Access to micro finance programmes has helped thousands of women in Vietnam escape poverty and furthered the gender equality agenda. Poor women have benefited greatly from credit programmes run by Vietnam Bank for Social Policies and the Vietnam Women Union A 2016 report by the General Statistics Office of Vietnam showed that 44 per cent out of the 26.2 million female workers in Vietnam are employed in the agricultural sector. This means agriculture depends on women to grow. However, 62.4 per cent of these women work without pay in their households and 41.1 per cent are only employed for menial work. Upon seeing this, Vietnam Bank for Social Policies (VBSP) decided to help poor Vietnamese women gain access to credit so that they can set up their own business and escape poverty for good. When women can fend for themselves, social welfare will improve and the agricultural sector will benefit greatly, said VBSP. The bank then collaborated closely with the Vietnam Women Union (VWU), which is now the biggest benefactor of VBSP’s capital, out of all organisations and associations. Until now, the VWU has been managing 68,991 financial unions with VND72 trillion ($3.13 billion) of outstanding loans for 2.6 million households. The programme is designed for poor households and students who need financial aid to complete their studies. Through 16 years of collaboration, the VWU and VBSP have been holding regular meetings at local financial unions. In these meetings, local women are taught practical lessons on how to take out… [Read full story]
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