At the event (Photo: VNA) The event, jointly organised by the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC)under the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the UnitedNations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women),attracted more than 100 delegates and representatives of ministries, embassies,international organisations, financial institutions, and enterprises.
It formed part of the "WE RISE Together" programme, which createsequal market opportunities for women by advancing supplier diversity throughgender-responsive procurement in Vietnam, supported by the AustralianGovernment through the Mekong - Australia Partnership.
Speaking at the event, VCCI Vice Chairman Nguyen Quang Vinh acknowledged thatalthough women make up almost half of the world's population, they contributeto only 37% of the global GDP. If women can participate in the economy on an equal footing with men, as much as 28 trillion USD could be added to the global GDP by2025.
He said currently in Vietnam, more than 20% of owners of small- and medium-sizedenterprises are women while 51% of Vietnamese enterprises have women in theirownership, higher than in other countries. However, most women-owned firms operateat the lowest levels of supply chains in many industries and face difficultiesin meeting procurement requirements of large companies.
Caroline T. Nyamayemombe, Country Representative of UN Women in Vietnam,reckoned that the application of sustainable development tools such asgender-responsive procurement policies and women's empowerment principles(WEPs) is one of the smart choices to help businesses make a difference andgrow sustainably.
The forum provided latest updates on the roadmap for enterprises to implementVietnam's sustainable development goals, solutions to support businesses tomeet national and international sustainable development standards, along withpolicies and programmes to enhance market access and financial andnon-financial support for women-owned and -led enterprises.
Delegates at the event pointed out bottlenecks to women's access to capital andmarket such as a lack of business support networks for women, the shortage oftraining programmes and mentoring opportunities to hone skills for womenentrepreneurs, the burden of domestic care work and stereotypes about women'sentrepreneurial abilities.
On the occasion, 22 Vietnamese enterprises signed a commitment to supportingthe WEPs. Organisers also launched the WEPs Awards 2024, an initiative of UNWomen introduced in 2020./.
VNA
