Spreading the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship

With favorable natural conditions, unique cultural features, diverse and unique history and great potential for agricultural and tourism development, Son La province has implemented many solutions to encourage and promote the innovative start-up movement, helping young people realize their start-up ideas with new ways, contributing to promoting and increasing product value, building a linkage chain, and improving production efficiency.

Mr. La Van Quy, the first prize winner of the second "Search for innovative startup talents" contest in Son La province in 2025, introduced the project's products.

As one of the 10 typical ideas and projects, the project "Building a linkage chain in raising and developing products from crickets to contribute to creating sustainable livelihoods for farmers in Son La province", won first prize in the contest "Searching for innovative startup talents" in Son La province for the second time, in 2025. The project does not only stop at creating products, but also aims to build a sustainable linkage chain: From cricket farming households to cooperatives that purchase, process, and consume through the retail and e-commerce systems. At the same time, the project focuses on developing green - clean - environmentally friendly products, suitable for modern consumption trends.

Mr. La Van Quy, Ban Phieng Nen, Quynh Nhai commune, the author of the project, shared: Up to now, the project has completed the test and initially launched a number of typical products to the market such as dried crickets with sour bamboo shoots, dried sweet and spicy crickets, crickets with no escape, crickets, cricket seeds and frozen commercial crickets. Every month, the farm has supplied the market with more than 3 tons of commercial crickets, earning a revenue of more than 250 million VND. This shows that the market demand is increasing, and at many times the supply is not enough to meet the demand.

The author group presented the project "Telling stories of Son La agricultural products through a digital lens".

Applying technology to manage sales, traceability, customer care via digital platforms, focusing on developing a 4.0 agricultural product store model, connecting directly from farm - processing - store - customer, that is the goal of the Green 26-3 Project "Connecting farms and technology". Ms. Hoang Thi Tham, Deputy Director of the Green 26-3 Cooperative, said: The cooperative was established in 2019, growing 15 hectares of vegetables and fruits in a safe direction, VietGAP, on average each year, the cooperative supplies the market with more than 100 tons of vegetables, tubers and fruits of all kinds. Our project aims at the trend of green - clean - sustainable consumption; combining clean agriculture with retail technology; transforming traditional market stalls into a chain of 4.0 clean agricultural product stores, helping to increase the value of farmers' products, creating more jobs for workers, meeting the needs of consumers for clean food.

In the field of digital transformation, the project "Telling stories of Son La agricultural products through a digital lens" by a group of students from Tay Bac University not only provides a solution to apply digital platforms in promoting agricultural products and tourism in Son La, but also connects technology with indigenous culture, contributing to building brands, consuming products, creating jobs for highland youth and promoting local digital transformation. Student Lo Van Vinh, a member of the project's author team, informed: Introducing and promoting products in general and local agricultural products in particular is an inevitable trend in today's society. Therefore, for each video we make, we have to come up with ideas in advance, with fun and authentic content, choosing beautiful shooting angles to attract a large number of viewers, contributing to introducing local agricultural products to millions of customers nationwide through social networking platforms.

"Moc Gom" startup project, in Van Son ward.

The second "Search for Innovative Startup Talents" contest in Son La province, launched in July 2025, attracted 38 participating projects, with ideas, products, and innovative startup projects in 5 fields: Agriculture, environment and circular economy; processing; tourism; digital transformation; health - medicine. After the preliminary round, the jury selected 10 potential projects for the final round and awarded prizes.

Mr. Nguyen Duy Hoang, Deputy Director of the Department of Science and Technology, said: Through organizing the competition, we want to arouse the passion for innovative startups in organizations and individuals, especially the young generation, students. At the same time, attract the attention of investors and investment support funds for projects to bring innovative startup results and products to the market. Connect startups with investors, advisors, experts and support organizations.

Starting a business is a trend in the context of deep integration today, but it is also full of difficulties and challenges. However, with will, determination and constant efforts and creativity, young people can completely start a business and get rich right in their homeland. To support young people to start a business, all levels, sectors and local authorities need to continue to pay attention, have policies to support capital, skills training, transfer of science and technology, market connection... to help start-up ideas become reality and successful, contributing to the sustainable economic development of the locality.

Source: https://baosonla.vn/xa-hoi/lan-toa-tinh-than-khoi-nghiep-doi-moi-sang-tao-sMzPgU6Ng.html