Outcome VNM_D_2.1

SN Outcome 2 (CF Outcome 3). Shared Prosperity through Economic Transformation By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work.

In 2024, UN Women’s efforts in Viet Nam remained on track, making significant contributions toward a more sustainable, inclusive, and gender-responsive economic transformation. Key results were achieved in several areas, including advancing gender-responsive businesses, promoting women’s entrepreneurship, enhancing livelihood security for women, ensuring sustainable access to clean water, and fostering strong engagement with the private sector to drive gender equality. A total of 719 private sector companies enhanced their capacity to implement gender equality and women’s empowerment policies, aligning with the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs). These efforts spanned businesses, supply chains, and communities. Notably, 17 companies were recognized with the UN Women WEPs Awards 2024 for their exceptional work. UN Women WEPs Awards 2024 Ceremony UN Women also focused on raising awareness and fostering action within workplaces to create safer, more equitable environments. This included engaging 902 leaders and staff from four private sector companies, as well as 1000 passengers on three flights, to drive gender equality initiatives within their organizations. Women-owned and led SMEs saw strengthened access to markets, resources, and services, enhancing their capacity for business digitalization. A total of 19 successful sales contracts were signed between women-owned businesses and buyers, and 110 business connections were created, involving the exchange of samples, quotations, testing, and negotiations on sale conditions. A milestone partnership between UN Women Viet Nam and Vietnam Airlines was launched in October 2024, marking the first-ever collaboration of its kind between UN Women and a private sector entity in Viet Nam. This partnership, which spans 2024 to 2026, focuses on advancing inclusive practices and addressing gender-based challenges within both the business and the community. Key commitments of the partnership include: (i) promoting gender equality through HeForShe campaigns targeted at 400 male employees, (ii) building gender awareness among 300 staff members, and (iii) integrating gender-responsive procurement policies to enhance the inclusion of women-owned businesses. The achievements of this outcome in 2024 have significantly contributed to a more sustainable, inclusive, and gender-responsive economic transformation, fostering gender-responsive enterprises, advancing women’s entrepreneurship, ensuring resilient livelihoods, and supporting financing for gender equality. These efforts directly contribute to the achievement of SDG 5 (Gender Equality), SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality).

SN Outcome 2 (CF Outcome 3). Shared Prosperity through Economic Transformation By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work.

The outcome 2 “Shared prosperity through economic transformation” was on track in the reporting year , focusing on women’s entrepreneurship development policies and sustainable resilient livelihoods. Two notable policies linked to support women-owned small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) adopted in 2023 as a result of UN Women’s contribution of supports for the past three years for this legislation by generating evidence and advocating with law makers. The Ministry of Finance adopted the Circular 52/2023/TT-BTC [1] on 8 August 2023 to guide the mechanism to use the State Budget for provisions in the Government Decree 80/2021/NÐ-CP that regulates supporting policies for SMEs [2] . This new Circular means that women-owned SMEs, SMEs employing many female workers and social enterprises have more opportunities to benefit from supporting policies using the State Budget because the Decree 80/2021/NÐ-CP regulates specific preferential provisions on technical advisory support and human resource development support for women-owned SMEs, SMEs employing many female workers, and social enterprises and the principle that these enterprises shall remain a priority for all types of support. Following the Government Decree 80/2021/NÐ-CP , the Circular 06/2022/TT-BKHDT [3] and the Circular 52/2023/TT-BTC, on 17 August 2023, the Ha Noi People’s Committee Office adopted the Decision No. 4120/QD-UBND - Supporting human resource development training for small and medium-sized enterprises owned by women (WSMEs) and SMEs that employ a lot of female workers in Hanoi city 2023-2025 [4] . Target groups to be supported are WSMEs and SMEs that employ many female workers, agencies and organizations supporting SMEs; female entrepreneurs Associations and Clubs in Hanoi city. The support includes training courses on business start-up (1,500 participants), business administration (3,000 participants), advance business management with in-depth knowledge for CEOs (1,000 participants), technical training (training topics to be assessed and decided) at manufacturing and processing enterprises in craft villages (230 SMEs x 15 participants/SMEs = 3,450 participants). Budget for carrying out this Plan is all from the State budget. Ha Noi Department of Planning and Investment is leading and implementing the Plan. This year, UN Women has contributed to this process by engaging related policy makers of Ministry, Departments of Planning and Investment and Ministry of Finance in a number of (i) field missions to facilitate and attend technical focus group discussions and consultation with related provincial authorities, women entrepreneur associations and women-owned SMEs on supporting policies for women owned businesses and (ii) workshops on strengthening capacity and competitiveness of women owned businesses for better access to the market and supply chains; (iii) training workshops on better access to the market through supplier diversity and gender responsive procurement. In addition to policy advocacy, in 2023, 1,443 vulnerable women living in rural areas in Tien Giang province strengthened their economic resilience and recovery from the impact of COVID-19 with financial and technical support from UN Women. These are women with disabilities, women heading households, pregnant women, and women with children under 2 years old, women over 60 years old, victims of violence, women with HIV or chronic illnesses, ethnic minority women, and female migrant workers. The livelihoods of 1,443 poor, near poor and vulnerable households have been rebuilt up using received financial support of 5,500,000 VND (200 USD) and technical knowledge of husbandry/cultivation techniques, small business start-up models and household economic planning and management. Moreover, while this support is to empower women in the household and the community, it advanced their capacity and confidence to step up income generation activities in their home, which contributed to changes in social norms in the community on women’s role and capacity in economic development. Additionally, innovative communication media including radio broadcasting on livelihood good practices, and GBV knowledge dissemination coverage was also implemented to raise public awareness on gender-based discrimination and violence, particularly exacerbated by the challenges posed by COVID-19 as one of VCO’s efforts to influence social norms and address the impact of gender-based discrimination and violence. Through the collaboration with the provincial Women’s Unions of Tien Giang and Ho Chi Minh City, two government agencies have increased capacity/knowledge in assisting women micro owned enterprises with UN Women’s support, to assist women-owned enterprises, women-led cooperatives to develop, implement and adopt resilient livelihood and business models. The achievement of this Outcome in 2023 has contributed to more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on women’s entrepreneurship development policies, sustainable resilient livelihoods, and financing for gender equality which contributes to achieving the aims of SDG 5, 8 and SDG 10. [1] https://vanban.chinhphu.vn/?pageid=27160&docid=208469 [2] The Government Decree 80/2021/NÐ-CP regulates supporting policies for SMEs in which there are (i) specific preferential provisions on technical advisory support and human resource development support for women-owned SMEs, SMEs employing many female workers and are social enterprises; (ii) principal that women-owned SMEs, SMEs employing many female workers, and social enterprises shall be prioritized for all other types of support. [3] The Circular 06/2022/TT-BKHDT was adopted by the Ministry of Planning and Investment to guide some provisions of the Government Decree 80/2021/NÐ-CP on supporting policies for SMEs [4] The Decision No. 4120/QD-UBND supports WSMEs and SMEs that employ many female workers, agencies and organizations supporting SMEs; female entrepreneurs Associations and Clubs in Hanoi city including training courses on business start-up (1,500 participants), business administration (3,000 participants), advance business management with in-depth knowledge for CEOs (1,000 participants), technical training (training topics to be assessed and decided) at manufacturing and processing enterprises in craft villages (230 SMEs x 15 participants/SMEs = 3,450 participants). Budget for carrying out this Plan comes exclusively from the State budget. Ha Noi Department of Planning and Investment is leading and implementing the Plan.

