Dutch-Vietnamese investors celebrate female entrepreneurship on 4 locations simultaneously

After a year in which DBAV had to resort to online activities, the association of Dutch businesses now seized the opportunities to co-host a celebration of female entrepreneurship together with our friends of the Dutch Embassy; Vietrade; She Trades Vietnam. The event was attended by more than 250 people over 3 cities in 4 locations. 

Do Thang Hai, Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade, Elsbeth Akkerman, Ambassador of Kingdom of the Netherlands to Vietnam, and Alexander Koch, chairman of the Dutch Business Association in Vietnam hosted the event.

The business dinner was the festive closure of the activities of the project “Enhancing the capacity for women entrepreneurs to own in the digital economy” (e-SWB Vietnam) funded by the Netherlands government and implemented by the Vietnam Trade Promotion Agency (Vietrade) and the Netherlands Embassy to Vietnam.

More than 600 women entrepreneurs participated in the training sessions under the framework of e-SWB Vietnam and 60 business plans were submitted to the competition.

Host of the evening in Ho Chi Minh City was Alexander Koch, DBAV Chairman.

At DBAVs core is the passion to help entrepreneurs and members
succeed in Vietnam, no matter what gender or background. The Dutch have always been renowned for their entrepreneurship
and tradership. Our entrepreneurial spirit is a character trait that
we share with the Vietnamese. The resilience of the Vietnamese
people, driven by their inherited entrepreneurship, is so
impressive.

Vietrade director Vu Ba Phu valued the great significance of this competition and e-SWB Vietnam project to the capacity enhancement of participated women entrepreneurs, especially in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Award Gala was co-organised by Vietrade, the Netherlands Embassy to Vietnam, and the Dutch Business Association in Vietnam, with a livestream to connect more than 250 guests in four different venues.

Nguyen Thi Huyen from Simple Decor JSC. won the best business plan on creating a sustainable ecosystem of handicraft products based on digital transformation. Thirty-nine other business plans from other business-led enterprises won the second, third and encouragement prizes.

Speaking at the ceremony, Deputy Minister Do Thang Hai emphasised that women in general and women business leaders continue to play a pivotal role in socioeconomic development. In dire circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous women-owned businesses have still developed with the help of this programme, being great inspiration for young generation and startups.

Ambassador Akkerman highlighted that trade, investment and gender equality are key to job creation, economic growth and sustainable development. She said,

“Women are half of the world’s population and should therefore be equally represented in the business world. But that is however not the case… yet. We should all be aware of that. And we should all do everything we can to change that.”

During the event, the distinguished guests also witnessed the signing ceremony of an MoU on the establishment of the Shetrades Office in Vietnam, between Pamela Coke-Hamilton, executive director of the International Trade Center (ITC) signing from Geneva, and Viettrade director Phu signing from Hanoi. The Shetrades Office in Vietnam is expected to make an important contribution to support Vietnamese businesswomen to start up or expand their businesses, as well as to access international markets.