The Chị Em Project (“chị em” in Vietnamese means “sisters”) is administered through  Entrepreneurs du Monde (www.entrepreneursdumonde.org), a  French-based NGO. Chị Em manages microfinance and business development. The goals  of Chị Em are sustainable poverty  alleviation and community  development.

Chị Em began operations in year 2007 with a microfinance  pilot project offering access to loans, savings and business training to women in four communes in Dien  Bien Province,  near the Laotian border of Vietnam.  By September 2008, the number of target clients is aimed at 500, by September 2009  Chị Em had 1,000 clients and by September 2010 Chị Em had 2,000 clients. As at 30 September 2011, Chiem was operating in 9 communes and having more than 3,200 clients. The target communes are inhabited mostly by the Black Thai and  Kho Mu people, two of the fifty-four ethnic minorities of Vietnam.

Chị  Em’s preliminary village assessments found that the markets, consisting mainly  of sustenance farmers, would benefit from diversification. In tandem with the  loans and savings, Chị Em therefore offers hands-on training and business  consulting to the clients.

Since September 2011, in order to broaden the client base to include male clients, Chiem has decided to change our name to Anh-Chi-Em Program, in short “ACE Program” (“Anh-Chi-Em” in Vietnamese means “Brothers & Sisters”).