Man inspired by his father to help others

It is the dream of 43-year-old Phouthong Phonvixay to see that poor mountainous people have enough rice to eat, even as the amount of land available for growing rice continues to shrink.
He travels around the countryside to help poor people, and harnesses ethnic communities living in mountainous areas to be his support team.

Mr Phouthong Phonvixay helps disadvantaged children in remote area.

He teaches them everything he knows, believing that one day these people will become community leaders and bring about great changes in rural areas of the country.               
Although Phouthong has become a successful businessman, owning five companies in Laos, he is still keen to employ and develop the skills and ethical values of young people from different regions.
“I have more than 40 employees who come from different parts of the country. I believe that when they return home, they can make changes to the way their communities develop. They can help villagers to boost their productivity and rise above poverty,” he said.
Phouthong is known for his strength of leadership, for being inspirational, motivating, creative, pragmatic and giving.
His business covers the fields of education, technology, digital marketing, media production, software and hardware and provides full solutions for accounting and POS, and human resource, networking (Wi-Fi) and security systems.
He also offers entrepreneur and leadership coaching based in Laos.
Born in Xamneua district, Huaphan province, in 1979, Phouthong’s family eked out a living from slash and burn cultivation. Some years, when yields were poor, they did not have enough rice to eat when their upland crop produced a meagre harvest.
But Phouthong was always motivated by his father to help others and to do whatever he could to help rural communities overcome poverty.
“My farmer was a doctor who specialised in traditional medicine. For years, he helped people to access health services, tried to cure their illnesses and dealt with other health-related issues,” he said.
“40 years ago, my father left the village at 3am every day, even when it was very cold. I asked him why he went out so early on such cold mornings. He told me that a friend in the south of the village was very ill and he didn’t want him to die.”
Phouthong recalled that in those day many people in his village died because they lacked medicine and suffered from malnutrition, but his father did all he could to save people’s lives.
The death of his brother stoked his emotions and engendered a deep concern for other people. When he left the village to study, his father told him to study ways to alleviate poverty.
Phouthong got a scholarship to study for a bachelor degree in Vietnam. While he was there, he worked for a Japanese company for seven years.
When he returned to Laos, he set up a company in partnership with companies from Singapore and Israel to apply new technology to the business sector.
He now owns the Smart Group, which comprises:
1. Smart Technology Co., Ltd. – supplies software, hardware and full solutions for POS and accounting systems, human resources, networking, and security systems.
2. Smart Class Co., Ltd. – media production, digital marketing, filming and training for entrepreneurs, leaders and experts.
3. One Smart Start Laos Co., Ltd. – applications and solutions.
4. Smart Zone Co., Ltd. – Agricultural products such as trees and seeds.
5. Smart Expert Co., Ltd. – supplies expert staff to customers in Laos and foreign markets.
From 2012 until the present, the Smart Group has provided solutions for more than 3,000 enterprises countrywide, from MSMEs and SMEs to large corporations.
He encourages privately-owned businesses to keep accounts, as this is essential for the government to collect the full amount of revenue owed and swell its coffers. Currently, only 10 percent of all businesses in Laos keep accounts, which is a strong indication of the need for the greater use of technology in businesses and production.
Unlike others, Phouthong teaches his employees to be humble and not to show off. Instead, his staff are encouraged to spur community development.
“My ultimate goal in the next 20-30 years is to see Lao people of all ethnic groups in remote areas have enough rice to eat, enough medicine to cure their illnesses, and enough clothes to keep warm,” he said.

By Somsack Pongkhao
(Latest Update March 4, 2022)