Social lending programmes have truly become an effective tool for the locality to successfully implement the National Target Programme for Sustainable Poverty Reduction. In 2023, the poverty rate in Moc Chau dropped to an impressive 3.5 per cent, with preliminary evaluations in November showing a continued decrease.

Moreover, social lending has also played a key role in implementing policies to create new jobs, reduce unemployment, and ensure stable incomes and improved living standards for rural workers.

Vietnam Bank for Social Policy's credit officers in Moc Chau visit ethnic households using policy loans to reduce poverty and stabilise their lives

Nguyen Manh Cang, vice chairman of Tan Lap Commune People’s Committee, reported that 164 poor and near-poor households in the commune had accessed preferential loans, with a total outstanding debt of over $1.2 million. These households have used the loans for purposes such as investing in intensive rice cultivation, hybrid corn, VietGap-certified clean tea, and breeding cattle for reproduction and fattening.

"Many Mong and Dao ethnic households in Tan Lap commune have effectively used loans from the Moc Chau branch of the Vietnam Bank for Social Policy (VBSP) to develop their family businesses, apply scientific techniques to production, and help transform agricultural production into a more focused and sustainable model. As a result, with the average income per person in the community is now $2,718 per year and the poverty rate in the commune decreasing to 5 per cent," said Cang.

According to Pham Viet Hai, director of the Moc Chau branch of VBSP, for the past two decades, particularly in the last 10 years, the widespread implementation of Directive 40 by the Party Central Committee on strengthening leadership in social lending programmes has ensured a continuous flow of social lending programmes to Moc Chau’s highlands, contributing significantly to improving the lives of local people and supporting production and business activities.

By the end of November, VBSP’s lending in Moc Chau stood at over $5.25 million with 2,436 borrowers for the year so far. The outstanding loan balance at the end of November reached $15.8 million, an increase of more than $2 million compared to the end of 2023.

Social lending programmes in the highlands of Moc Chau help people develop production and business activities

In addition to expanding credit access, VBSP and local associations have paid particular attention to improving the quality of loans. As a result, the quality of social lending programmes has been steadily maintained and improved, with overdue debt now only accounting for 0.2 per cent of total outstanding loans, and overdue loans at 0 per cent. Furthermore, 11 of the 15 communes and towns in the district now have no overdue loans.

According to Tran Dan Khoi, Secretary of the Moc Chau District Party Committee, the efforts of VBSP and the political system have contributed significantly to reducing poverty, ensuring social welfare, maintaining public order, and protecting national borders.

"Social lending programmes have reached every corner of the vast Moc Chau Plateau, helping 677 households escape poverty, created jobs for over almost 8,500 workers, built and renovated 8,218 clean water and sanitation facilities, supported the breeding of more than 9,730 cattle, planted 1,418 hectares of fruit trees, and built homes for 137 poor households," said Khoi.

Pham Viet Hai, Director of VBSP in Moc Chau, said, "We expect that social lending programmes will continue to help to reduce poverty and contribute to the rural development goals of the district for many more years"