Hanoi (VNA) – More than 150 delegates from ministries, international organisations,research institutions, business associations, enterprises, and womenentrepreneurs nationwide shared experience and called for initiatives andefforts for women’s economic empowerment in Vietnam, at a conference in Hanoion May 10.

The conference “WeEmpowerAsiaJourney” was organised by the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) underthe Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the United NationsEntity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women). It came within the frameworkof the programme WeEmpowerAsia funded by the European Union (EU).

A hybrid event(physical and virtual) aiming to share successful results and lessons afterthree years of implementation (2019-2022) in Vietnam, it provided authorities andenterprises with information and experience to replicate initiatives on women’seconomic empowerment and promote equal employment, income and a decent workingenvironment for sustainable businesses and society.

Nguyen Thi TuyetMinh, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council, the VietnamChamber of Commerce and Industry, said the conference reflects not only theimprints of the journey but also a great opportunity for stakeholders todiscuss the sustainability of the project achievement as an element for thenext journey to accompany and support enterprises and women entrepreneurs ofVWEC and UN Women.

Elisa FernandezSaenz, Representative of UN Women Vietnam, said while the achievements of theWeEmpowerAsia programme are promising, it is important to keep in mind thatmoving from commitment to action requires political commitment and intentionalefforts from all stakeholders to enable women to fully engage, participate andbenefit from the gender-inclusive businesses and working environments on equalgrounds.

Le Thanh,Programme Manager of the European Union Delegation, stressed that it would beimportant to ensure that women equally contribute to and benefit from the dualgreen-digital transition process of Vietnam, in the post-pandemic context.

The programme“Promoting Economic Empowerment of Women at Work in Asia” (WeEmpowerAsia) is acollaborative effort between UN Women and the EU, funded under its PartnershipInstrument, implemented 2019-2022, in partnership with Vietnam WomenEntrepreneur Council, Agency for Enterprise Development, Assistance Centre forSMEs in the North of Ministry of Planning and Investment, Institute of LabourScience and Social Affairs of Ministry of Labour-Invalid and Social Affairs,and Vietnam Women's Academy of Viet Nam Women’s Union. 

After the three-yearimplementation, WeEmpowerAsia has achieved numerous key results. Notably, ithas strengthen the capacity of 3,323 women-owned enterprises to adapt andmanage business to COVID-19 and the new normal.

The programme hasbuilt a web-based gender responsive enterprise assessment tool for SMEs in theportal of Agency for Enterprise Development, and opened 15 e-learning courseson business management and leadership skills for businesswomen on theE-learning Platform of The Assistance Centre for SMEs in the North, with 7,700women receiving the training.

It has alsolunched 10 e-learning courses on women entrepreneur’s start-up and developmenton the e-learning platform of the Vietnam Women's Academy, benefiting 3,000women./.