From Teacher to Entrepreneur: Vietnamese Woman Builds Thriving Business & Gives Back
From teaching preschoolers to building a diversified agricultural and food processing business, Nguyen Thi Anh Dao’s journey exemplifies resilience and entrepreneurial spirit. Facing unexpected unemployment in 1993, Dao transformed adversity into opportunity, establishing Hung Dung International Co., Ltd., a company now generating annual revenues of approximately 35 billion Vietnamese Dong (roughly $1.37 million USD as of ).
Dao’s story began with a mandated retirement following a government restructuring. Left without a salary and limited savings, she and her husband faced the challenge of supporting their young family. “This decision placed my family in a difficult situation,” Dao explained in a recent interview. “Without my teacher’s salary, without savings, without a job, the entire financial burden rested on my husband and me – two parents struggling to raise two very young children.”
Initially, Dao engaged in small-scale trading, reselling staples like cassava, taro and peanuts to fund her children’s education. This initial capital allowed her to open a small shop, eventually diversifying into animal feed distribution. By 2005, Anh Dao Distributor was supplying over 200 retailers within the province.
However, Dao’s ambition extended beyond simple distribution. Driven by a desire to create lasting value, particularly for rural women, she founded Hung Dung International Co., Ltd. In 2017, with support from the Vietnam Women’s Union and local government. This venture involved a significant investment of approximately 20 billion Vietnamese Dong (approximately $780,000 USD as of ) into a 4.5-hectare closed-loop farming system.
Today, Hung Dung International operates across multiple segments of the agricultural value chain. The company produces starch from turmeric, purchases agricultural products, manufactures biscuits, raises pigs, and supplies animal feed to farmers. It provides approximately 7,500 breeding sows and 3,000 market pigs annually. Recognizing the challenges faced by farmers, particularly in mountainous regions susceptible to market volatility, Dao invested in a modern, closed-loop turmeric starch processing facility.
This investment has yielded tangible results. The company’s turmeric starch product received the “Golden Brand of Vietnamese Agriculture” award in 2018 and achieved ISO 9001:2015 certification. It has also been recognized as a 3-star OCOP (One Commune One Product) product at the provincial level (2019) and is currently a 4-star OCOP product. The company’s biscuits are also gaining traction, distributed through supermarkets and local stores across central Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City.
The business currently employs 15 workers with stable incomes ranging from 8 to 12 million Vietnamese Dong per month (approximately $310 to $465 USD as of ), and an additional 20 seasonal workers earning between 6 and 7 million Vietnamese Dong monthly (approximately $230 to $270 USD as of ).
Beyond commercial success, Dao emphasizes corporate social responsibility. She has actively participated in local charitable initiatives, supporting disadvantaged families and victims of natural disasters, sponsoring 16 orphans, providing gifts to underprivileged students, and contributing to national and local fundraising campaigns, totaling over one billion Vietnamese Dong in donations.
Dao views these actions not merely as charitable giving, but as a fundamental responsibility to the community. “I have always believed that business development must be linked to social responsibility,” she stated. “I hope to spread this spirit of mutual assistance, so that the prosperity of businesses also benefits the people and together we can build a better society.”
Dao’s achievements have been recognized with several accolades, including a Certificate of Merit from the Prime Minister in 2022, the Vietnamese Women’s Award in 2024, and the Outstanding Vietnamese Businesswoman – Golden Rose Award in 2025. She views these awards not as endpoints, but as motivation to continue striving for improvement and contributing to her country’s development.
“The distinctions…are not only honors, but also a great source of encouragement to redouble my efforts,” Dao said. “My main motivation, the one that has allowed me to get to where I am today, is my determination not to be afraid of difficulties, my constant willingness to improve, and my desire to contribute, even modestly, to the development of my country and my community.”
On the occasion of International Women’s Day, Dao encourages women to have confidence in themselves, embrace lifelong learning, pursue their dreams boldly, and strive for balance between family and career. “Women contribute not only to the happiness of their families, but also to economic development and the building of a more civilized and progressive society,” she concluded.