The forum “Supporting women-owned businesses to participate in the supply chain through sustainable development tools” (Photo: VOV)

Forum organizers were the Council of Vietnamese Women Entrepreneurs of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the UN Agency for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (UN Women).

Speaking at the forum, Caroline T. Nyamayemombe, Head of UN Women Vietnam, said that empowering women to equally participate in the economy can raise global GDP growth to 28 trillion USD by 2025.

In Vietnam, more than 20% of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) are currently owned by women. 51% of Vietnamese businesses have women in the ownership structure, which is higher than in many other countries. However, women-owned businesses are mostly at the lowest levels of the supply chain in many industries and face difficulties in filling large orders.

Nguyen Quang Vinh, VCCI Vice President, said: “According to a white paper on Vietnamese small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women published by the Ministry of Planning and Investment last December, only 4% of SMEs owned by women are assessed as dynamic and effectively participating in the supply and value chains.”

The participants discussed solutions to support women-owned businesses to access the broader market and enter into the supply chain via the application of sustainable development tools and solutions, policies to enhance market access, and receiving both financial and non-financial support.

At the forum, 22 Vietnamese businesses signed the CEO’s Statement of Support to the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), committing to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace, in the market, and in the community.

At the event, the Organizing Committee launched the Women’s Empowerment Principles Implementation Awards 2024 (WEPs Awards 2024), an initiative implemented by UN Women since 2020.