“The Matchmaker”: Vietnam’s Agricultural Cupid, Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, Casts a Spell of Repayment to the Agriculture Sector, Envisioning Globalized Vietnamese Cuisine

At the National Sales and Marketing Conference (VSMCamp) held on November 22nd, female entrepreneur Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, Founder, Chairwoman, and CEO of Autoagri Software Technology Joint Stock Company, shared her journey of elevating the value of Vietnamese agricultural products.

“I was born into a poor family. My parents were my first teachers, guiding me through my early steps in life and education. I also consider myself lucky to have grown up during the war, as it equipped me with a deep understanding of agricultural skills and practices,”

she reflected.

“In 1987, I worked as a bank credit officer, but the salary was meager. I knew there were better opportunities out there, yet I remained stagnant. This fueled my determination to break free from poverty and pursue a path of development through agriculture. Interestingly, my background in banking provided me with valuable knowledge that I later applied to my business ventures, especially in the realm of agricultural produce,”

shared Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, recounting her entrepreneurial journey rooted in Vietnamese agriculture.

During her presentation, Ms. Thuc also narrated the challenges her company faced and how they successfully penetrated the Chinese market. She attributed her family’s escape from poverty to their agricultural business, which led her to make a personal vow.

“I am forever grateful to everyone in the agricultural industry. For the rest of my life, if there is anything I can do to contribute to Vietnamese agriculture, I will. It is my way of giving back to life,”

confessed the founder of Autoagri.

Speaking about her decision to venture into technology and software development at the age of 60, Ms. Thuc expressed her desire to enhance the competitiveness of Vietnam’s agricultural sector by creating a platform that ensures traceability, connectivity, and adherence to standards. As of now, Autoagri, led by Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc, is a certified science and technology enterprise by the Ministry of Science and Technology.

The female entrepreneur also emphasized the vast potential of agriculture as a domain for Vietnam to internationalize and build its brand.

“Leveraging and developing Vietnam’s cultural and culinary traditions will enhance the value and competitiveness of our agricultural products. My greatest aspiration is to internationalize Vietnamese cuisine because food is the gateway for the world to discover our agriculture,”

shared Founder Nguyen Thi Thanh Thuc.

Additionally, the “matchmaker” for Vietnamese agricultural products pointed out the abundant opportunities for zero-dollar marketing within the agricultural value chain.

“Zero-dollar marketing in agriculture encompasses digital transformation, fair trade, climate change mitigation, food waste reduction, and nutritional security. Among these, the digital transformation program is a national priority, and the climate change mitigation program is a global concern,”

she explained.