Ms. Dang Thi Van Chi is a lecturer in the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Technology at Tay Bac University, the largest training center in Northwest Vietnam with over 25 fields of study. Outside of her teaching hours, she and her husband run the Van Chi Foods shop, which offers rustic products like snacks, banana cakes and sweet potato cakes, along with a “MasterChef Kids” cooking experience course for children.

As an educator with an entrepreneurial spirit, she always wanted to contribute to the socio-economic development of her hometown. However, she struggled to figure out how to connect her experience in academia with local businesses. She wasn’t sure what local businesses lacked, what they needed, or how her knowledge could help.

“I know that for my hometown to develop, local businesses must thrive. But I didn’t know what they needed or what I could do to help them,” she shared.

The first steps of the digital transformation journey

In 2019, Ms. Chi was selected to join a group of lecturers to survey the effectiveness of a digital business acceleration project—one of the activities in Phase 1 of the GREAT program, supported by the Australian government (2017-2022). The invitation came as a surprise, but she accepted immediately—because the project’s goal aligned with her desire to contribute to her hometown: support women to improve their livelihoods, and connect local products to the market.

She participated in long trips to remote districts in Son La, joining the project team to survey and evaluate the effectiveness of various livelihood models: from green tea hills, vegetable fields, and bamboo forests to community-based tourism sites. She spoke with many ethnic minority women entrepreneurs. They were skillful and hardworking, but their products remained confined to local markets and had not reached broader markets.

Her conversations with the women left her with a single thought: If they had the right tools and skills, they could achieve so much more. But what they lacked was not good products, but the essential digital skills needed to grow their businesses and bring their products to market.
What could she do to help them? This question stayed with her for the next several years.

A wider door opens

In mid-2024, KisStartup – a consulting firm in digital solutions – officially kicked off the new Inclusive Digital Acceleration Program (IDAP), with support from the GREAT program Phase 2 (2022-2027). The program’s objective was clear: to develop a digital transformation ecosystem by enhancing the capacity and connecting digital transformation services at the national and local levels. This will help strengthen micro and small businesses in Son La and Lao Cai, especially those led by ethnic minority women and people with disabilities.

At a training course for core lecturers on entrepreneurship, Ms. Chi connected with KisStartup. As soon as she received about IDAP, she signed up. Not out of curiosity, but because she knew this was her chance to find an answer to the question she had carried for years: how to make academic knowledge go beyond textbooks and truly support local businesses and people.

So began the learning journey of a teacher to become a business consultant. From November to the end of December 2024, every evening after work, she would open her computer to join online classes via Zoom. Throughout the training, there were times when her teaching schedule and family responsibilities made her busy, yet she remained committed. Each Zoom class, each small assignment, became a step forward, helping her see more clearly the path she could take.

She learned how to build a Business Model Canvas to identify core values, target customers, and distribution channels. She learned how to survey business needs—asking questions not just to hear answers but to understand the underlying problems. She was introduced to Design Thinking, a five-step process for creating innovative solutions.

Along with that were specific digital skills: creating and managing a social media page such as Facebook, designing materials with Canva, editing videos on CapCut, and training skills for businesses—so she could not only grasp the knowledge but also effectively pass it on to others.

Each lesson was a piece of a puzzle, gradually forming a clear picture of how she could support local businesses.

Turning ideas into action

Based on a suggestion from the project, she created the “Van Chi Digital Training” Facebook page, offering courses on essential basic computer and digital skills to support women entrepreneurs in the area to apply useful functions like using Word and Excel for calculating revenue and profit, designing images, editing videos, and adding digital signatures to contracts.

But Ms. Chi was not in a hurry to open classes immediately. She chose a cautious but strategic approach: she created a Zalo group and invited interested people to join. In the group, instead of introducing available services, she started by asking questions, listening to their stories, and surveying the real needs of each person.

She wanted to know what women and young people were lacking, where they were struggling—was it office computing, image design, or online product promotion? For her, building a training service was like doing business: before creating a product, you must understand what the market needs.

Thanks to this approach, the courses she designed became suitable, practical, and directly addressed the problems the community was facing.

Then comes stories of change

Step by step, Ms. Van Chi established a fee-based support service for local businesses. It wasn’t just one-time help; she offered structured, paid training courses so that learners would value them and she would have the resources to continue. She not only taught basic knowledge but also provided hands-on guidance, helping businesses apply it directly to their daily work.

With her persistence, her service became a trusted resource for small businesses run by ethnic minority women—many of whom often have limited access to technology.

She helped Ms. Lan, a local business owner selling nutritional grain powders, who was struggling to build her brand. Ms. Chi guided her in designing a promotional kit, how to introduce products on social media, and how to prepare the application for the provincial-level Startup competition. With this support, Ms. Lan became more confident in front of the judges, presented her project, and gained important connections to expand her market.

Word spread, and in September 2025, Ms. Van Chi received a proposal from a business in Dien Bien. They wanted her to help get their products, such as five-color sticky rice and bamboo-tube rice, onto digital media platforms, and they were willing to pay an attractive fee.

As word continued to spread, Ms. Van Chi became not only a mentor for businesses, but also for many students who want to get involved in digital technology, including Vinh. Vinh is a student who loves photography and media and wants to promote the image of Son La to help promote local cooperatives. Ms. Chi trained Vinh in photography, design, and video editing skills, and also guided him on how to create a media plan. After the course, Vinh participated in the 2025 Rural Youth Startup competition, confidently presenting his project to provide media support for Son La agricultural products.

Now she sees her students step onto the startup stage, and she knows that her many evenings of persistent study had truly made a difference.

Returning to the classroom with a new role

Now, when Ms. Chi teaches in the classroom, instead of just teaching theoretical knowledge, she brings specific stories from local businesses into her classes, helping students better visualise the labor market they will one day enter.

She also opened a new course on “Soft Skills and Entrepreneurship in Information Technology” and organised sharing workshops for students, creating an environment for them to practice innovative and creative thinking. This not only changed students’ perception of technology’s role but also sparked an entrepreneurial spirit and a sense of responsibility to contribute to the community.

From a pure lecturer, she became a guide—not just for students, but for local women and youth who want to try their hand at technology.

For Ms. Van Chi, the achievement isn’t just about “Van Chi Digital Training” bringing in extra income. What’s more important is witnessing her students become more confident and proactive—from taking a beautiful product photo and writing a promotional post to standing in front of a judging panel to talk about their dreams.

She believes that the women and youth of Son La can absolutely become creators and leaders of change if given the tools and opportunities. And she has chosen to be the one who hands them that first key.