Leveraging Vietnam’s Social Impact Business Ecosystem in Response to COVID-19

The project aims to increase the resilience of vulnerable groups including women and girls to COVID-19 impacts in Vietnam through the enhancement of Social Impact Businesses (SIBs) the SIB ecosystem and its regulatory environment. SIBs are organizations that combine their business models with the commitment to generate positive social and environmental impacts. They often deliver innovative business solutions that target sustainable development and can help mitigate the effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable groups by creating jobs and livelihoods and contributing to the delivery of essential services. The project will help SIBs manage disruptions caused by the pandemic and strengthen the broader ecosystem. Project activities include: (1) increasing access to business development services finance and market access support for SIBs especially those led by women and vulnerable groups; (2) establishing and implementing a national network of SIB intermediaries; (3) building capacity and providing technical assistance to SIB intermediaries; and (4) building capacity and policy support to the government to build a gender-responsive inclusive and transparent regulatory framework to support SIBs.

The expected outcomes for this project include: (1) improved capacity of SIBs especially those led by women and vulnerable groups on sustainable business development and financing; (2) improved ecosystem of intermediaries supporting SIBs especially those led by women and vulnerable groups; and (3) strengthened capacity of the government to enable a gender-responsive inclusive and transparent regulatory environment that supports the resilience of SIBs.