The “So no one is left behind” project in Ho Chi Minh City provides vocational training and expertise to family members of Gojek driver partners and helps them set up digital businesses.
Gojek Vietnam, a leading mobile on-demand services platform, on May 5 announced a Memorandum of Understanding with the HCM City Women’s Cultural House under the HCM City’s Women Association, and CafeTek, a production of HCM City Television (HTV), on the latest phase of the “So no one is left behind” project.
The project aims to create new opportunities for people to earn an income and improve their livelihood, and reduce barriers to socio-economic growth.
The project is part of Gojek’s GoForward initiative, a key pillar of the company’s sustainability strategy, which focuses on improving social and economic opportunities for all in the Gojek ecosystem and supports the company’s commitment to becoming a Zero Barrier platform.
Under the framework of the cooperation, experts from the Women’s Cultural House and Gojek will facilitate a series of training sessions to help participants develop basic entrepreneurial skills for food and beverage (F&B) businesses.
Topics include financial planning and business management, e-commerce store management, cooking skills and food preparation, principles of food safety and hygiene, and more.
The training courses will provide the lowest barrier to entry for low-cost startups by giving instructions on how to select dishes and drinks that are easy to make at home and meet the high demand of Vietnamese consumers.
After completing the courses, participants can choose to start their own food business on the Gojek platform through GoFood, the company’s online food delivery service.
Gojek will create favourable conditions for them with an onboarding process and marketing campaigns, which will enable them to effectively approach millions of consumers transacting on Gojek. It will also offer a sponsorship of 2 million VND (87 USD) for cookware purchases.
CafeTek HTV will participate in the project by producing a series of feature stories highlighting the success of new micro-entrepreneurs to inspire others.
“The ‘So no one left behind’ project is part of the cultural house’s efforts to help people in the digital transformation era, and create conditions for them to start businesses and improve incomes with the aim of building a sustainable and happy family.”
Pham Thi Nam, wife of Gojek driver Ngo Cong Huong, one of the first 50 people participating in the project, said: “I have a passion for food and have been recognised as a good cook. My family encouraged me to open a food store, but I didn’t know how to begin. Thanks to this project, I have a new start.”
This latest phase of the “So no one is left behind” project follows the success of an initiative implemented by Gojek Vietnam and CafeTek HTV last year to help micro-, small and medium-sized merchants who have been significantly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and had to shift their businesses online, offering food delivery on GoFood.
Most participating merchants had faced similar challenges in reaching new customers due to location, size and unfamiliarity with smartphone technology.
With the support of Gojek and CafeTek HTV, many of them have become GoFood partners, gaining access to new customers and technology to effectively manage and grow their businesses.
Their stories have been broadcast on the HTV9 channel, and have received a warm welcome from TV audiences.
Phung Tuan Duc, general manager of Gojek Vietnam, said: “Our digital ecosystem is designed for people, communities and businesses to develop and thrive. As a result, supporting our partners, especially drivers and micro-, small and medium-sized entrepreneurs, remains at the heart of everything we do.”
“By supporting micro-entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and participate in the digital economy, we’re aiming to empower them with opportunities to earn income and improve their livelihood, and in turn, we’re able to contribute to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. As consumers are increasingly reliant on digital services to meet their daily needs, we’re pleased and humbled to be able to play a part in inspiring the next generation of digital business owners to serve them.”
“Our partnership with the Women’s Cultural House, the Women’s Union and CafeTek HTV will help us do this in a more multidisciplinary and efficient way. By joining hands, I believe we can make an even greater impact in the lives of individuals with dreams to start their own business,” Duc said.
The stories about the 2021 “So no one is left behind” project are slated to be broadcast at 8am on Sundays on HTV9 and at 7:30pm on Wednesdays on HTV7 in May.
