A. SOCIAL BUSINESS IDEA

A1. Social mantra one-liner

TnG stands for Transformation to the next Generations to build sustainable development for local communities with the mission:

Empower the next generations to solve local community problems sustainably through applying a national experiential learning program combined with leveraging digital transformation.

Vision: An online community that serves as a second home for social entrepreneurs looking to expand their social impact, as well as for teenagers who are passionate about addressing social issues in their local communities and seeking opportunities for personal development.

A2. Contributions to UN goals

Access to quality education (Goal 4): We dream of schools in the local areas equipped with the latest technology and resources, fostering an environment where students can explore their passions and talents without limitations.

Decent work and economic growth for her community (Goal 8): We imagine local businesses flourishing, providing stable and fulfilling jobs for everyone, especially teenagers, who are the main workforce in the future, could find prosperous careers in their hometown, reducing the need to move to crowded cities for opportunities.

Sustainable Cities and Communities (Goal 11): We envision local areas developing in a way that preserves their natural beauty while offering modern amenities and infrastructure. By preparing high-quality human resources and developing potentially innovative social businesses, young people in local communities could effectively solve social problems and maximize their social impact.

To identify the root cause, we have applied the 5 WHY model. After conducting marketing research and speaking with numerous stakeholders, including those involved in social entrepreneurship, as well as alumni or current participants in youth training and mentoring organizations, we discovered that a high number of young people and teenagers are facing unemployment issues. This is occurring despite their relocation to big cities in search of better job opportunities as advised.

B. ESG PREPAREDNESS

B1. Target issues

A high number of young people are facing unemployment issues. This is occurring despite their relocation to big cities in search of better job opportunities as advised.

To identify the root cause, we have applied the 5 WHY model, focusing initially on the most significant problem of the currently high unemployment rate among young people in Vietnam.

B2. Root causes (5 WHY):

This issue is especially pressing because the youth demographic, generally defined as those between the ages of 15 and 24, makes up a significant portion of the country’s workforce.

According to Statista 2023, approximately 6.8 percent of the labor force aged 15 to 24 years in Vietnam were unemployed. In another report by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in 2020, Vietnam has more than 100,000 unemployed university students each year. Inthe other words, since 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the job markets in Vietnam.

Unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 to 24 years in Vietnam from 2011 to 2023

Source: Statista 2024 (1)

The paradox is that while the unemployment rate of college graduates in major cities, especially in Ho Chi Minh City (approximately 30%), continues to increase, the proportion of high school graduates pursuing higher education in other cities has also increased at the same time. This research paper is not only for students in Ho Chi Minh City but can also be widely applied to many areas across the country. (2)

Whereas, a reporter of the People’s Army Newspaper, Assoc. Prof, Dr. Nguyen Thu Thuy, Director of the Higher Education Department (Ministry of Education and Training), said that according to statistics of the first round of university enrollment in 2023, about 50% of students taking the high school graduation exam will go to university. (3)

One of the primary drivers of overcrowding in large cities is the concentration of economic opportunities. Cities are often perceived as hubs of employment, offering better job prospects, higher wages, and improved living standards compared to rural areas. This fuels rural-urban migration, where individuals and families relocate to urban centers in search of a better life. As a result, large cities experience a continuous influx of working-age individuals, leading to significant population growth and subsequent overcrowding.

Jumping into deeper, we found out that the lack of sustainable employment opportunities in local areas is a serious problem that hinders economic development, exacerbates regional inequalities and drives urban migration. Rural and small-town economies often rely heavily on a limited number of industries, such as agriculture, mining, or manufacturing. These sectors can be vulnerable to economic fluctuations, technological advances and changing market demands. When local industries face recession or fail to modernize, they struggle to provide adequate and stable employment. This economic instability forces people to look for opportunities elsewhere, typically in larger cities.

On the other hand, sustainable employment opportunities are opportunities that provide stable, long-term employment with fair wages and safe working conditions, while being environmentally friendly and socially inclusive. The lack of such opportunities in local areas often leads to a range of socio-economic problems, including poverty, social unrest and the deterioration of rural communities.

Furthermore, jobs in sustainable social business are diverse and span multiple sectors, requiring a combination of traditional business skills and a deep understanding of social and environmental issues. Key roles include social entrepreneurs, project managers, sustainability coordinators, impact analysts, community outreach coordinators, and policy advocates. Employees in these roles work to develop, implement, and scale business models that generate positive social outcomes while maintaining financial sustainability.

However, education systems in many areas may be underfunded or outdated, failing to equip students with the skills required in the modern workforce. Notably, a World Bank report highlights that despite improvements in education, inequalities persist by showing the statistic that by age 19, only a fifth of students from the poorest 20 percent remain in school, compared with 80 percent of those in the wealthiest 20 percent. (4) They also mention that inequities persist across geographies. In detail, children in the Mekong Delta and Central Highlands have been persistently falling behind in learning outcomes over the last decade, although regional gaps are slowly narrowing. Low net enrollment, high dropout rates, and low progression between educational levels continue to characterize these regions.

