Young entrepreneurs drive local growth in Lam Dong
Backed by concessional loans, support from youth organisations and successful business models, young entrepreneurs across Lam Dong are building sustainable businesses while contributing to local economic growth.
Cultivating success
Choosing to remain in her hometown and pursue farming, Truong Thi Mai of Dam Rong 2 Commune has focused on rehabilitating her family's coffee plantation rather than expanding its acreage, with the aim of improving productivity and value.
In 2023, she received a VND 70 million preferential loan under Lam Dong's youth entrepreneurship credit programme, allowing her to rehabilitate 1.2 hectares of coffee trees. Aging plants were replaced with higher-yielding grafted varieties, while cultivation practices were improved to increase farming efficiency.
Mai said the loan made it possible to rehabilitate the entire plantation at once, an investment her family could not otherwise have afforded. The funding enabled them to purchase new seedlings, cover cultivation costs and pursue a more sustainable production model. By 2024, income from the plantation had offset most of the fertiliser costs, strengthening expectations of higher yields in the coming years.
In La Da Commune, Bui Thi Kim Tuyen, secretary of the Youth Union chapter in Hamlet 4, has become a familiar face in local youth entrepreneurship initiatives.
She cultivates nearly 400 durian trees, around 200 of which are now producing fruit and generating an annual income of more than VND 500 million through the application of modern farming techniques.
Tuyen said training courses and support from the Youth Union had given her the confidence to adopt new production methods, improve productivity and remain committed to agriculture.
Alongside developing her family business, she actively participates in Youth Union activities and regularly attends training sessions and technology transfer programmes to strengthen her farming knowledge.
Backing youth entrepreneurship with practical support
Alongside successful grassroots business models, youth organisations across Lam Dong have continued to support young people through a range of practical initiatives aimed at promoting entrepreneurship and economic development.
In the first six months of 2026, Youth Union chapters organised 33 programmes to help young people access preferential financing, enabling 220 borrowers to secure more than VND9.5 billion from the National Employment Fund and other entrusted credit programmes.
During the same period, the province held 70 innovation and entrepreneurship events and 17 legal advice and policy awareness programmes, equipping thousands of Youth Union members with business management skills, entrepreneurial knowledge and a stronger understanding of the market.
The Lam Dong Youth Union also continues to operate its Career and Employment Fund while working with the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to provide concessional loans for young entrepreneurs. It also partners with businesses to offer career counselling and job placement services, creating more opportunities for young people to invest in production and launch businesses.
According to H'Hong, Deputy Secretary of the Lam Dong Youth Union and Chairwoman of the Vietnam Youth Federation's Lam Dong chapter, supporting youth entrepreneurship involves more than providing financial assistance. It also includes technology transfer, legal advice, market connections and entrepreneurship training.
"Every loan disbursed, every production model established and every business idea brought to life help nurture young people's entrepreneurial ambitions," H'Hong said. "These efforts encourage more young people to remain in their hometowns, contribute to local economic and social development, support rural revitalisation and build sustainable livelihoods."