Small capital, big meaning
The Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund was established on April 25, 2015, in the context that women, especially ethnic minority women in the province, still face many difficulties in accessing official capital to develop their livelihoods. With an initial capital of only VND 15 billion, the Fund operates in 5 districts and 26 communes in the province.
The objective of the Women's Development Support Fund is to support low-income women, especially women in ethnic minority areas, to access appropriate and convenient financial services. Thereby, helping women develop their economy , proactively manage their lives, improve their position in the family and society; at the same time, contributing to the implementation of the goal set out in the Resolution of the Women's Congress at all levels, which is "Promoting women's economic power, contributing to the rapid and sustainable development of the province".
Since its establishment, after 10 years of operation, up to now, the Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund has implemented loan disbursement activities in 92 communes, wards and towns of 12 districts, towns and cities in the province. The Fund's outstanding loans reached over 38.4 billion VND with more than 4,000 members, the overdue debt rate is under control (only 0.69%).
Gia Lai Province Women's Development Support Fund disburses loans to women's union members in Kon Gang commune, Dak Doa district. Photo: D.Y.
Not only does it play a lending role, the Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund is also a model to support women's comprehensive development through training courses on financial skills, entrepreneurship, production management, and market connection. From the fund, hundreds of meaningful Tet gifts have reached disadvantaged women, scholarships have reached poor students, and livelihood models have been provided to women in remote areas, ethnic minority areas, etc. These practical and humane actions have created momentum, lifted up and inspired poor women to rise up and change their circumstances and develop themselves.
Giving hope to poor women
In Ia Rbol commune (Ayun Pa town, Gia Lai province), many women previously had to borrow money at high interest rates. Thanks to access to capital from the Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund, nearly 100 women's union members have boldly invested in raising goats, cows, and growing sugarcane and tobacco. Thanks to the income from livestock farming, the women not only pay off their debts on time but also save money to support their children's education, renovate their houses, and buy household items for their families.
Chairwoman of the Ia Rbol Commune Women's Union - Ms. Ba Nay H'Lina affirmed: "Thanks to the capital from the Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund, the lives of ethnic minority women in the province have changed positively. From passive women lacking financial management knowledge, they have gradually risen out of poverty to become rich, confidently building plans to develop their family economy."
Gia Lai Province Women's Development Support Fund grants livelihoods to poor women in Ia Trok commune, Ia Pa district. Photo: MC
Recognized by the State Bank as an official microfinance program since 2017, the Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund has made an important turning point in the process of improving its legality, standardizing its operating model, and developing a more systematic and transparent scale. Over the past 10 years, 425 households in Gia Lai province have escaped poverty thanks to loans from the Fund. The effectiveness of the Fund has contributed to promoting the dream of escaping poverty for many ethnic minority women in the province.
Mr. Ho Minh Trung, Director of the Gia Lai Province Women's Development Support Fund, said: The Fund's expansion of its operations to ethnic minority areas, designing loan packages suitable for each target group, enhancing consulting, training, supporting startups, promoting digital credit management, cashless payments to modernize lending activities... are necessary steps to adapt and develop more sustainably in the coming period. This is also an inevitable and important transformation in the digital age.
"The Gia Lai Provincial Women's Development Support Fund not only supports livelihood capital but also gives confidence to poor, near-poor, and ethnic minority women to rise up in life. Hopefully, with the support of the Fund, along with the social policies of the Party and State, poor and ethnic minority women will change positively and constantly develop with the era of national rise", Mr. Ho Minh Trung affirmed.
Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/quy-ho-tro-phu-nu-phat-trien-tinh-gia-lai-dong-hanh-cung-phu-nu-ngheo-20250609173736068.htm
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