Excitement stirred up the silence at Tan Phuoc Medical

Center (Tien Giang) on a Sunday morning. Hundreds of

women had shown up at dawn, awaiting for free
gynecological examination. In the backstage, some
men were lifting heavy boxes of medicine. They were
entrepreneurs who shout out fire but rolled up their
pant cuffs to serve every woman. This was one of
medical checking days by Junior Chamber International
- Central Saigon. Head of this these meaningful
activities is a businessman with an enduring passion
for community Ta Minh Tuan.
Tuan seems to be younger than his twenty-seven. He looks
like a student with a blue sweater and plaid red shirt. Yet,
the way he talks is impressively deep and rich of
experience. He believes success depends on the so-called
personal philosophy. "To me, living is for dedication. Life
is so short that we had better help the others and live to
the fullest," Tuan said with a glint sparkled through his
eye-glasses.
Born into a poor family, Tuan intended to become an
entrepreneur while still being at University of Technology
Ho Chi Minh City. At the age of 19, Tuan founded IDEE
Corporation with an aim of redefining event participation
by building a virtual network linking entrants to organizers.
Technological difficulties and unrealistic idea soon resulted
in failure.

2007 marked a major turning point when his father was diagnosed
with cancer. Leaving IDEE in 2009, he determined to build a home
healthcare service - HELP international - to take care of patients like
his father. This initiative helped Tuan awarded outstanding social
entrepreneurs of Vietnam in 2011 by British Council and the World
Bank.
"As a child, I dreamed of becoming a scientist whose inventions
benefit the humans. However, fate has led me to business. The
common point between a scientist and an entrepreneur is they
invent to advance the world, he explained.
Tuan believes doing business must come from the heart. His utmost
purpose is not to gain profits but to solve social issues and bring
values to the society.
"I was attracted to dreams and hopes. If I live every second to bring
values to someone, I am able to prolong my life endlessly as my
legacies remain even when I die. Moreover, I fear for being worse
than myself of the yesterday, hence, I strive for a constant progress".
This inspired Tuan to establish Junior Chamber International (JCI) Central Saigon in 2013 to gather social entrepreneurs and create
greater impact on society. JCI is the worlds largest organization for
young entrepreneurs with a mission to influence the community by
social actions. Experienced in the health sector, Tuan initiated a

program to detect cervical cancer for 6,000 women in poor and

remote areas of the southwest, including Tien Giang and Ben Tre.
1 US Dollar investment in medical prevention is equivalent to that of
20 US Dollar in medical treatment. Especially, 80% of chronic disease
is the result of lifestyle, while regular checkups limit the risk of
infection, Tuan justified.
This year, JCI will focus on equipping young entrepreneurs with
leadership skills, especially when Tuan has been elected as the
National Training Director of JCI Vietnam.
"Start-up entrepreneurs often lack of financial capital, nevertheless,
the shortage of intellectual capital is more important. Knowledge will
blossom into valuable resources.
The start-up game of many young Vietnamese has ended before
the start due to I-cannot" spirit. Tuan expects the upcoming training
sessions with international experts will fuel their confidence before
setting up their own business.
2015 begins with a good news when Forbes Vietnam has listed Tuan
in 30 Under 30, a collection of the brightest stars in different fields
under the age of 30. Tuan supposes this is just the beginning of a
new chapter in his journey book. Yet, it is the momentum for him to
connect with many other entrepreneurs sharing the same vision of
community and yield much more useful values to the society.