From September 24 to 26, the GEVA Project (Green Export Vietnam), operated by KisStartup, organized two Green Export Training courses in the provinces of Đắk Lắk and Gia Lai, bringing together nearly 70 businesses, cooperatives, and individuals working in the coffee and nuts value chains.
What united the participating businesses was not only their passion for local agricultural products, but also their very practical concerns about product development and market expansion, such as:
- How can they grow clean coffee and practice sustainable agriculture that meets international standards while maintaining economic efficiency?
- How can they balance short-term pressures (costs, productivity, market access) with long-term values (quality, reputation, sustainable markets)?
- And especially, why are Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) often considered “voluntary but almost mandatory”? Why must businesses go green?
The training program was designed around two key pillars:
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Green Export Business Model & Communication – led by Ms. Nguyễn Đặng Tuấn Minh, CEO of KisStartup. Through practical activities, participants gained a deeper understanding of how to build product value with a green orientation and leverage communication to connect with international markets.
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Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) in Agriculture – with a focus on the coffee sector, led by Mr. Bùi Khánh Tùng, Deputy Technical Director of CODAS. Participants were introduced to practical applications of standards such as 4C and Rainforest Alliance, as well as green farming practices.
Together, experts and participants “decoded” some key questions:
→ VSS should not be seen as a “barrier” but as an opportunity to elevate product quality and proactively meet market requirements, rather than passively “chasing” customer demands and standards.
→ “Going green” is not just a response to international market pressures, but also a long-term investment in the business, the community, and the environment—especially in the Central Highlands, the heart of Vietnam’s coffee industry.
→ Pursuing quality and sustainability is a strategic choice that enables businesses to build a solid foundation for export growth.
By the end of the training, many businesses had proactively signed up to join GEVA’s incubation and acceleration program, demonstrating their determination to transform and to reshape the long-term vision for agricultural products from the Central Highlands.
About GEVA:
The program “Incubating and Accelerating Green Exports through Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS)” is funded by the Swiss Government and co-managed by the International Trade Centre (ITC) and the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (VIETRADE), Ministry of Industry and Trade. It is operated by KisStartup JSC from April 2025 to April 2026.
The project aims to enhance green export capacity (through the application of VSS) for Vietnamese businesses via a series of training, consulting, incubation–acceleration activities, and international market connections to meet the increasingly stringent requirements of the global market.
For inquiries, please contact:
Fanpage: GreenExport Vietnam
Website: https://greenexport.vn/vi
Email: hello@kisstartup.com
Phone: (+84) 0392161403 (Mr. Hieu)