The event was jointly organised by the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) and the Hanoi Women Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (HAWASME), the Mekong Business Initiative (MBI) and the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

 

Addressing the event, VWEC Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh said women-run enterprises have made active contributions to the State budget, economic growth, job creation and stable incomes.

 

She also highlighted challenges facing the group from business establishment to operation, particularly in accessing financial resources, market and technology.

 

She suggested that the Government devise incentives to encourage women’s broader participation in economic development.

 

The Government should also make it easier for the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and other associations to organise more investment and trade promotion events for women entrepreneurs, she added.

 

HAWASME President Mai Thi Thuy highlighted the participation of women in different fields, including running businesses, adding that they face more challenges than men in such issues as gender barriers.

 

Participants discussed the need for support for women-run businesses and shared international successful experience and initiatives for the group.

 

They also called for practical and effective measures to promote women-run start-ups and enterprise development, such as trade promotion assistance, access to funding and competence building.

 

Ngo Hong Diep, a gender expert from the MBI affirmed addressing gender barriers among women entrepreneurs is not only in line with the gender equality goals and international practice but also helps enhance the role of SMEs.

 

The move also helps to implement the national sustainable development strategy by 2020, which aims to raise the number of women-run enterprises to 35 percent, from the current 25 percent of the nation’s total SMEs, she added.