Hanoi, April 15, 2005 — The Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC) and The Committee 200 (C200) will host the Vietnam-US Women Entrepreneurs Conference on April 18-20, 2005 in Hanoi. The Mekong Private Sector Development Facility (MPDF) and The Gender-Entrepreneurship-Markets (GEM) of the International Financial Corporation (IFC) are co-sponsoring the event.
The Vietnam-US Women Entrepreneurs Conference is an effort to promote business opportunities and highlight the significant role of women entrepreneurs in society. This is also a core priority of VWEC, C200 and IFC-MPDF-GEM’s “Gender and Private Sector Development” program.
More than 100 Vietnamese and American women entrepreneurs representing many industries will participate in the event. During the three-day conference, distinguished guests like Vice President of the Republic of Vietnam Trương Mỹ Hoa, Vice Prime Minister Vũ Khoan and US Ambassador Michael W. Marine will give talks on subjects such as challenges in the global economy, women entrepreneurs’ secrets to business success, family values and family-career balance.
“The Conference is a great chance for Vietnamese businesswomen to meet, exchange ideas and resources, share hands-on experience related to accessing markets, accessing capital and management with their American counterparts. Most importantly, it’s an opportunity to discuss business deals with the successful US businesswomen who are members of C200,” said Dr. Phạm Thị Thu Hằng, Vice President, VWEC. “I fully expect to witness contracts being signed during this event.”
This event will also serve as a forum for participants to discuss the agenda of gender equality in business as well as promote the role of women entrepreneurs in the greater business community.
“Under the theme ‘Business Opportunities-Family Values-Social Status’, we also wish to send a message to millions of Vietnamese women that women entrepreneurs possess tremendous capacity, and by becoming active in business, they can contribute a great deal to developing families and society.” said Dr. Hang.
“I think there is huge potential for women entrepreneurs to contribute to economic development of the country. It is well recognized all over the world that women entrepreneurs are the largest source of untapped growth. Women currently own 25-33% of registered business globally, but the possibility is much greater than that. That is also the case in Vietnam,” said Nguyễn Phương Quỳnh Trang, Manager of IFC-MPDF’s Business Enabling Environment Program. “Co-sponsoring this event is our way of stating our belief in the importance of women entrepreneurs. Going forward, MPDF will continue to work towards creating a business environment that enables both women and men in business to grow.”
The Vietnam-US Women Entrepreneurs Conference is a first step in a partnership between VWEC, C200 and IFC-MPDF that aims to create business opportunities between Vietnamese and American women entrepreneurs and also a greater awareness of issues facing women in business in Vietnam. “VWEC and our partners commit to help empower Vietnamese women entrepreneurs to succeed in business as well as balance their personal and professional lives.” added Dr. Hằng.
