성과
As the Founder & CEO of MANGORA Innovation, I have led my team to achieve breakthrough milestones at the intersection of Material Science (Biotech), Digital Transformation, and Social Impact:
+ Biotech Material Breakthrough: I successfully researched and commercialized Mango Vegan Leather utilizing agricultural waste from the Mekong Delta. The proprietary material structure I developed achieves an optimal ratio: 60% mango bio-compound, 20% natural cotton backing, and 20% Bio-PLA protective coating. The material is 100% vegan, free of heavy metals (Chromium), water-resistant, and biodegradable, directly addressing the disposal of 232,000 tons of mango waste generated annually in Vietnam.
+ Pioneering Material Digitization (Digital Product Passport - DPP): I successfully integrated NFC (Near-Field Communication) chip technology into our B2B products (luggage tags, notebooks). This allows users to trace the "second life" of the mango peels and transparently view ESG metrics (liters of water saved and Carbon emission reduction) with a simple smartphone tap.
+ Commercial Traction: I successfully deployed a B2B2C model, prominently highlighted by supplying 200 NFC-integrated corporate gift sets for the Net Zero Challenge 2026 Grand Finale.
+ Educational & Social Impact Ecosystem: I founded VIVIAN Education and launched the "NetZero Mango Tour" at the Cu Lao Gieng Cooperative (An Giang). This on-site STEAM Eco-workshop model equips youth with green skills while creating stable "green jobs" for dozens of vulnerable women and local tailors.
National and International Recognition:
+ Shortlisted for the prestigious Women of the Future Awards Southeast Asia 2026 (Social Entrepreneur category).
+ Completed the Green Skills Accelerator 2026 fellowship at the University of Southampton, UK.
+ Recognized by prominent startup launchpads: UII Incubator Cohort 2 (UEH) and Top 100 Startup Wheel 2026.
추천 사유
I am nominating myself for the Women Innovation Excellence award because of my dedication to breaking through gender barriers in Climate-tech and Material Science - fields traditionally dominated by men.
My innovation goes beyond creating a mere physical product; it is a solution that restructures the sustainable material supply chain. By creatively merging biotechnology (upcycling agricultural waste) with digital technology (NFC-enabled Digital Product Passports), I have elevated discarded mango peels into a premium fashion and hospitality material, perfectly replacing toxic PVC leather.
Furthermore, my innovation model is profoundly inclusive. I do not confine my technology to the laboratory but bring it back to serve my local community. I directly economically empower and create "green jobs" for rural women in the Mekong Delta. Through MANGORA, I strive to be a living testament to the new generation of female tech leaders: utilizing technology to solve macro-environmental issues while ensuring no one is left behind.
소개글
This award honors Nguyen Thi Thanh Van - Founder & CEO of MANGORA Innovation, for her pioneering contributions to the Climate-tech sector. Through outstanding innovative thinking, Thanh Van has successfully integrated material science and digital transformation (Digital Product Passports) to craft premium vegan leather from mango waste. She not only delivers a practical, plastic-free alternative for a greener future but also profoundly inspires by creating sustainable livelihoods and empowering vulnerable women in the Mekong Delta. Thanh Van exemplifies the aspiration, vision, and resilience of Vietnamese female tech leaders on the global journey toward Net Zero.
영감을 주는 이야기
My journey into climate-tech did not begin in a state-of-the-art laboratory, but in the heart of the Mekong Delta, where I was born and raised. Growing up surrounded by agricultural abundance, I witnessed a heartbreaking paradox: every year, hundreds of thousands of tons of fruit waste - specifically mango peels - are left to rot, polluting the environment and emitting greenhouse gases. Meanwhile, the global fashion and tourism industries continue to choke the planet with toxic, single-use plastics and PVC leather. Alongside this environmental crisis was a social one: many rural women in my hometown still struggle to find stable livelihoods.
I knew I had to act, but I was just a university student with a background in banking and finance, not material science. Driven by a fierce desire to solve this systemic issue, I founded S2M Mango Vegan Leather, which has now evolved into MANGORA Innovation.
The early days were defined by countless failed experiments in a humble lab. I spent months manually boiling and extracting mango peels, trying to find the perfect formula. There were times when the bio-leather cracked, molded, or was outright rejected by local tailors. But giving up was never an option. Through sheer resilience, my team and I successfully engineered a proprietary formula (60% mango bio-compound, 20% cotton, 20% Bio-PLA) and pioneered the integration of NFC-enabled Digital Product Passports (DPP). We transformed a discarded peel into a premium, interactive climate-tech material.
However, if you ask me what my greatest achievement is, I won't just point to the 200 NFC-integrated corporate gifts we produced for the Net Zero Challenge 2026, or the liters of water we saved. My proudest metric is the community we have built. Through MANGORA, and my educational venture VIVIAN Education - where we bring youth to the fields for hands-on STEAM Eco-workshops - we are creating tangible 'green jobs'. We are economically empowering vulnerable women and local tailors in the Mekong Delta, proving that technology and sustainability must be inclusive.
My story is a testament that you do not need to be a born scientist to create a technological breakthrough. You only need deep empathy for your community, the courage to bridge the gap between agriculture and tech, and the resilience to turn a 'waste' into a 'timeless value'. Through this nomination, I hope to inspire other young women to step out of their comfort zones, embrace innovation, and lead the charge in the global Climate-tech revolution.
