Huge top hat

The investment by AppWorks is a vote of confidence in Vietnamese healthcare booking app Docosan AppWorks is known for its investments in leading Southeast Asian companies such as Lalamove, Carousell, and ShopBack. Other investors that joined the round include Singapore-based Huat Ventures and biotech entrepreneur David Ma, according to TechinAsia . Established in January 2020, Docosan is an app for searching and booking appointments online with doctors 24/7, checking price lists and reviews by real patients. Docosan has helped 50,000 patients in Vietnam book appointments with physicians across 35 specialties within less than a year of operations. “Many clinics are frustrated after spending large amounts on social media marketing because these networks’ vast, opaque user bases are difficult to harness to reach new patients,” Docosan’s CEO and co-founder Beth Ann Lopez said in a press statement. “Docosan’s proprietary booking software provides doctors an easier way to manage bookings compared to the crowded waiting rooms, which people are increasingly wary of amid the pandemic,” she added. In press statement, AppWorks partner Andy Tsai said, “We noticed Docosan’s potential early on because of its participation in the AppWorks Accelerator. Docosan’s founders demonstrated strong experience and dedication to the healthcare issues in the region. We are proud to be supporting Docosan’s vision of better healthcare access for all.” The potential for healthtech startups is huge as the healthcare market will double in the next 7-10 years. Digital healthcare makes up less than 1 per cent of the total market size currently, a figure which is projected to skyrocket. Many healthtech startups are ramping up operations in Vietnam including eDoctor, Zoop Care, Doctor Anywhere, MedPro, and Jio Health. A report by Fitch Solutions identified great promise in digital healthcare in light of the current challenges faced by public hospitals in Vietnam and the COVID-19 …

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Female sapper Dieu Linh has just attended a virtual ministerial meeting entitled “Maintenance of international peace and security: Mine action and sustaining peace: Stronger partnerships for better delivery,” held by the UN Security Council. She was one of the three keynote speakers at the discussion session of the meeting. Dieu Linh was born and grew up in Quang Tri, Vietnam’s central province, which suffered thousands of tons of bombs dropped by the U.S. Air Force during the war. She said fate has brought her to the work of clearing UXO. “At first, I worked as an interpreter for a Norway-sponsored mine action project. I learnt a lot about the huge consequences of war legacy in my home land. Although decades have passed since the end of the war, UXO is often found in paddy fields, up on hills and in residential areas. I recall when I was small, my friends and I picked up a number of metal pieces and played with them. With our little knowledge, we did not know the metal pieces were grenades or artillery shells. I now feel lucky as these deadly things did not boom. But not all people are as lucky as we were. Since the end of the war [1975], nearly 3,500 were killed and more than 5,000 others were wounded by UXO in Quang Tri,” Dieu Linh spoke to reporters on the sidelines of the meeting. With her strong desire to contribute to her homeland, Dieu Linh studied to become a field officer and then a field manager in 2015. Now she is the Chief of the Quang Tri Female Sapper Squad, leading 300 sappers and workers. Every day, she leads the sapper squad to detect and move UXO to safe sites for neutralization. She and members of the squad are trying their best to bring peace and safety to local people and turn UXO-polluted land – the so called “land of death” into farmland for them. Regarding her female sapper squad, Dieu Linh said, “In the past, people used to think that bomb and mine clearance was men’s job, and that women should only serve in support forces like …

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The giant squash village in Mỹ Tho commune, Phù My district, is one of four craft villages selected by Binh Dinh province for the pilot of traditional craft village tourism development. Located 60 km from the provincial capital Quy Nhon city, the village has about 50 households that have long specialised in planting squash. There is no scientific explanation behind the bountiful yields from squash in the area, with each weighing around 50-80 kg. The mystery also holds great appeal for tourists. An Nhon town has 21 traditional craft villages , many of which are unique and strong points for tourism development. The town considers tourism development to be a spearhead economic sector in the 2020-2025 period, with localities mobilising resources to invest in tourism infrastructure, prioritise traffic development, and support people to build sanitation systems and collect waste and wastewater. Tourism business households receive support in terms of lending interest rates. Binh Dinh currently has 67 craft villages, and its tourism industry has selected four of the most unique to pilot tourism development, including Bau Da Wine village, Phu Gia Horse Hat craft village in Cat Tuong commune, Phu Cat district; the giant squash farming village in My Tho commune, Phu My district; and the noodle and Tam Quan Nam rice paper making village in Tam Quan Nam ward, Hoai Nhon town. Craft village tourism is therefore being piloted to preserve and promote the value of local cultural products. There will be homestay services in the four traditional craft villages selected, so that visitors can enjoy the fullest experience by living in a local home./. VNA …

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