B3. Current solution landscape:

To address this issue, there are currently non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and non-profit organizations (NPOs) in the market that organize training and coaching programs for young people. They also collaborate with businesses and corporations to provide internships for young people and conduct community impact campaigns. These are 2 of the most prestigious organizations for youth in Vietnam:

AIESEC in Vietnam:

Pros

Cons

As one of the largest youth organizations in the world (information taken from the AIESEC Global homepage) with a large international network of connections, mentors & founders are well-known and experienced international experts.
Exchange programs: connect with large multinational corporations to create an internship environment and experience for students with international culture, aiming for global citizens.

The target audience is mainly university students, so the scale of operations has only been expanded to 4 major cities in Vietnam, where universities are concentrated until now.

It is almost rare to have programs associated with social enterprises in Vietnam to see the value of creating an impact for the community and society. Young alumni, after experiencing the above programs, mainly prioritize their personal career development path at previous corporations.
The weakness is the lack of locality. For instance, young Thai volunteers come to Vietnam for a 6-week program, but only 3 weeks are spent directly teaching and working with local beneficiaries. As they are not local and did not grow up in the area, they may not have enough time to fully understand the local issues and develop comprehensive solutions.

The target audience is mainly university students, so the scale of operations has only been expanded to 4 major cities in Vietnam, where universities are concentrated until now.

It is almost rare to have programs associated with social enterprises in Vietnam to see the value of creating an impact for the community and society. Young alumni, after experiencing the above programs, mainly prioritize their personal career development path at previous corporations.

In particular, the Global Volunteer & Global Teacher exchange program aims to exchange young citizens from other countries to another country to create opportunities for cultural experience and at the same time exercise social responsibility.

However, the weakness is the lack of locality.

For instance, young Thai volunteers come to Vietnam for a 6-week program, but only 3 weeks are spent directly teaching and working with local beneficiaries. As they are not local and did not grow up in the area, they may not have enough time to fully understand the local issues and develop comprehensive solutions.

→ Does not meet sustainability in solving local community problems sustainably.

VietSeed Foundation:

Mission: VietSeeds invests in highly motivated students from underserved demographics. We want to empower our scholar to have rich intellectual lives, competitive and fulfilling careers, not only to become financially independent but also to be an engaging citizenship so that they can start giving back to the society.
Vision: VietSeeds is a non-profit organization committed to bringing EQUAL ACCESS to college education for ALL students in Vietnam. Our graduates are the seeds who are BREAKING THE CYCLE OF POVERTY within their own families to change their lives, serving their communities, providing a new generation of ACTIVE CITIZEN and FUTURE LEADERS from diverse backgrounds, and fostering positive social changes.

B4. Solution to implement:

Type of social entrepreneurship: Social Constructionist.

Create an online community that serves as a second home for social entrepreneurs looking to expand their social impact, as well as designs experiential learning programs based on context-based learning and cross-cultural environment to train and mentor teenagers who are passionate about addressing social issues in their local communities and seeking opportunities for personal development.

Training & Social Problems Discussion Community: Unlike traditional workshops, webinars, or seminars, the Social Problems Discussion Hub holds weekly sessions in the online community TnG_SOS (Online Discussions on Social Issues) using a professional discussion format. These sessions take place on online meeting platforms such as Discord and encourage attendees’ interaction through exchanges, critiques, and group work aimed at finding practical solutions to real social problems in each locality. The goal is to develop critical thinking and actionable solutions.

National Exchange Program: A national experiential learning program that utilizes context-based learning in a cross-cultural environment for students who have innovative ideas to solve social problems in their communities in an entrepreneurial way. By combining education and traveling with community development for locals, and cross-cultural collaboration, the full process will occur as follows:

Resources Connections: Create a network of training centers and resources to connect social entrepreneurs looking to expand their market scale and social impact with teenagers and students seeking internships in their hometowns. The core team will use online platforms, apps, and tools to manage, control, and track the process remotely.

Risk:

Remote working has gained significant popularity, particularly in high-salaried business organizations where it is seen as a viable option for many employees.

→ Therefore, the initial recruitment of internships with low salaries for remote work can be quite challenging.

Establishing connections and garnering support from local governments can be an intricate process, requiring careful navigation of regulations and policies.

B5: Solution uniqueness

Applying the concept of the butterfly effect (theory review) to our work, we have the potential to make a substantial impact on addressing social issues within local communities, thus leading to a more extensive positive influence on the entire community. It is vital to proactively tackle the problem by integrating both centralized and decentralized management approaches.”

Have a clear social business model with win-win goals aiming to create the main financial source to maintain and develop solutions to local social problems in a sustainable way.

C. SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT:

Direct beneficiaries benefits:

High-quality Skills & Mindset to solve social problems in local communities
Skills & Knowledge from real experiences
Resouces to implement own potential ideas
Sustainable Development Opportunities in her Hometown.

REFERENCES:

Unemployment rate for individuals aged 15 to 24 years in Vietnam from 2011 to 2023 Source: Statista 2024 (1)
Ca, V, H. (2021) Research on The Unemployment Rate of Students after Graduation in Ho Chi Minh City and Ways to Overcome It. Review of International Geographical Education (RIGEO), 11(7), 865-871. doi: 10.48047/rigeo.11.07.82