22-year-old Vietnamese makes Forbes's '30 Under 30 Asia' list for social impact

The 22-year-old got the accolade for helping university students raise a total of US$3.5 million in start-up investments.

On May 16 the magazine released its "30 Under 30 Asia" list for 2024 that features 300 young people across 10 categories: arts; entertainment & sports; finance & venture capital; media, marketing & advertising; retail & ecommerce; enterprise technology; industry, manufacturing & energy; healthcare & science; social impact and consumer technology.

Minh, a third-year student of business administration at the private Vin University in Hanoi, said: "I first heard the news at 5 a.m. today, and was very surprised to know that I am the only Vietnamese on the Social Impact list."

The list was pared from thousands of nominations made by journalists and experts in various spheres.

On its website, Forbes introduced Minh as the co-founder and former chairman of UpYouth, a Vietnamese non-profit supporting student entrepreneurship.

Founded in 2020, the non-profit has a start-up incubator to help students with new products find investors.

It has so far helped 30 such start-ups.

UpYouth has also organized business events with various corporates in Vietnam, including conglomerate VinGroup and blockchain-based game developer Axie Infinity, which have attracted over 30,000 young participants.

Minh is also assistant to the global deputy CEO in charge of operations at car manufacturer Vinfast.

Minh said he had studied in the U.S. and met many students who attempted to start businesses very early, while young people in Vietnam do not have such opportunities or resources.

After finishing his first year at Carleton College in Minnesota, the U.S., he returned to Vietnam with a wish to help young university students build real businesses and contribute to society.

He hopes to start a business after finishing university and take Vietnamese products to international markets.

Three other Vietnamese in this year's lists are Youtuber Dong Van Hung, who runs the "Am Thuc Me Lam" (Mother’s Cuisine) channel with over one million subscribers, Pham Tuan Huy, a mathematics post-doctoral researcher at Stanford University in the U.S., and Phan Dang Hoang, a fashion designer.