Company will partner with HCMC Women’s Cultural House and CafeTek to provide vocational training for family members of Gojek drivers and support them to set up a digital business 

Ho Chi Minh City, 05 May 2021: Gojek Vietnam, a leading mobile on demand services platform, today announced a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Ho Chi Minh City Women’s Cultural House (WCH), under Ho Chi Minh City Women's Union, and CafeTek HTV, a HCMC-based television programme, to launch the latest phase of the “So no one is left behind" project. The project will provide vocational training and expertise to family members of Gojek driver partners and support them to set up a digital business. The project’s aim is to create new income-earning opportunities, improve livelihoods and reduce barriers to socio-economic growth.

The project is part of Gojek’s GoForward initiative, a key pillar of the company’s sustainability strategy, which focuses on improving the social and economic opportunities for all in the Gojek ecosystem. The initiative supports the company’s commitment to becoming a Zero Barrier platform, as detailed in its first annual Sustainability Report released last week (see full report here).

Under the framework of the cooperation, experts from WCH and Gojek will facilitate a series of training sessions to help participants develop basic entrepreneurial skills, with a focus on food business creation. Topics include: financial planning and business management, starting and managing an online store, cooking and food preparation, principles of food safety and hygiene and more. The training courses will focus on food and drink selections that provide the lowest barrier to entry for startups - those that are low cost, easy to make at home and in high demand amongst Vietnamese consumers. 

Following the completion of the training series, participants can choose to start their own food business on the Gojek platform through GoFood, the company’s online food delivery service. Gojek will create favourable conditions for those who choose to join the platform, including assistance with the onboarding process and marketing campaigns, which will enable them to more effectively tap into the millions of consumers transacting on Gojek, and a sponsorship of VND 2 million to purchase basic restaurant supplies. CafeTek HTV will participate in the project by producing a series of feature stories highlighting the success of these new micro-entrepreneurs in order to inspire others.

This latest phase of the “So no one is left behind” project follows the success of an initiative, implemented by Gojek Vietnam and CafeTek HTV last year, to help small and micro merchants significantly impacted by COVID-19 restrictions shift their businesses online and begin offering food delivery on GoFood. Most participating merchants faced similar challenges in reaching new customers due to location, size and unfamiliarity with smartphone technology. With the support of Gojek and CafeTek HTV, many of these food merchants have become GoFood partners, gaining access to new customers and technology to effectively manage and grow their businesses. Many of them have also continued to offer online food delivery as an option - even in times when COVID-19 restrictions have eased - as it provides an additional stream of income to supplement in-store dining.

Duc Phung, General Manager of Gojek Vietnam, said: “Our digital ecosystem is designed for people, communities and businesses to develop and thrive. As a result, supporting our partners - especially drivers and MSMEs - remains at the heart of everything we do. By supporting micro-entrepreneurs to start their own businesses and participate in the digital economy, we’re aiming to empower them with opportunities to earn income and improve their livelihoods - and in turn, we’re able to contribute to the socio-economic development of Vietnam. As consumers are increasingly reliant on digital services to meet their everyday needs, we’re pleased and humbled to be able to play a part in inspiring the next-generation of digital business owners to serve them.”

“Our partnership with the HCMC Women's Cultural House, HCMC Women's Union and HTV’s CafeTek will help us do this in a more holistic and efficient way. By joining hands, I believe we can make an even greater impact in the lives of individuals with dreams to start their own business.”

Huong Phan, Director of WCH said: “The Women's Cultural House of Ho Chi Minh City appreciates any initiative that supports the development of professional skills and socio-economic advancement. “So that no one is left behind" supports micro-entrepreneurs to start their own businesses in a very comprehensive way, and is aligned to our mission to promote and enhance individuals’ capabilities in the digital era. Our goal is to create more income-earning and financial ownership opportunities which help to build happy, sustainable families. We hope this cooperation with Gojek will serve as a foundation for future projects that create a positive impact in our communities.”

Thinh Tran, Cafetek HTV Program Producer said: “CafeTek HTV and Gojek share a common mission to leverage technology to improve lives and we’re pleased to continue our work together on this latest project. Our previous effort was a significant success - both for the small and micro entrepreneurs we were able to support, as well as for our staff, who were so happy to have the opportunity to help many families overcome difficulties. We’re looking forward to working with WCH and Gojek to build on this, helping even more entrepreneurs by highlighting the exciting opportunities to participate in the digital economy through engaging stories of real-life individuals and families who created their own digital start-ups.”

Nam Pham, wife of Huong Ngo, a Gojek driver-partner, said: “I have always had a passion for cooking. My family, who has always praised me for my cooking, encouraged me to start a business to earn additional income. I was interested, but I didn’t know where to start, what to prepare or the basics of managing a business. As soon as I learned from my husband that Gojek was organising a training program to support micro-entrepreneurs, I applied immediately. I was thrilled to be one of the selected participants. I appreciate this opportunity and hope that the program will give me the skills to help my family and I confidently open a business. It is an exciting first step in our journey forward.”

In 2020 alone, thousands of new merchants have joined GoFood platform. Currently, GoFood has tens of thousands of merchants with millions of food items, making it one of the leading food delivery platforms in Vietnam.