"Clean" credit helps women develop economically.

Over the years, activities supporting women's poverty alleviation and economic development have been given attention and promoted by all levels of the Women's Union, with many practical activities linked to mobilizing women to implement key local economic programs…

Ms. Nguyen Thi Nga from Me Pu commune (Duc Linh district), who recently had a successful durian harvest thanks to a good crop and good prices, shared: "A few years ago, my family was extremely poor. We had 5 sao (approximately 0.5 hectares) of farmland in Ta Pua but lacked the capital to invest. Seeing many households around us growing coffee, durian, and Thai jackfruit, my family only grew cassava for short-term income. During a women's group meeting, the women learned about our situation and offered us a loan. We borrowed 30 million dong plus our savings to invest in durian cultivation. Now, in our third harvest, we have a considerable surplus. The principal loan from the bank, disbursed through the Women's Union, has been repaid. For the past two years, thanks to durian, my children have been able to attend university more comfortably. This year, we plan to use the money from the durian harvest to build a new house…" This is just one of many stories of women in the province who, thanks to the Women's Union's capital and bank loans disbursed through the Union, have been able to improve their family's economic situation, escape poverty, and become wealthy.

Many women have access to "clean" credit.

Ms. Le Thi Hai Yen, President of the Provincial Women's Union, stated: The Women's Union has always prioritized and promoted activities to support women in accessing loans for economic development and sustainable poverty reduction through various forms. The Women's Union at all levels proactively connects women with sources of capital from banks, programs, and projects to support women in borrowing for economic development. To date, 56,545 women have borrowed a total of over 2.912 billion VND. The Women's Union maintains savings groups, revolving fund groups, and women's groups that leverage their internal resources to help each other develop family economies. Currently, the province has 735 savings groups/revolving fund groups/15,889 members/69.203 billion VND/helping 15,389 women. In the first nine months of 2023, women's associations at all levels mobilized savings, idle capital, and internal resources from members and groups to support 192 disadvantaged women and members with loans to develop their family economies, totaling 1.583 billion VND. They actively encouraged cadres, members, and women to participate in the "Savings Day for the Poor" program, resulting in the opening of 457 savings accounts with a total amount exceeding 8.476 billion VND…

In mid-September 2023, the Provincial Women's Union and the State Bank of Vietnam's Binh Thuan branch signed a cooperation program for credit in the period 2023-2027 to promote the achievement of gender equality goals. The program aims to improve the effectiveness of the bank and the Women's Union in implementing policies on inclusive finance, credit for agricultural and rural development, Social Policy Bank credit, and other credit sources to facilitate women's access to appropriate credit. The cooperation program will effectively implement policies and laws regarding social policy credit, credit for agricultural and rural development, and other types of credit. It will also organize activities to improve the effectiveness of the National Inclusive Finance Strategy, focusing on financial education for women, contributing to curbing illegal lending.

Through the coordinated program, women will gain access to "clean" credit, reducing the problem of illegal lending. Simultaneously, it will enhance the effectiveness of women's associations in implementing the Party's guidelines and the State's policies and laws. This is especially important in implementing policies on inclusive finance, credit for agricultural and rural development, and other credit sources to facilitate women's access to suitable credit for production and business development, job creation, income improvement, and other essential living needs.

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