Hundreds of female entrepreneurs received knowledge and experience in building a business during an event held within the framework of WECREATE! VIETNAM on February 16 in Ha Noi.

WECREATE!VIETNAM, part of an initiative of the US Department of State and business acceleration programme Startup Cup, aimed to provide women economic empowerment as a way to address gender equality.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, president of the Women Entrepreneurs Council, said female entrepreneurs needed support in terms of know-how and policies to start a business, which was critical to promote the development of women-led firms. Viet Nam was targeting 35 per cent of businesses to be led by women in the country’s gender equality strategy, Minh said.

Minh said that Viet Nam needed to clarify the definition of a start-up which would serve as a base for policy-making and develop a start-up ecosystem.

According to Dam Quang Thang, a member of the Start-up Executive Board, with the government’s support and high entrepreneurship spirit, the time was ripe for Vietnamese start-ups to boom.

Viet Nam’s goal was to have one million efficient firms by 2020 and the government was focussed on promoting the development of start-ups and small and medium-sized firms.

Ngo Thu Huyen, owner and founder of TeaHouse Hanoi, said that she learnt a lot from WECREATE! VIETNAM’s conference. “I know there will be difficulties and challenges but I will never give up.”

Launched in October 2016, WECREATE! VIETNAM has provided training to more than 180 entrepreneurs and created 18 start-up groups.

The initiative aimed to coach nearly 1,400 women-led firms in developing their business ideas, contribute to founding 121 new firms and create 2,200 jobs as well as equipping women with necessary knowledge and skills for success. — VNS