`I decided to invest immediately in Hoa Nang because I saw that they really needed investors at this time,` said Mr. Louis Nguyen – Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of the Management Company, worth VND 10 billion.

It’s called ‘life saving’ because in 2018, Hoa Nang once appeared on a startup program on television to raise capital.

Co-founder and CEO Hoa Nang Lam Anh Tu (left) and Mr. Louis Nguyen – Chairman of the Board of Directors and General Director of Saigon Asset Management (SAM) (holding microphone).

`Not having enough costs to maintain the company was something that had been predicted in advance, so we decided to call for capital as the last straw. We had to go through a very long process with many difficulties and mixed emotions of joy and sadness, but

Mr. Louis Nguyen stepped in at the last minute to save the project, which was not popular with other investors, with a proposal of 4 billion VND for 51% shares and 6 billion VND converted into convertible bonds with an interest rate of 15%.

`There will be many financial and market difficulties, but I will not change my decision,` Mr. Louis Nguyen said when signing to pour money into this startup.

After 10 months of receiving capital, Hoa Nang’s organic rice is available at 400 points of sale, including 120 supermarkets and e-commerce platforms in the country.

`According to estimates, Hoa Nang had a little profit in the first year, but at the end of the balance, it only nearly broke even. This year, the company is growing stronger, but in terms of specific numbers, I

After organic rice, Anh Tu and Truong An’s startup recently jumped into the sugar industry.

`We get raw materials from Sekong province, in the Boloven plateau in the south of Laos. This is a natural land, unexplored and not affected by chemicals. There are 2 distinct seasons and temperatures here.

Hoa Nang’s organic sugar factory in Sekong, Laos.

With the addition of sugar from this startup, with an output of 800-1000 tons per year, the Vietnamese market only has 2 companies selling organic sugar certified according to American and European standards.

`When you go to the supermarket, you will see very few organic products, and organic sugar is even rarer. We see the potential so we participate rather than compete with big names in the sugar industry,` Mr. Tu said about the current output.

`Vietnam’s organic food market is currently relatively small. However, the growth rate of organic product users in the past 5 years is increasing exponentially,` Anh Tu commented.

For his part, Mr. Louis Nguyen did not invest any more after the 10 billion package.

SAM’s chairman has a seat on the Hoa Nang board of directors, but gives Anh Tu and Truong An the right to operate.

`When I first returned to Vietnam, I was quite shocked by the information about food safety, so I wanted to make a small contribution to supporting clean food. If I die, I won’t take anything with me, I only leave my reputation behind.