High female business ownership in Vietnam
Vietnam ranked first in Asia and 6th out of 53 analyzed countries
Based on a recent Mastercard study (Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2018), women own 31.3% of businesses in Vietnam. This number puts Vietnam on the 6th place out of 53 countries, ahead of all its Asian peers, the US and most of Europe. In 2017, the percentage of women owners was exactly the same, while Vietnam was ranked 5th overall.
Top 10 countries on the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs 2018
- Ghana (46.4%)
- Russia (34.6%)
- Uganda (33.8%)
- New Zealand (33%)
- Australia (32.1%)
- Vietnam (31.3%)
- Poland (30.3%)
- Spain (29.4%)
- Romania (28.9%)
- Portugal (28.7%)
Taking into consideration other factors analyzed in the Report, such as Women’s Advancement Factors, Knowledge Assets & Financial Access and Supporting Entrepreneurial Condition, Vietnam’s overall score is 65.5, placing the country on the 18th spot overall. The Report states that: “With an overall Index score of 65.5 (rank 18) and Women Business Ownership representation of 31.4 percent (rank 6), Vietnam stands out as an outperformer.” In addition, the Report found Vietnamese female entrepreneurs to be more driven by opportunities than by necessity in early-stage entrepreneurial activities.
On the negative side, the findings state that only 1 out of 4 business leaders are women. However, there is some room for optimism too. The most notable female business leader in Vietnam is VietJet (low cost air carrier) founder and CEO Nguyen Thi Phuong Thao. Mrs. Tao has made on the Forbes’ list of the world’s most powerful women (only 3 women are coming from Southeast Asia), and is one of only two billionaires in Vietnam.
Original sources (1, 2, 3)