Imparting the expertise and best practices of Thailand on its One Tambon One Product (OTOP) program, Mekong Institute (MI) organized a three-day online coaching program for relevant national government officials and selected One Commune One Product (OCOP) small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam from May 10-12, 2022.  

The coaching program is aimed at supporting the promotion and further development of OCOP in the country as part of the project ‘Technical Assistance for Community Development in the Mekong Subregion’ which is being funded by the AEM-METI Economic and Industrial Cooperation Committee (AMEICC) Secretariat. The program was designed to deepen participants’ understanding of some of the topics covered during the previous training program on “OCOP Development and Promotion in Vietnam” by providing more discussion, workshops, and practical examples on tea processing technologies and food safety practices, digital marketing and commerce, and brand development.

Technical coaches came from Mae Fah Luang University, FPT Polytechnic College, and the Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam.

At the end of the program, the participants expressed their gratitude for the support received in increasing their business competitiveness by enriching their skills on tea processing methods, digital commerce, and branding. One of the participants stated that “there should be more capacity-building and tea promotion initiatives, both online and offline, to make Vietnam’s OCOP even more successful.”