Creative Lao woman is proud winner of Outstanding Asean Women Entrepreneurs Award

Mrs Dalyvanh Sitpraxay was one of nine Lao businesswomen who received the Outstanding Asean Women Entrepreneurs Award (AWEN) 2018 in Bangkok, Thailand, recently.
She was nominated for the award by the Lao Business Women’s Association in recognition of her two products - biological fertiliser and organic rice.
She said she was very happy and proud to have won the award because it was honourable, important and meaningful for herself, Lao women nationwide, and her country.
The award ceremony took place at the Department of Social Development and Welfare in Bangkok on May 10, where almost 100 nominated businesswomen from Asean countries including Laos and Mrs Dalyvanh were presented with a trophy and certificate.
All of the awardees were very happy and proud to be on this important regional stage. They particularly valued the ceremony because it honoured women’s empowerment in business and strengthened networks.

Mrs Dalyvanh with her trophy.

Mrs Dalyvanh said “At the event I met many businesswomen from other Asean countries. We made friends, discussed our experience in business operations and introduced ourselves, our business and products to each other. I enjoyed it very much.”
“It’s a very special and important and valuable stage and title for all Asean women particularly Lao women because it promotes Laos and its women’s qualifications, abilities and talents to people from other Asean countries and around the world. Awardees from many countries asked me about Laos because they didn’t know much about our country. I used the occasion to promote our country and I’m very happy about it.”
Mrs Dalyvanh is the President/CEO of Phool-NgeunTrading Export-Import Sole, Ltd. in Vientiane.
Her company makes a biological fertiliser and grows organic rice.
Receiving the title doesn’t necessarily mean that all the awardees are successful in their business but it honours their vision, effort and diligence in working towards success.
Mrs Dalyvanh said she was one of the awardees who were not yet successful in their business, because her products are still new on the market. But she has a strong vision, and has worked hard to invent her own formulas and to make high quality products.
She has been in business for a long time and has tried her hand at various fields including handicrafts and agricultural products.
She started out in 1998 by opening a store selling handicrafts and expanded her business in 2003 when she began to make her own biological fertiliser.
When she was satisfied with the formula she had created, she firstly started to test the fertiliser on her own rice field. She found that it worked well and she got good results from the rice crop.
She continued to use it for some time to make sure it was really effective before further improving the mix of ingredients and then going public with it.
She said her interest in agricultural products, nature and land protection inspired her to make the fertiliser, while the importance of healthcare also encouraged her to grow clean and organic rice which she felt sure would be a success with consumers.
“I decided to make the fertiliser because I was concerned about how the soil and the environment was being damaged by the daily use of chemical fertiliser. I wanted to contribute to the protection of the soil and the environment. I also wanted people to be able to eat clean and organic rice and other foods. So I worked on making products that were friendly to nature and the environment as well as being healthy.”
“I would like the land to remain uncontaminated for as long as possible, so I wanted to make a biological fertiliser. My product’s logo is “Golden Champa” and it’s friendly for users, farmers, gardens and the land. This fertiliser is an important food source for land; it enables the soil to stay naturally healthy and maintain its nutritional make-up for a long time. It ensures that soil stays healthy, and can restore essential nutrients to soil that has been degraded by chemicals.”
“My contribution on a world scale is small, but I felt I must do something to help protect nature, the environment and the soil. Fortunately, my passion has become reality and I’m very happy about it.”
“In addition, my vision to protect nature, environment and the land by using biological fertiliser is in line with the vision of our government and the world. So it’s very important and meaningful for me. My fertiliser can be used in the cultivation of rice and all crops, and produces good yields. Many sectors and people agree with my ideas and have congratulated me on my vision and products. I would like to ask everyone to realise the importance of nature and environmental protection and to work together on this matter. I also would like to ask agriculturists and farmers to use my fertiliser and everyone to eat my clean or organic rice.”
Mrs Dalyvanh is an active lady who sets a good example to others, particularly young women, with her diligence and patience in working in many fields and taking on many tasks. She has certainly achieved a great deal so far.
Besides being the director of Phool-Ngeun Trading Export-Import Sole, Ltd., she is a freelance writer and a director of the Dokketh Printing Press.
She was born on January 26, 1959, in Nongbone village, Xaysettha district, Vientiane.
She graduated with a Master’s Degree in Literature from the State University of Varonesh, Russia, in 1983.
From 1983-90, she worked at the National Literature Research Institute, as a journalist and an editor of Vannasinh Magazine (a monthly publication on Lao literature), the National Radio and the Fine Arts Department of the Ministry of Information and Culture (as it was named at that time).
She loves writing and has written stories and poems since she was young. She has had many of her short stories published in newspapers and magazines.
Mrs Dalyvanh was one of two Lao winners of the Mekong River Literature Award in 2017. She won in the short story category with a piece titled “Paynamhaphor” or “Looking For Father”.
The Asean Women Entrepreneurs Award is an initiative of women’s organisations in the 10 Asean countries to create private sector networks by the Asean Committee on Women.
The group established the award to honour outstanding entrepreneurs who champion fair, gender-sensitive labour practices for women and have made an impact in society through their commitment, vision, and leadership.
According to the Lao Business Women’s Association, the first eight outstanding Lao women entrepreneurs received the AWEN award in 2016 and three women received the award in 2017, who were joined by this year’s nine awardees including Mrs Dalyvanh.
Phool-NgeunTrading Export-Import Sole, Ltd. produces biological fertiliser and runs an organic farm managed by Mrs Dalyvanh, “a woman with a million hearts” who loves Laos’ fertile land and wants it to be preserved.
The company exhibited its products at the recent Intellectual Property Fair in Vientiane where they attracted a lot of attention and proved popular with shoppers.
The biological fertiliser, called Champa Kham or Golden Champa, and the organic rice named Phool Ngeun, are becoming increasingly popular. They are on sale at markets, mini-markets, and M-Point Mart outlets around the country. Customers interested in these products can call 020 58881666 or visit the company’s Facebook page.

By Times Reporters
(Latest Update May 29, 2018)