Creating a forum to inspire entrepreneurial spirit among women of all social classes.

This is a sharing from Ms. Pham Thi Huong, President of the Women's Union of Ky Anh district, Ha Tinh province, about the secret to effectively and successfully implementing the "Supporting Women's Entrepreneurship" project in the district in recent times.

Interviewer: Ky Anh District (Ha Tinh Province) is one of the localities that has implemented the "Women's Entrepreneurship Support Project" in rural areas early, effectively, and successfully. So, could you tell us what is special about the way the Women's Union of your district has implemented this project?

Ms. Pham Thi Huong: Over the past period, the Ky Anh District Women's Union has focused on seriously and effectively implementing the "Project to Support Women's Entrepreneurship" at the grassroots level and among its members, using many flexible and diverse methods. As a result, the project has attracted a large number of members to participate and respond.

During the implementation process, our District Women's Union placed great emphasis on propaganda work. For example, the Union disseminated information through branch meetings, groups, clubs, and through mass media, social networks, Zalo, Facebook, etc., about the Party's guidelines and policies and the State's laws on entrepreneurship and business development, aiming to create confidence and encourage members to boldly develop their businesses .

The Women's Union of the district actively supports production facilities in participating in fairs and festivals to introduce, promote, and sell local products.

At the same time, the Women's Union strengthens the promotion of exemplary models of women entrepreneurs and economic development, and publicizes outstanding models run by women in the locality. The District Women's Union also coordinates with the Provincial Women's Union and specialized agencies to organize training courses to improve the capacity of businesses, cooperatives, and economic models run by women on applying technology to production and business, building product brands, business law, commercial etiquette, food safety and hygiene, circular economy, etc.

We also strengthen support for members and businesses with ideas to participate in the "Women Entrepreneurs" competition to realize their startup and business ideas. We support businesses in participating in fairs and festivals to introduce, promote, and sell local products. We organize competitions and forums for female business owners and economic models to network, share experiences, and inspire the entrepreneurial spirit among women.

PV: How have the successes of the "Women's Entrepreneurship Support Project" impacted the local economy in general, as well as the female business owners and production facility owners in the area?

Ms. Pham Thi Huong: In line with the entrepreneurship movement, the Women's Union at all levels in Ky Anh district always accompanies, supports, and encourages women of all backgrounds, ages, and professions, especially those in difficult circumstances, ethnic minority women, and women with disabilities, to rise up , confidently participate in the national entrepreneurship wave, enrich their families, their hometowns, and the country, create jobs for local workers, promote gender equality, and enhance the role and status of women in society.

All raw materials for product procurement in Ky Anh district are sourced through contractual agreements with representatives of women's association members.

Accordingly, many private economic models owned by women, and collective economic models such as cooperatives and associations, operate effectively. Women pay attention to every step of the process of building brands, trademarks, and clean value chains. Notable examples include: the herbal processing model of Dung Nguyen's facility (Ky Thu commune) with products such as OCOP 3-star multi-grain sprout tea and OCOP 3-star herbal essential oils. The production facility covers 400 m2 (with a complete investment in machinery and equipment, such as: freeze dryers, automatic bottling machines, vacuum packaging machines, etc.), generating revenue of 3,400 million VND. The production volume of raw materials through collaborative production and procurement with local households is 6 tons of agricultural products and medicinal herbs such as lemongrass, basil, mugwort, perilla, or mint, eucalyptus, tangerine, honey, jasmine buds, various types of beans, etc.

All raw materials are sourced within the district through contractual agreements with representatives of women's association members and residents in villages and communes, or through the Women's Union of each commune, for regular procurement. This model provides regular employment for 5-7 workers, with an average income of 5.5 million VND per person per month.

To date, Ky Anh district has 19 products that meet OCOP standards , including 17 products achieving 3-star OCOP status and 2 products achieving 4-star OCOP status. Among these, 12 models are run by women. Thanks to this, many families have escaped poverty, risen to prosperity, and stabilized their lives. Currently, the average per capita income has reached 48.90 million VND/person/year (an increase of 33.9 million VND/person/year compared to 2011); the multidimensional poverty rate is 2.81%, and the near-poverty rate is 4.76%.

To date, Ky Anh district has 19 products that meet OCOP standards, including 17 products with 3-star OCOP rating and 2 products with 4-star OCOP rating.

After 7 years of implementing the Project, the Women's Union branches in Ky Anh district have received hundreds of startup/business ideas from women participating in competitions; selected, reviewed, and categorized over 30 feasible ideas to participate in and win high prizes in provincial and national competitions. Many ideas demonstrate creativity and innovation in the production and business of clean, safe, and environmentally friendly products... with the potential to benefit women and the community. Through this, it contributes to helping women farmers, who were previously only familiar with farming, housework, or small-scale trading, become true economic entrepreneurs and masters of their own lives.

PV: Thanks to their efforts, the women have achieved the success they have today. So, during the implementation of the project to support women's entrepreneurship in the locality, did the Ky Anh District Women's Union encounter any difficulties, madam?

Ms. Pham Thi Huong: During the implementation of the Project, the awareness of some officials, members, and women regarding the importance of supporting women's entrepreneurship remains limited. In particular, people are still hesitant to cooperate and form sustainable collective economic models to create safe and stable raw material sources for the market. This leads to unstable markets for some agricultural products, and connecting product consumption remains challenging.

Furthermore, the Association's resources are limited, primarily focused on propaganda, mobilization, loan support, and access to science and technology. Therefore, compared to reality, it still falls short of meeting the needs of its members and women.

Furthermore, in some areas, women's association members are not yet confident in building and developing economic models or are still dependent on their families. Some women lack knowledge and skills in production and business organization, mainly focusing on small-scale, fragmented household economies; they have not invested in modern technology and techniques in production…

PV: To overcome difficulties and expand the collective economic model and ensure long-term stability of local entrepreneurship as desired , what plans does the Women 's Union of the district have for the future?

Ms. Pham Thi Huong: In the coming period, to more effectively implement the "Project to support women's entrepreneurship , " the Ky Anh District Women's Union will focus on carrying out the following specific tasks:

Coordinate with all levels and sectors to strengthen propaganda work, provide information, and offer advice and support to women in developing production and business of products and services that meet market demands; encourage women to actively participate in economic models along the value chain, focusing on the production and consumption of safe products.

The Women's Union of the district actively supports women so that economic models, businesses, cooperatives, and production groups owned by women have the opportunity to access the policies of Ha Tinh province.

Coordinate with specialized agencies to review and promptly resolve difficulties and obstacles, and actively support women so that economic models, businesses, cooperatives, and production groups owned by women can access the policies of Ha Tinh province.

Enhancing the productivity and operational efficiency of businesses, cooperatives, and production groups owned by women for sustainable and high-quality development. This will help women develop an "open," dynamic, and creative economic development mindset as they strive to become wealthy , assert their role and position in the family, and contribute more to society.

Mobilize resources, organize training to disseminate policies, transfer scientific and technical knowledge, and provide vocational training for women. Coordinate and expand vocational training linkages, counseling, and job placement according to the needs of the labor market. In addition, the Association continues to equip women with knowledge of business management, skills in finding and accessing markets, applying digital technology to production and business; and skills in protecting members' rights when participating in local economic value chains.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/ha-tinh-tao-dien-dan-khoi-day-tinh-than-khoi-nghiep-trong-cac-tang-lop-phu-nu-20240611120821549.htm