Vietnamese social impact businesses meet

Representatives of social impact businesses (SIB), State agencies, investors and financial intermediaries gathered on December 12 at the SIB Connect 2023 – an annual festival of the SIB ecosystem - to share initiatives and experience, and discuss challenges and opportunities for the ecosystem’s development.

The event, jointly organised by the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), and the Canadian Embassy in Vietnam, also provided a chance for SIB to introduce their products, seek partnership opportunities and expand markets.

Particularly, the first-ever White Book on SIB Vietnam in 2023 was launched at the event. The publication was built within the project “Leveraging Vietnam’s Social Impact Business Ecosystem in Response to COVID-19” (ISEE-COVID) sponsored by the Global Affairs Canada and co-implemented by the UNDP and the MPI’s Agency of Enterprise Development (AED).

According to the UNDP, SIB is a model in which businesses adopt a triple bottom line, driving profit, together with social and environmental impact. There are an estimated 22,000 SIBs in Vietnam, representing 3% of the total of the registered businesses in the country. SIBs play a crucial role in providing support for vulnerable groups, mostly by creating jobs for them and delivering essential services.

Bui Thu Thuy, AED Vice Director, said that despite the modest quantity and scale, Vietnamese SIB have played a great role in implementing sustainable development goals, especially as Vietnam is working to apply sustainable business models and regulations to support local firms to access foreign markets and green capital sources.

UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi underlined that the White Book enables SIB to be formally identified, giving them access to support from the government and other programmes. Along with the report on the ecosystem supporting SIB, the White Book provides comprehensive information and insights into the ecosystem landscape, she said.

Brian Allemenkinders, Head of Cooperation at the Candian Embassy in Vietnam, said that launch of the White Book demonstrates Vietnam's progress. It is a recognition of SIB activities in solving social and environmental issues, while providing a useful reference database for government agencies and sectors to make appropriate decisions to promote the development of the busineses, and opening up opportunities for connection with other elements in the ecosystem.