CARD MRI Founder Accepts Vietnam’s Prestigious Friendship Order

The Friendship Order is the highest award a foreigner can get in Vietnam for great contributions in building, consolidating, and developing the friendship between Vietnam and other countries in the world. It is proposed by the Government and awarded by the President of Vietnam.

Hanoi, Vietnam—Last November 14, 2012, Thin Thuong One-Member Limited Liability Microfinance Institution, internationally known as TYM and one of the leading microfinance institutions in Vietnam, celebrated its 20th anniversary together with its international partners such as the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development Mutually Reinforcing Institutions (CARD MRI) from the The Philippines, Savings Banks Foundation for International Cooperation (SBFIC) from Germany, and The Catholic Organisation for Relief and Development Aid (CordAid) from The Netherlands. Along with the celebration of the many accomplishments of TYM in its 20 years of existence, the program also gave credit to its international friends who made their achievements in the field of microfinance possible. One such recognition, proposed by the Government and awarded by the President of Vietnam, was the Friendship Order, touted to be the highest honor awarded to a foreigner, for “great contributions to building, consolidating and developing the friendship between Vietnam and other countries in the world.”

Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, CARD MRI Founder and Managing Director, was awarded "The Friendship Order" during the TYM 20th Anniversary for his contributions to the microfinance sector in Vietnam.

Having been partners with CARD MRI since early 1990s, one of the awardees of the Vietnam’s Friendship Order was Dr. Jaime Aristotle B. Alip, the Founder and Managing Director of CARD MRI. Dr. Alip was one of the consultants who helped in establishing TYM as a microfinance institution when it was still operating as a project under the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU). This award recognized Dr. Alip’s efforts in improving the microfinance sector. Madame Đỗ Thị Tân, the first Director of TYM, explained the important contribution of Dr. Alip to TYM, “Everyone in TYM considers him as their “Father” since he had always been there for us since the beginning. We gained very important insights from him including the heart in doing microfinance. From him, we strengthened our commitment for the poor. We learned that if we give our best to provide better opportunities for our clients, their loyalty will remain constant to us. And that is one of the reasons why TYM has continued to provide its products and services since 1992.”

The partnership of Dr. Alip with TYM allowed CARD MRI to share its expertise in the different fields of microfinance throughout the years. A number of Filipino experts had flown all the way to Vietnam to assist TYM in credit and savings methodologies, research, training, and other fields. Also awarded the Friendship Medal by the Vietnam Women’s Union from CARD MRI were Ms. Dolores M. Torres (President and CEO, CARD Bank), Ms. Lorenza dT. Bañez (Executive Vice President, CARD Bank), and Ms. Aniceta R. Alip (Research Director, CARD MRI.).

Up to now, CARD MRI is still providing technical assistance to TYM through a tripartite agreement with SBFIC.