With the high spirit of entrepreneurship, Ms. Dinh Nguyen Hoang Thu, 33, from Son Tra District, Da Nang, decided to give up her well-paid job to start her own business and initially succeeded with the model of growing spirulina.

Ms. Dinh Nguyen Hoang Thu (first from left) attends the Women’s Startup - Innovation Contest in 2022 organised by the Women's Union of Son Tra District. Photo: NVCC

Tough startup journey

The model of growing spirulina was initiated by Thu after she had sought for additional food for her grandfather suffering from cancer. Only a short time using spirulina, her grandfather normally ate and his health markedly improved. The more she studied, the more she realised the wonderful effects that spirulina brings to users.

Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae that people can take as a dietary supplement. People consider spirulina a superfood due to its excellent nutritional content and health benefits. This species of algae has a high protein and vitamin content, which makes it an excellent dietary supplement for people on vegetarian or vegan diets. Research suggests that spirulina has antioxidant and inflammation-fighting properties, as well as the ability to help regulate the immune system.

“Spirulina is rich in nutrients, with a protein content 3 times higher than beef and contains more than 50 types of healthy nutrients, helping to purify the body and prevent malnutrition in children.”, Thu said.

Fully aware of the wonderful effects of this algae, in 2016, the woman decided to quit her job, and officially started up with growing spirulina with a capital of only VND100 million and used the terrace for growing algae.

At that time, there were many difficulties such as lack of support from family, experience and capital while having to import algae from abroad and self-propagate. Through many trials, she has successfully raised spirulina in an aerated glass tank.

The job requires meticulousness, patience and understanding of technology and the application of high techniques as well. For example, spirulina lives in a highly alkaline environment, so every day she has to check the pH of the culture mediums that provide essential nutrients and minerals to support the growth of microorganisms in the laboratory.

With initial success, in 2019, Ms. Thu established Sun Viet Hi-tech Cooperative, then rented 1,000m2 of land as a basis for spirulina farming and applyed the OCP (open-close-plus) that combines open and close farming to produce high-quality, productive, and cost-effective products.

Desire for making products far - reaching

According to Thu, before starting to implement the model, the cooperative paid great attention to seed sources.This is also a decisive factor for success or failure because if the variety is good, it will produce quality products and boost sales in the market.

Her products are now very diverse, such as fresh spirulina, freeze-dried spirulina, spa algae, seaweed cakes and spirulina mask. Up to now, thanks to the good product quality, reasonable price and beautiful design, her spirulina brand has been present in such foreign markets as Japan, China, South Korea, the U.S. and Canada.

Notably, in 2019, the freeze-dried spirulina product of Sun Viet Hi-tech Cooperative was recognised as a typical rural industrial product of Da Nang and ‘The idea of spirulina farming model’ won the first prize at the Creative Startup Idea Contest 2019 organised by the Da Nang Women's Union.

In 2020, the product won the city-level 4-star OCOP and is the typical commercial product of Da Nang (Da Nang Value) in 2021.

More specifically, Thu's startup project was excellently ranked in the top 30 standard startups in the Tuoi Tre Golf Tournament for Startup 2022 programme.

Thanks to the correct application of technical processes, along with favourable natural conditions, the Sun Viet Hi-tech Cooperative was voted as one of the 63 typical cooperatives nationwide in 2023 by the Central Committee of the Viet Nam Farmers’ Association.

Sharing about her future plans, Thu said, her biggest wish is to be able to put more products on display on large supermarket shelves to increase accessibility to domestic consumers. In addition, the cooperative will expand the model, create jobs for workers, and at the same time develop an economic model combining experiential tourism for tourists and students in the city.

Reporting by KHANH HUYEN - Translating by A.THU