a business with coffee, what message do you have?
- Must have passion! If you want to start a business to be successful, you must first have passion. If you don't have a strong passion, I advise you not to get involved. Only passion has the motivation to overcome all difficulties, because "everything has a difficult beginning".
From co-founding Trung Nguyen, bringing this brand from zero to the number 1 coffee brand in Vietnam, building G7, and now King Coffee..., I have a guiding principle: focus and Make a difference, don't follow what others have done.
Second is the entrepreneurial spirit. People with an entrepreneurial spirit will do everything they can to achieve their goals based on the law and reputation, from there, they will be successful and go long term.
The coffee industry is truly a very difficult industry because you will encounter big competitors. With our support, you will start your business on the right track and grow on your own because you will be trained by a community of more than 100,000 people.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, it is necessary to fly high to avoid storms
In a tumultuous year due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, will your coffee business in particular, and the coffee industry in general, suffer losses? What do you predict for the overall picture of the coffee industry next year?
- The COVID-19 pandemic caused a huge shock to the market, disrupting the global supply chain. This is a huge loss, not only for people, but also for the world market.
It's a wonderful thing that we can even sit together here. This is something that I am extremely grateful to the Government and State of Vietnam for.
With business activities, right from the start of the epidemic, I immediately thought about how to make the company fly high, fast, strong, to avoid that storm. We use every possible way to get our business up to speed.
After a year, despite many difficulties, business results were very good. As for the international market, we have doubled our export output by using a global agent system, which means taking advantage of people's free time at home to avoid the epidemic to expand our international business network.
In the next 5-10 years, the world coffee market will have a shortage of supply, so Vietnam needs to take practical actions to quickly receive new opportunities, such as replanting and coffee industry standards. , creating better reputation in the world market. If so, we will have an advantage in terms of output and greater value.
In addition, we are also responsible for how to best develop specialty coffee and reach an international level.
- As someone with extensive experience as both co-founder of Trung Nguyen Group and head of TNI Corporation with the King Coffee coffee brand, what steps will you take to help raise prices? Coffee industry governance and Vietnamese brands?
- Many industries in the world have declining supply and demand, but the coffee industry alone still grows by 2-4% each year. The Vietnamese coffee industry alone can grow by 9-10% per year.
Our country is an agricultural country, and coffee is one of the strategic agricultural exports. But the value earned is not high, only about 3 billion dollars per year. Therefore, we need to promote the coffee industry to increase its value.
When talking about Italy, people think of Pizza, when talking about Germany, we think of machinery and technology, when talking about America, people think of fast food brands. I hope that in the future, when mentioning Vietnam, people around the world will remember coffee. Vietnamese coffee is delicious, so Vietnam must have a world-class coffee brand.
Thank you!
Expectations of female businessmen born in the year of the Ox in the year of the Ox: Vietnam is prosperous
Many people say we will encounter difficulties in our five years. But I always choose to think and plan ahead so that I and my business can overcome anticipated difficulties. When you have planned carefully, any difficulties, if any, are also in the plan.
In the year of Tan Suu, I have many programs and directions to promote Vietnamese coffee to thrive not only domestically, but also globally. Vietnamese people are proud of Vietnamese coffee, supporting Vietnamese coffee to grow and shine worldwide.
I believe that when we unite as a bloc with a common goal, we will have unparalleled strength and will bring a prosperous, developed and happy Vietnam.
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