Delegates at the launch of the first-ever White Book on SIB Vietnam in Hanoi on December 12 (Photo: VNA) The event, jointly organised by the UN Development Programme(UNDP), the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI), and the Canadian Embassyin Vietnam, also provided a chance for SIB to introduce their products, seekpartnership opportunities and expand markets.
Particularly, the first-ever White Book on SIB Vietnam in 2023was 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 UNDPand the MPI’s Agency of Enterprise Development (AED).
According to the UNDP, SIB is a model inwhich businesses adopt a triple bottom line, driving profit,together with social and environmental impact. There are an estimated 22,000SIBs in Vietnam, representing 3% of the total of the registered businesses inthe country. SIBs play a crucial role in providing support for vulnerablegroups, 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 implementingsustainable development goals, especially as Vietnam is working to apply sustainablebusiness models and regulations to support local firms to access foreignmarkets and green capital sources.
UNDP Resident Representative in Vietnam Ramla Khalidi underlinedthat the White Book enables SIB to be formally identified, giving them accessto support from the government and other programmes. Along with the report onthe ecosystem supporting SIB, the White Book provides comprehensive informationand insights into the ecosystem landscape, she said.
Brian Allemenkinders, Head of Cooperation at the Candian Embassy in Vietnam, saidthat launch of the White Book demonstrates Vietnam's progress. It is arecognition of SIB activities in solving social and environmental issues, whileproviding a useful reference database for government agencies and sectors tomake appropriate decisions to promote the development of the busineses, andopening up opportunities for connection with other elements in the ecosystem./.
VNA
