Facebook, in partnership with the Women’s Initiative for Start-ups and Entrepreneurship (WISE), organised the Women Innovation Festival in Ha Noi on March 30.

The event aimed to honour the contributions of women, especially female entrepreneurs, to the country’s socio-economic development and kick-start the third year of #SheMeansBusiness, an initiative that celebrates and empowers women entrepreneurs in Viet Nam.

“We are glad to see that many Vietnamese women have overcome barriers and achieved remarkable business results and affirmed their important roles in society. We hope to inspire more women to become successful entrepreneurs,” said CEO of WISE, Tu Thu Hien, at the event.

“Facebook is a critical partner to help us achieve that goal and we look forward to continuing this strong partnership to inspire, nurture and support more success stories of female entrepreneurs in Viet Nam,” added Hien.

“Launched in 2017, #SheMeansBusiness has helped more than 3,000 women to build and grow their business online and achieve greater financial security. In 2019, we set a goal to expand the initiative to at least 4,000 women in Viet Nam, providing digital skills they need to grow as business owners and contributing to their local economies and communities,” said Beth Ann Lim, Head of Community Affairs, APAC, Facebook.

The event was attended by nearly 1,500 female entrepreneurs and Government representatives. It aims at inspiring more Vietnamese women, nurturing their dream of start-ups by providing capital, training, connecting female entrepreneurs and helping to close the gap on the untapped opportunity for millions of women.

Through a series of workshops, talks and experience exchange sessions from women leaders in business, the festival was a playground for female entrepreneurs to access new markets, new customers, new products and a chance to build a sustainable business.

According to the latest Future of Business report conducted by Facebook, the World Bank and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), nearly 80 per cent of Vietnamese female entrepreneurs on Facebook say that social media was helpful to their business. They also benefited from community and mentorship. About 60 per cent said they have had a role model, of which nearly 67 per cent said that their role model was a woman. Vietnamese women have actively learnt and embraced technology to grow their business. — VNS