Vietnam

“In April of 2022, I had the chance to travel to Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with The LEADER Project. Before landing on April 18, I had no idea that this would be the single most fulfilling and simultaneously challenging experience of my life thus far. When thinking back on my time in Vietnam, there are a few things that immediately spring to mind: the scooter-filled streets, our daily morning coffee and bánh mì ritual, the hospitality we felt from our students, and the country’s rich entrepreneurship culture.

Even though many of the entrepreneurs in our program had families and full-time jobs, they exhibited hustle and enthusiasm in learning through Ivey’s case-based method. Something I particularly admire about Vietnam is their high rate of women’s participation in the entrepreneurship space, which is key to overall growth since innovation is bred from diversity. Each of the 3 finalists in the pitch competition (LEADER’s closing event that allows entrepreneurs to apply the concepts they learned throughout the 2-week program to their own business) were female entrepreneurs!

In an attempt to communicate just how hospitable all of the students were, we were graciously invited to one student’s family’s mango farm towards the end of the program. There, we cooked bánh xèo (a Vietnamese pancake) with her grandma, picked ripe mangoes with her niece, and sang karaoke (albeit very off-key) with her uncle. Because everyone was so welcoming towards us, we got to explore as many places and try as much delicious food as we could within the bounds of our trip.

Overall, through helping grow businesses ranging from a waste management social enterprise, to worm snacks, and everything in between, I can say with confidence that I learned much more from our cohort of 25 entrepreneurs than they could have learned from me. Lastly, I just want to say to anyone who doesn’t have Vietnam on their travel list yet: add it right now! Ho Chi Minh is one of the liveliest, friendliest, and warmest cities (in terms of climate and people) I’ve ever had the privilege of visiting, and I can’t wait to return.”