Twenty students from Switzerland, Vietnam, Malaysia, and the Philippines participated last summer in the SEED programme. They spent ten days working in and around Sa Dec in Dong Thap Province in Vietnam, developing entrepreneurial business models for villagers and pitching them in a competition to the local government. Carolina Füglister’s team won the competition, as she explains below.
Interview with Carolina Füglister,
Swiss bachelor’s student of International Management in Brugg
Tell us about the business model designed by your team
We designed a travel agency platform offering a 360° travel experience for baby boomers. The travel agency will organise home stays in authentic small hotels where the owner lives too. Transport will be available throughout the stay, and motorbikes and emergency assistance too. We presented around 25 optional fun activities, from mud fishing and going to the market with a local person to teaching English or French in return for Vietnamese lessons.
What is innovative about your concept?
The innovative part is the idea of creating a platform with the marketing and research costs shared by all the network partners, that is, the homestay owners, transport companies and the people offering the activities. The travel agency will provide the after-sales service and marketing via social media. It will also research new trends and help grow the business. The government was excited about our concept because it doesn’t need much start-up capital and will break even in three years. They will provide office space and training in English and in hospitality skills for local people.
What did you learn from your SEED experience?
I learned a lot about working in a different culture. Our team came from Switzerland, the Philippines and Vietnam. Our Vietnamese facilitator regularly checked our team’s ideas with the local government. This dynamic with facilitators working closely with the authorities was a new experience for me and really good to know for the future.
The SEED programme in 2020
When: 21 July – 1 August 2020
Location: Sa Dec, a provincial city in Dong Thap Province, Vietnam
Format: seminar, workshop, site visits and team work.
Target group: 20 Swiss and ASEAN students, staff and lecturers
Credit points: 5 ECTS credit points for FHNW students
Publisher: www.fhnw.ch/business/seed