Nguyen Thi Thanh of Dai Lai hamlet in Bac Ninh province works very hard as a seamstress, but can’t earn enough money to cover her children’s food and school fees. Last year she was one of the first people to receive capital from the provincial Women’s Union’s Fund to support women’s startups. Thanh decided to learn to sew ao dai, the traditional Vietnamese long dress.

Now she is the owner of a workshop with 20 sewing-machines and 15 female workers. She helped disadvantaged women and disabled people to attend vocational training courses.

“At first I borrowed 15,000 USD to build a workshop and buy machines. My products are for high-end customers so I needed a lot of capital to get started. I sell my products on social networks,” said Thanh.

Nguyen Thi Lan, who is Chairwoman of the Canh Hung hamlet Women’s Union, borrowed 39,000 USD from the Fund to Support Women’s Startups to lease 3.5 ha of farm land to grow asparagus.

Lan’s decision was made after many farmers in the hamlet abandoned farm work because it wasn’t very profitable. Lan earns as much as 4.3 USD a kilo.

“Once I have more experience and capital, I will help others follow suit. I want to change to high-yield crops so they can generate more income,” she said.

The project implemented by the Bac Ninh provincial Women’s Union began early last year. In one year, Bac Ninh has disbursed capital for 29 ideas, most of which have been successfully realized, inspiring other women’s startups.

Nguyen Thi Hang, Deputy Chairwoman of the Bac Ninh provincial Women’s Union, said: “Following our proposal the provincial People’s Committee has allocated 1.3 million USD to the fund, raising its total capital to 2.2 million USD. We will work with the Vietnam Bank for Social Policies to assess women’s startup ideas, fund them, and help them to develop their plans.”