The gap between capital demand of small- and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs) owned by women and what banks offer is estimated at over $1 billion, or VND27 trillion, and this group of clients has stayed underserved, according to a seminar on women’s leadership potential in Hanoi on June 8.
According to a recent report by International Finance Corporation (IFC), Vietnam has nearly 96,000 women-owned businesses, making up some 21 percent of all registered businesses. A majority of such enterprises are of micro scale, 42 percent of small and medium size, and only 1 percent (or over 850 enterprises) of large size.
As the IFC report pointed out, most banks have not considered applying a separate strategy to SMEs run by women.
For many banks, it is not necessary to have a separate approach to female clients, and this segment has low profitability. Some even think that women are less knowledgeable about business and need more support, making it costlier to serve women than men.
Other perceptions are that female entrepreneurs are more vulnerable to risks, often do not own family businesses they work for and have lower financial management skills than men.
Such perceptions make women’s access to financing difficult. Of nearly 96,000 women-owned businesses, only 60 percent have applied for bank loans and a third have got loans. This means only 20,000 women have been able to gain access to bank credit.
According to Dang Chau Giang, head of marketing and customer care at VP Bank, women-owned firms have made contributions to the economy but have not got as sufficient financial support as needed.
In fact, enterprises led by women hold potential. The IFC report indicated that women’s approach to risks is different from that of men as they focus on long-term goals and have greater awareness of risks.
In other words, they tend to analyse risks meticulously, instead of simply going with their gut, the report said.
Banks reported lower percentages of bad debts owed by SMEs run by women. As one bank reported, the ratio of non-performing loans of women-owned SMEs is 0.95 percent, whereas that of men-owned firms is 2.17 percent.
http://english.thesaigontimes.vn/60426/credit-for-women-owned-smes-falls-short-of-demand-.html
