BIDV took part in the National Investment Forum on "Inclusive Business in Agriculture and Food Systems"

DNHN - On March 15, 2024, in Ho Chi Minh City, a representative of the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) participated in the event “National Investment Forum on Inclusive Business in Agriculture and Food Systems”.

The forum was organised by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in coordination with the Agency for Enterprise Development (Ministry of Planning and Investment), with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

To meet the goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (adopted by the United Nations Summit on September 25, 2015), the private sector is expected to play a major role, including inclusive businesses. These are businesses that provide goods, services and livelihoods on a commercially viable basis to low-income people, at scale or with the potential to scale, by integrating them into their core business value chain as suppliers, distributors, retailers or customers. There are many inclusive business models – particularly in the agricultural sector – operating across Asia and the Pacific that have demonstrated value, commercial viability and social impact at scale.

However, access to finance remains a major challenge for many businesses seeking to scale up their operations or increase their impact. Therefore, the forum aimed to help identify investment opportunities, and financing for inclusive business models and facilitate the realisation of those opportunities; at the same time, it provided an opportunity to connect and introduce outstanding inclusive business models in the agricultural sector and food systems in Vietnam and internationally. At the discussion session, representatives from ministries, sectors, businesses, investors, etc., along with experts, exchanged and shared practical knowledge and tools to help inclusive businesses gain recognition, access resources and increase their impact.

Representing BIDV, Ms Nguyen Thi Kim Phuong – Deputy Director of the Corporate Customer Department, shared that BIDV is one of the pioneering banks that is proactive in implementing the orientations and policies of the Government and the banking sector; at the same time, it actively supports capital and creates conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to develop their businesses. In particular, BIDV is always interested in, supports, is willing to share and cooperates with businesses in priority sectors such as creative businesses, start-ups; businesses participating in supply chains; businesses operating in the agricultural and food processing sectors, especially green transformation businesses, etc. Currently, the number of SME customers at BIDV has reached nearly 500,000 businesses, accounting for the largest market share in the commercial banking sector in Vietnam.

In the past, BIDV has closely cooperated with the Small and Medium Enterprise Development Fund (SMEDF) to provide medium- and long-term credit at preferential interest rates; cooperated with the National Technology Innovation Fund (NATIF) to provide medium- and long-term credit to businesses transferring technology, developing new products and commercialising products in the agricultural sector; implemented preferential credit products and packages to finance businesses participating in the supply chain; implemented the SMEasy digital platform (https://smeasy.bidv.com.vn/) to provide a range of financial and non-financial solutions to support business owners in improving their financial capacity and business management skills, etc.

Tin Nguyen