First-hand account

Michel Bélanger

DID posting in Vietnam from 2008 to 2010

From 2008 to 2010, Michel Bélanger was posted in Vietnam with a mandate from DID to support the set up of the Vietnam Association of People’s Credit Funds (VAPCF), the new central structure (in the form of a federation) created in 2005 by the country's central bank, the State Bank of Vietnam.

His mandate involved proposing an organizational structure, drawing up a triennial business plan, evaluating training needs and introducing capacity building activities for the professionals in charge of coordinating the VAPCF.

 

In Vietnam, I would say I did my part by allowing the various stakeholders I worked with – the financial cooperatives, the federation and the central bank – to speak openly about the challenges confronting the network and microfinance in Vietnam.

I was able to assume this role because I came from outside the PCF network of cooperatives. I also had a great deal of experience acquired over 25 years within the network of Desjardins financial cooperatives, and during the technical support mandates that I carried out in Guinea and Mali for DID.

Experience doesn't provide all the answers, but mine enabled me to make a diagnostic of the challenges facing the PCF network more easily. My role then was to help make the stakeholders aware of the specific challenges so that they could discuss them together and find solutions.

I must say that when you are closely involved in operations and must also deal with political aspects – more prevalent in Vietnam than we are used to in North America – it is easy to lose sight of the big picture. This makes it difficult to correctly identify the challenges that should be given priority, and the solutions to introduce.

In addition, the network of Vietnamese financial cooperatives, the People’s Credit Funds or PCFs, is somewhat daunting. Imagine, 1023 outlets spread throughout a country with so many disparities: historical, geographic, climatic, ethnic, economic and cultural.
 
On a personal note

Working in Asia was a much different experience than what I had known in the past. Vietnam is in full development... and the pace is phenomenal. On the road from the Hanoi airport to my residence, I passed by ultramodern factories and huge rice fields being worked by a few Vietnamese farmers with a water buffalo. Pedestrians and cart drivers made their way among motorbikes (often heavily loaded!) and the latest model cars! In the same day, I could take an escalator in an immense modern shopping centre, and encounter a Vietnamese farmer on the road driving an ancient Russian tractor!

When you live in Vietnam, you are exposed to a very different reality, and especially to another point of view on history, human relations and societal challenges. At an earlier time, I was witness to the ravages of the Vietnam war. When I came to live here, I learned a great deal and my perception of what had seemed to me a conflict changed greatly.

The expatriate community is mainly Asiatic and this exposed me to new realities, cultures and knowledge that greatly enriched me.

I will not pretend that the language barrier was not a daily challenge. I could only communicate, in English, with two DID employees in Hanoi. Each time I wanted to discuss something with a Vietnamese partner, I had to do so through an interpreter. It takes a lot of patience!

The socialist regime in Vietnam is a very different world than the capitalist one that we are used to at home. That said, it is not a bad one. You have to live here to discover how things work, the rules and the advantages. For example, access to education is available to all, without regard to income or whether a family lives in the country or in the city. In fact, the literacy rate is higher than in Canada. If you learn how the system works, many opportunities can present themselves; but you have to change your way of thinking, that is certain!

Naturally, I traveled a great deal with my family throughout the country. Air travel is easy between the major cities and, like lodging, it is very affordable. Vietnam is also a very safe country, which encourages exploration. Finally, the cultural riches of Vietnam are so interesting to see, feel and experience... this surely explains why it was in Vietnam that I had the most visits from friends in my last 10 years of working and living abroad!