The DDA Vietnam Investment Joint Stock Company is one of the enterprises participating in the "Women take control of their lives" project and gained initial successes thanks to the support of the Hanoi Women's Union.

Nguyen Anh Nguyet, the company’s founder, and a team of Vietnamese scientists and pharmacists, have successfully extracted 99.9% pure organic calcium from eggshells, a process which was granted an exclusive patent by the Intellectual Property Office of Vietnam. The company is supported on legal issues, product promotion and consumption, and have successfully built a standardized green production model, Nguyet said.

“We were instructed on the production process, which complies with the law. The Hanoi Women's Union and the Vietnam Women's Union have supported women by organizing fairs and seminars where we can exchange knowledge and learn from each other,” Nguyet said.

Turning discarded materials into valuable green organic products is the goal of Ruby Group Chairwoman Nguyen Que Anh and a project team, who are working to commercialize Hafalife biological laundry detergent products made from pineapple peels. The production, which applies European standards, creates safe organic laundry detergent products that protect consumers' health and are environment-friendly. The company will provide Hafalife products as initial investment capital to help women start businesses and increase income.

Nguyen Que Anh said: “Our company defines that doing business is not only selling products but also taking the responsibility of protecting the environment and the rights of consumers, and benefiting the community. Our product participates in the ‘Women start businesses in green transformation’ contest 2024 with the desire to help thousands of women having safe, benign, and economical products. Our project also includes a funding mechanism to help women start businesses to earn extra income.”

The processes of extracting calcium from eggshells and producing Hafalife laundry detergent from pineapple peels are 2 of 15 projects that won prizes at the “Women start businesses in green transformation" contest launched by the Hanoi Women's Union.

Developing green and ecological urban areas is a part of the master plan for Hanoi’s development until 2030 with a vision to 2050, which harmonizes natural, social, and human factors for making Hanoi a green, modern, and smart capital.

To this end, Women's Unions at all levels in Hanoi have organized in-person and online communication activities to raise women's awareness and responsibility in building a safe and friendly environment, in association with the project "Supporting women in the capital to start a business".

Le Thi Thien Huong is Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women’s Union. “We have worked with experts to help businesses, cooperatives, and women-owned businesses to shift their growth model from brown to green and from exploiting natural resources to developing the ecosystem towards a green economy, a digital economy, and a circular economy.”

The active support of Women's Unions in Hanoi at all levels has helped many women boldly start a business, turn challenges into opportunities, and achieve success.

Phan Thi Hong Hanh, Director of the Takichi Vietnam Food Company, sai: “When joining the Women’s Union, we learn a lot of skills to market our products and ensure qualityand safe production standard.”

Besides the Women’s Union, departments and sectors in Hanoi have worked together to help women’s startups.

Nguyen Dinh Hoa, Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said:“Trade connectivity, promotion activities, fairs, and exhibitions of craft products, OCOP products, agricultural products and food have created opportunities for businesses and production facilities to promote their products, technology transfer, and partnership to increase sales. We also support brand and trademark guarantee and promotion on digital platforms.”

The Hanoi Women's Union said that since the launching of the projects "Supporting women in the capital to start a business" and "Women take control of their lives", 12,000 women have been motivated to get involved in entrepreneurship; more than 4,200 women have successfully run their own businesses; and over 1,200 enterprises and cooperatives have been supported in trade promotion, advertising, and sales.