Highlights:
- Around 75% of women entrepreneurs make key business decisions, showing confidence and strong skills.
- Targeted programs like Strive Women provide loans, digital training, and family support to help women grow their businesses.
Key Facts:
- 83% of women save specifically for their businesses, with urban women more likely to have emergency savings.
- Many women face challenges such as limited time due to caregiving duties and low use of digital tools for business management.
Background:
Vietnamese women entrepreneurs are showing remarkable resilience and ambition, according to recent findings from the Strive Women programme, implemented by CARE and partners with support from the Mastercard Centre for Inclusive Growth. The study Measuring Women Entrepreneurs’ Financial Health offers a detailed look at women-led micro and small businesses in Vietnam.
However, challenges remain. Many women have limited time because of caregiving and household responsibilities, which makes it harder to grow their businesses or attend training. Access to suitable finance is another barrier, as high collateral requirements and complicated loan processes make it harder to invest in business growth.
In response, Strive Women is rolling out practical, women-focused solutions in both cities and rural areas. Capital Partnerships with VPBankSME provide increased unsecured loans, special credit, and online business education. Thuy Hoa MFI offers savings products and microloans, in addition to community-based financial education. There are also programs where families are engaged to share the burden of caregiving so that women can be more confident in making business decisions.
Preliminary outcomes indicate that these initiatives enhance the financial and business performance. It is noted that by empowering women entrepreneurs, it not only makes them stronger, but it also improves the entire economic growth.
Through proper encouragement, increased access to finance, and digital skills due to the training, women-led businesses in Vietnam will be in a better position to contribute to inclusive growth and innovation.
