Supporting thousands of women-owned businesses to develop

On the morning of March 26, in Hanoi , CARE International in Vietnam in collaboration with Mastercard Center for Inclusive Development held the Launching Ceremony of the Program "Shine - Confident female leaders, self-progressing businesses".

Speaking at the program, Ms. Le Kim Dung, Country Director of Care International in Vietnam, said: The CARE Ignite initiative, implemented by Care in coordination with organizations from 2020 to 2022 in Vietnam, has supported knowledge, skills and especially financial products for businesses. women-owned. By the end of 2022, the assessment report found that more than 47,000 businesses supported through the program, with 80% of businesses surveyed reporting improved financial management capabilities and increased sales.

Ms. Le Kim Dung, Country Director of Care International in Vietnam, spoke at the ceremony.

Following the success of the Ignite Initiative, from 2023 to 2027, CARE and its partners will continue to implement the “Ignite - Confident female owners, self-advancing businesses” program with the goal of supporting more than 90,800 women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises to develop by providing financial solutions, digitalization and improving business operational capacity.

The program will work with localities to provide tailored financial products and support services such as digital capacity building and strengthening women’s support networks. The program will address gender-specific barriers faced by women-led businesses and pilot initiatives for climate resilience and childcare, two of the issues that disproportionately affect women.

Building on its long-standing commitment to women entrepreneurs, CARE is also building an ecosystem to promote gender-inclusive approaches locally and internationally.

According to experts, women-led small and medium-sized businesses make important contributions to economies , communities and households around the world. Yet women do not have equal access to finance. By ignoring the potential of the women’s market, businesses are missing out on a huge opportunity. In the financial services sector, 80% of women-owned small businesses have low or no access to credit.

The ceremony also included a seminar on “Financial health of small and micro enterprises owned by women”. At the seminar, female entrepreneurs shared the development obstacles in their businesses such as: lack of formal financial records, limited access to collateral, lack of specialized financial products, gender stereotypes still existing against women such as childcare and housework, which are still done by women…

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