24% of Vietnamese businesses owned by women
According to the report “Doing business in Vietnam: Perspective of women-owned enterprises” by Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), by the end of September 2019, the country had more than 285,700 women-owned enterprises, accounting for 24%. This is the highest rate in the Southeast Asia region. However, most of these enterprises are small and micro business, operating primarily in the service sector.
According to VCCI, the number of women-owned business tends to increase. In 2016, Vietnam has only 22% of woman-owned business. However, this figure still fails to meet the target: 30% women-owned enterprises by 2015 and 35% by 2020.
The interest rate in a female-owned enterprise is 64% and higher than the 63% in a male-owned enterprise. The challenges facing female business owners include accessing resources, information, knowledge, skills and business networks.