Women-Owned Enterprises in Vietnam : Perceptions and Potential
Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are vital to Vietnam’s economic growth, accounting for more than 98 percent of all business, 40 percent of Gross domestic product (GDP), and 50 percent of total employment. The number of SMEs grew by around 100,...
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English |
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Washington, DC
2018
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/698121515566252663/Main-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29197 |
| Summary: | Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are
vital to Vietnam’s economic growth, accounting for more than
98 percent of all business, 40 percent of Gross domestic
product (GDP), and 50 percent of total employment. The
number of SMEs grew by around 100,000 in 2016, encouraged in
part by increased government efforts to facilitate new
business. Vietnam’s women own 95,906 or about 21 percent of
formal enterprises. Vietnam has fewer differences between
the legal statuses of men and women. However, most banks
have yet to consider adopting strategies that cater to
women-owned SMEs. Even when women entrepreneurs do qualify
for a bank loan, they tend to receive less than what they
asked for, and lower amounts than men. This report reframes
these and other perceived challenges of serving this segment
as an opportunity for banks and other service providers to
capture a growing market of savvy businesswomen who seek
better services to grow their firms. By recognizing the
needs of business women and demonstrating a more nuanced
approach to serving them, this report makes the case that
championing rather than dismissing women’s preferences can
in fact make a big difference in terms of customer
acquisition and sales volumes over time. |
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