Published 21 hours ago
Submitted by master Card
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In a corner near a pile of potted plants, three Vietnamese women are in passionate discussion over steaming bowls of noodles and dumplings. Despite the traffic noise and chaos outside, this small, cozy vegetarian restaurant tucked away in Hanoi’s Old Quarter is quiet. Conversation and laughter grow as the restaurant fills up with lunchtime patrons.
The handcrafted menu tells the owner’s story. She opened the restaurant during the COVID-19 pandemic, driven by her desire to serve healthy, nutritious meals sourced from local producers. As a small business owner, she faces many challenges and stiff competition (as she later told me), but the restaurant is clearly thriving, so what is the secret to her success? What keeps me, an expat living in Vietnam, and these customers coming back to this restaurant over and over instead of the big chains we’re all familiar with?
Is it just the papaya salad – truly the best I’ve ever had – or is it something else that only a small place can offer?
Building a stronger community
Small businesses are the heart and soul of communities. Your neighborhood barber shop or corner store does more than sell essential goods and services. They are places where people listen to your everyday concerns and foster a sense of belonging. What’s more, one-third of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), like the one where I have lunch, are owned by women.
There are more women in business than ever before, yet many of them have only three-quarters of the legal rights of men when it comes to their careers, finances and work-life balance, despite the fact that women-led businesses are vital not only to household income and reinvestment in national economies, but also as transformative forces.
The latest research on women-led businesses shows that they not only reduce poverty, but also drive job creation, stimulate innovation, and contribute to building safer, greener, and more vibrant communities, allowing all to thrive together. Women-led businesses are engines of regeneration, build business communities, and employ local workers. Without women-led businesses, local economies cannot thrive.
Making inclusive growth a reality
“Women face many obstacles alone, but if we build a community of people who inspire and support us, we can achieve a lot…Together we can do things we could never achieve alone,” says Violeta Pacheco Mejía, an entrepreneur from Lima, Peru.
Her eco-friendly alpaca and cotton clothing company, Tejidos Peruanos, is based in Villa el Salvador, a historically underprivileged area of Lima. Her business has a reputation as a place where women help other women succeed and where the community makes the impossible possible. Violeta founded her company in Villa el Salvador to make it more accessible to talented workers who live in the area. In addition to having a mostly female workforce, Tejidos Peruanos offers its employees a safe, on-site childcare center to allow parents the flexibility and peace of mind to work. Tejidos Peruanos and Violeta are a great example of how female entrepreneurs can reinvest in their communities, employ more women, and give hope to other marginalized people.
“At this point, I realized that in order to keep moving forward, not only I, but the whole team, have to continue preparing and training. This is a dream that we’re all dreaming about together.”
Violeta Pacheco Mejia
It took Violeta over 18 years of hard work and passion to build her dream business that is both impactful and profitable, but it wasn’t until the past year that she was able to finally get a bank loan in her name after participating in CARE’s Ignite and Strive Women programs supported by Mastercard’s Center for Inclusive Growth.
“Tejidos Perunos is the dream of 14 women,” says Violeta. “We have overcome many difficulties but despite them we have been able to move forward. At this point I realize that to keep moving forward I have to keep preparing and training, not only with me but with the whole team. This is a dream that we see together.”
Achieving a healthy market system and combating institutional barriers
Despite the creativity, resilience and leadership shown by Violeta and millions like her, women entrepreneurs face significant barriers and constraints, including access to credit, that hinder their growth and undermine their confidence.
The women entrepreneurs we work with through CARE’s programs aren’t going to wait. They want to grow their businesses, and they have the skills and confidence to do so. Our secret to building a supportive ecosystem that values women’s contributions is to design policies, products and programs in collaboration with local partners. Together, we design customized financial services alongside trainings and business networks, along with outreach campaigns that challenge harmful gender norms.
Policymakers, businesses, banks, community leaders and individuals have a role to play in unlocking women’s economic power, valued at $10 trillion annually. System-wide changes are needed, including comprehensive macroeconomic reforms, from fairer tax systems to recognizing the care economy. Creating a more equitable economy for all marginalized groups, including women, requires localized, women-centric financial products and entrepreneurial support systems.
In celebration of United Nations Small and Medium Enterprise Day, let’s recognize, celebrate and promote women-led micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that are the lifeblood of our communities. Here’s how you can show your support and make an impact:
- Be intentional about shopping at women-owned small businesses and spread the word to your friends, family and on social media.
- If you are a business owner, invest in, collaborate with, and mentor women entrepreneurs.
- For financial services providers, design customer-centric solutions that prioritize and support women and other marginalized groups.
- If you are a policymaker or advocate, promote policies and programs that recognize and strengthen the central role women entrepreneurs play in society.
By supporting the growth and resilience of women-led small businesses, we strengthen the intangible bonds that connect us. This not only helps unique and vibrant places like Vietnam Noodle Cafe in Hanoi thrive, it also leads us towards a feminist future where equality and inclusion are realities.
Sarah Hewitt is the Director of the Women Entrepreneurs team at Strive Women with CARE. As an international development professional, she has led global strategies focused on women’s economic justice. Based in London, she holds an MBA from Northwestern University and serves on the Board of Nurturing Minds.
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Mastercard is a global technology company in the payments industry. Our mission is to connect and power an inclusive digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere by making transaction safe, simple, smart and accessible. Powered by secure data and networks, partnerships and passion, our innovations and solutions help individuals, financial institutions, governments and businesses realize their full potential. Through our connections in more than 210 countries and territories, we are building a sustainable world that unlocks irreplaceable potential for all.
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