On January 23, 2024, in Hanoi, the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), organized a Workshop to release the report "Promoting business growth through removing barriers: White Paper on Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) led by women in Vietnam." At the Workshop, BIDV representatives, experts, and speakers exchanged and provided helpful information promoting the development of women-led enterprises in Vietnam.

IWhite Paper on SMEs led by women in Vietnam

The White Paper, co-developed by the ADB and the Enterprise Development Agency (Ministry of Planning and Investment), is a product of the "Accelerating the Powerful Entrepreneurship of Women in Southeast Asia and the Pacific (WAVES)" Program, funded by the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative (We-Fi). The publication includes critical content on the operational status of women-led SMEs in Vietnam; resource, social, and COVID-19 impact-related barriers; assessment of supporting policies, legal frameworks, and regulations; international experience and best practices; and several conclusions and recommendations to promote the development of women-led SMEs.

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The Workshop to Release the White Paper

At the Workshop, a Ministry of Planning and Investment representative evaluated that women-led enterprises are essential to achieving Vietnam's inclusive and sustainable development goals. The findings and recommendations of the White Paper are hoped to be helpful information for reference and research by relevant government management agencies and organizations to create even more favorable conditions for women entrepreneurs to develop commensurate with this sector's potential and role, thereby positively contributing to achieving the country's gender equality and sustainable development goals.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong - a representative from BIDV, shared information at the Workshop to release the White Paper

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong - Deputy Director of the BIDV Corporate Banking Department said:

BIDV has identified the task of "maintaining the leading market share position in the SME customer segment" as one of the six key objectives of its Business Development Strategy until 2025, with a vision to 2030. To implement this strategy, in addition to its inherent financial capacity, tradition, and experience in developing the corporate customer segment, in recent years, BIDV has been continuously building comprehensive solutions, improving and enhancing the quality of services for SMEs, especially SMEs led by women. BIDV provides credit support and advises and accompanies customers on their development path; simultaneously, it strives to create a difference that brings added value to the community.

Currently, BIDV is the leading commercial bank in Vietnam in terms of total assets, reaching VND 2.26 quadrillion; outstanding loans reached VND 1.75 quadrillion; the total number of corporate customers reached about 500,000; and the number of SME customers has increased, and continuously, ranking number one in market share in Vietnam.

To support and accompany SMEs, BIDV has implemented many financial and non-financial programs intended to increase access to capital for business operations and enhance the internal capacity of customers. Typical examples are: (i) Indirect lending program from the SME Development Fund, with a scale of VND 2,000 billion, preferential short-term interest rate of 1.2% per year and long-term rate of 4.4% per year, for viable production and business projects in priority and encouraged areas; (ii) Comprehensive financial program to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on WSMEs; (iii) Building and operating the BIDV SMEasy digital platform to provide comprehensive integrated solutions on the digital ecosystem for SMEs; (iv) Digital transformation program together with SMEs...

The senior leaders of the Ministry of Planning and Investment and the ADB, along with the delegates, took a commemorative photo;

Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong - representative of BIDV, stands second from the left.

The effectiveness of the technical assistance projects co-implemented by ADB and BIDV demonstrates their joint efforts and support for SMEs to access comprehensive financial and non-financial solutions. At the same time, it reflects BIDV's efforts to become the bank with the largest SME customer market share in Vietnam.