Women entrepreneurs become inspiration for business community

Established in September 2022, WeLead is a network of trailblazing women leaders who are driving change towards a more equal, professional, and sustainable future. Its mission is to uplift and empower female entrepreneurs and women-led businesses through transformative change, collaborative efforts, and creative solutions.

WeLead founder Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, founder of WeLead shared, “We take a proactive and collaborative approach to driving change. We work closely with our network of domestic and international partners to develop initiatives, programmes, and resources that address the unique challenges faced by women entrepreneurs and businesses. Our focus is on providing practical, actionable solutions that empower women to achieve their full potential.”

The company will take part in an online talk show on March 8 organised by Vietnam Investment Review. To assess the role and contributions of women entrepreneurs in the development of enterprises, the event titled “Women entrepreneurs: inspirational people for business networking”, will be livestreamed on vir.com.vn, baodautu.vn and VIR’s Facebook pages.

At the event, female influencers from various groups and associations will share their personal stories and insights into how women can be the change they wish to see.

The participants will also make appropriate recommendations to help businesses set standards and establish a fair working environment, supporting women to improve their position in business, thereby contributing to promoting social and sustainable development.

Vietnam expects to see 27 per cent of women-led entrepreneurs out of all enterprises by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030, with an aim to meet the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on gender equality and work/economic growth.

According to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2021, Vietnam ranks sixth among the countries with the highest percentage of female entrepreneurs and is the only Asian representative in the global top 10. According to statistics from the Vietnam Association for Women Entrepreneurs, the number of female-owned small- and medium-sized enterprises has increased rapidly in recent years and currently accounts for a quarter of the total number active in Vietnam, the highest in Southeast Asia.

On the topic, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh said, “Vietnamese women have made great contributions to the nation’s revolutionary cause throughout history, then and now. Female entrepreneurs have become the ones who transmit positive energy to employees and associates; maintain business operations, help businesses overcome difficulties, accompany in realising the government’s dual goals of both effective disease prevention and economic recovery and development.”

Being present for the young entrepreneur generation, we have the desire to connect with each other to improve the position of the Vietnamese entrepreneur community to world-class level. When I was young, I listened to the discussion between my parents and other entrepreneurs about their preoccupation to take the Vietnam brand across the globe.

If each entrepreneur thinks and acts for this general target instead of private targets, we will establish a closed link network in the entrepreneur community. Our generation grew up in the era of social networks, and we are used to the mindset that we are not individual successful entrepreneurs, and want to build a successful community.

Like many other entrepreneurs, I pursue the philosophy of living to the fullest, optimising all our wisdom and resources, and doing the best things for myself, my family, my business, and society, whether it is for health or money.

Alongside the job, I want to spread positivity to society. I am also the initiator and operator of the Alphanam Green Foundation, which promotes initiatives for environmental protection and social development, towards building greener, cleaner, and more beautiful cities.

I also established the VietSeeds Foundation, aiming to support Vietnamese students to approach higher education, and I am a member of the patronage council of the Fund to Support Community Development and Sustainable Living.

All female entrepreneurs, through their successful business stories and social activities, play pioneering roles in changing the awareness of gender equality in businesses, especially in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Workplace gender equality (WGE) is still a relatively new concept for Vietnamese enterprises. We are assisting other organisations in educating themselves with WGE knowledge, assessing the situation, and achieving gender equality by acting and utilising relevant assessments and strategies.

So far, we have been widely recognised as a WGE centre of excellence in Vietnam by both the business community and social organisations. Vietnamese firms, particularly large corporations, are increasingly focused on long-term development goals and WGE-related issues in particular.

In Vietnam, awareness of gender equality in the workplace is still quite low. Some business leaders still believe that it entails having a perfectly balanced workforce in terms of male-female ratio, or preferential practices for women. However, we must recognise that gender equality benefits both genders.

Vietnamese women are just as eager as males to advance and obtain senior management positions, and 84 per cent of people from both genders said they aspire to senior management jobs. This figure is greater in Vietnam than in other surveyed nations in the region.

With the desire to liberate the inner strength of women, we founded the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Women Executives and Entrepreneurs (HAWEE).

Being a social, voluntary, and professional association for businesswomen, HAWEE gathers female executives and entrepreneurs from all business sectors, as well as organisations in the field of manufacturing, trading, and services. The association connects and enhances the power and impact of women by helping them strengthen their leadership and image.

PNJ also cooperates with members of HAWEE to organse meaningful social activities to support disadvantaged women and help them to overcome difficulties.

For a long-term vision, we are expanding the female entrepreneur’s network on the back of the success of the ASEAN Bridge ++ forum in September 2022. The forum’s goal was to promote trade in the region, expand opportunities for multi-directional links, and facilitate trade for businesses to develop the region’s economy through business matching events. It also hopes to promote a green circular economy based on sustainable development.

We have established seven principles to empower women, creating an environment for the female to promote their abilities and explore their inner strengths. Through these principles, we learn, apply, and tailor programmes relating to gender equality to suit the culture and business activities of the company.

Women-led businesses comprise about 60 per cent of all micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises in Asia and the Pacific. However, these enterprises face capital constraints which hamper their growth and development.

The global economy is changing with the Fourth Industrial Revolution –presenting great opportunities and challenges for women entrepreneurs and women-owned enterprises in accessing and entering the digital economy.

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, chairwoman of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) talked with VIR’s Thai An about the growth of the community, as well as the necessary support required for female entrepreneurs to start and develop businesses successfully in the digital age.