Facebook has launched #SheMeansBusiness in Viet Nam, an initiative that celebrates and empowers women entrepreneurs across the country, at a ceremony on Wednesday in Ha Noi.

The initiative will run in partnership with the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur’s Council (VWEC) and the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), which supports women entrepreneurs through investment and technology development, training and capacity building.

"We are excited to partner with Facebook to introduce #SheMeansBusiness in Viet Nam. The programme will help Vietnamese women learn how to start and grow their businesses,” Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, chairwoman of VWEC and vice president of Central Council of the Viet Nam Business Associations, said.

“We hope to inspire more women to grow their businesses because the next successful entrepreneur could be anyone. A developed society is reflected by the rising status and role of women, and investing in women’s entrepreneurship brings benefit and prosperity to countries,” Minh added.

Through a series of workshops, training sessions and online resources, #SheMeansBusiness will arm women entrepreneurs with the knowledge, connections, skills and technology required to build and grow their business online.

“#SheMeansBusiness will not only connect entrepreneurial women with empowering tools, peers and networks, but also raise greater awareness of the importance of women’s entrepreneurship for overall economic and social development,” Clair Deevy, ‎head of Economic Growth Initiatives, APAC at Facebook, said.

“Along with the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur’s Council, we are closer to making Viet Nam an even better place for women to start and run a business,” Deevy said.

By not addressing the challenges facing women who want to start a business, Viet Nam is missing out on a potential boost to the economy, according to new research released Wednesday by Facebook. The study reveals that four in five women in Viet Nam would like to start a business. If only half of these women were empowered to start a business today, it would not only boost economic growth, but also help to build 1.1 million new businesses and create 3.9 million additional jobs – all by the end of 2021.

Despite the fact that entrepreneurship is the engine of economic growth, Vietnamese women still admit to facing many barriers to starting and growing their own business. In Viet Nam, the two main barriers to starting one’s own businesses are personal financial security (35 per cent) and lack of direction (35 per cent). The research also revealed the lack of access to finance (34 per cent) and the level of readiness to start a business (32 per cent) as additional barriers. — VNS