SN Outcome 2 (CF Outcome 3). Shared Prosperity through Economic Transformation By 2026, people in Viet Nam, especially those at risk of being left behind, will contribute to and benefit equitably from more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on innovation, entrepreneurship, enhanced productivity, competitiveness, and decent work.

The outcome was on track in the reporting year. The new Circular 06/2022/TT-BKHÐT guiding some provisions of the Decree 80/2021 NÐCP regulating details and guidance of the SMEs' Supporting Law was adopted by the Vice-Minister of Planning and Investment in May 2022 https://thuvienphapluat.vn/van-ban/Doanh-nghiep/Thong-tu-06-2022-TT-BKHDT-huong-dan-Nghi-dinh-80-2021-ND-CP-514234.aspx . UN Women’s technical support was made it possible through a strong partnership with the Agency for Enterprises Development of the Ministry of Planning and Investment (AED – MPI) in making joint gender review to assess the implementation of the related Law and Decree which provided evidence-based recommendations, organizing technical consultation and policy advocacy workshops with related public and private stakeholders for gender mainstreaming in the new Circular. As the result, the Circular included gender responsive regulations such: (i) the recognition of “women-owned SMEs” and “enterprises that employ many women workers;” and (ii) the requirement for SMEs supporting agencies and organizations to prioritize budget for supporting women-owned SMEs and enterprises that employ many women workers and social SMEs. This new Circular will bring positive impact and benefits to millions of women-owned enterprises, women entrepreneurs, and enterprises that employ many women workers, contribute to more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation. UN Women worked to strengthen relevant government partners’ accountability to gender equality and women’s economic empowerment in order to improve innovation capacities and increase productivity and profitability of sustainable resilient livelihood models. At national level UN Women documented good examples and initiatives by the Vietnam Women Union on women’s economic empowerment, later shared at National Forum on Agriculture and Extension Services, with the participation of Agriculture Extension Services leaders from 63 provinces. UN Women has actively strengthened the capacity of relevant stakeholders in mainstreaming gender into financial strategies to 2030 of Viet Nam and advocating for the development of an integrated financial framework toward achieving SDGs in Viet Nam. The achievement of this Outcome in 2022 has contributed to more sustainable, inclusive and gender-responsive economic transformation based on women entrepreneurship development policies, sustainable resilient livelihood, and financing for gender equality which contribute to the achievement of SDG 5, 8 and SDG 10.