Ánh’s inspiring journey: Building a food business as a woman entrepreneur in Vietnam

Ánh started producing homemade pork floss (dried shredded pork) and selling other hygienic, healthy products like fish and fruit — first for her family, then for a growing number of customers.

In 2021, together with her husband, she co-founded TA House: Đồ nhà quê, a small business named after their own names — Tài and Ánh — reflecting their shared commitment to perseverance.

“When we first started, I was pregnant,” Ánh says. “Once, we were carrying so many goods on one motorbike that the traffic police stopped us,” she shares with a laugh.

The early days were tough. Meat was hand-shredded for hours, goods were stored in a small freezer that quickly filled, and practical experience had to be sourced from afar. Despite her background in business development, Ánh struggled with basic skills like accounting and separating personal and business finances. For example, she didn’t account for her and her husband’s labor as production costs and often mixed personal and business expenses.

Even though Ánh worked very hard, it felt impossible to grow.

A new chapter: Growing business skills

Everything changed in 2024 when Ánh joined the Strive Women (Bừng Sáng) program led by CARE in Vietnam, in partnership with WISE and Finan (Sổ Bán Hàng). The program was specially designed to help women who run small businesses. Ánh got special training in managing finance and making her brand known.

Ánh was selected as one of the three top participants, receiving a 20-million-VND (about $765) seed grant and six months of personalized business coaching. This support was a big turning point for Ánh’s business. With the money, she bought a pork floss mixer that greatly improved her efficiency and a deep freezer to store more products.

“When we received the mixer, we were so happy we played and tested it until late at night!” Ánh shares joyfully.

More importantly, she gained confidence managing the business side. She started using digital tools like Canva and CapCut for marketing. “I spent so much time with printing agencies, but they couldn’t get my ideas right. So, I used Canva to design our own brand mark,” she says.

Ánh began tracking money coming in and going out using the Sổ Bán Hàng sales management app and learned to separate salaries from profits — a crucial step many new entrepreneurs overlook.

WE Connect for women entrepreneurs

The Strive program also helped Ánh connect with a network of mentors and other women business owners, who share valuable knowledge, experience, and encouragement.

“A lot of my peers doubted the program. I told them to hold their fears, and I chose to walk through mine,” Ánh says.

Initiatives like the WE Connect Network — a core part of the Strive Women initiative funded by the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth — help women entrepreneurs overcome barriers by linking them to finance, mentorship, markets, and peer support.

A family business, a happy future

Today, TA House continues to grow. Every product reflects Ánh’s careful attention to quality.

Ánh’s husband remains her partner in every sense. “We do everything together, from running the business to taking care of the baby,” she says. “When I work, my husband plays with Happy, and when he works, I feed him.”

Sometimes they take their son on delivery trips lasting hours and hundreds of miles. “We call him Happy because he’s such a sweet child who understands our work and hardship,” Ánh says.

Ánh’s story shows a bigger truth: when women get the right support, they don’t just build businesses. They build a strong base for everyone to grow financially. This benefits us all.