Alongside its business operations, Saigon–Hanoi Commercial Joint Stock Bank (SHB) consistently accompanies social security initiatives, promotes gender equality, and supports small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)—particularly women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (WSMEs)—thereby contributing to strengthening the role of Vietnamese female entrepreneurs in the new era.

SHB is awarded a Certificate of Merit for outstanding achievements in implementing the Project “Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship (2017–2025)

Recently in Hanoi, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended and delivered a speech at the Conference summarizing the Project “Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the period 2017–2025,” implementing the Government’s Project “Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the period 2026–2035,” and commending exemplary cooperatives managed by women in 2025. The conference was organized by the Vietnam Women’s Union in a hybrid format, combining in-person and online participation at 34 locations nationwide.

At the conference, SHB was honored with a Certificate of Merit for its outstanding achievements in implementing the Project “Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the period 2017–2025″.

For many years, SHB has been a trusted partner of women entrepreneurs, supporting women throughout their entrepreneurial journey. In 2023, SHB collaborated with the Women’s Entrepreneurship Competition organized by the Vietnam Women’s Union under the theme “Women Entrepreneurs, Leveraging Local Resources.” This competition is one of the key activities of the Project “Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in the period 2017–2025,” approved by the Prime Minister and implemented from 2018 to the present. SHB sponsored the winning project of the competition and remains committed to providing effective and appropriate financial solutions to help projects achieve long-term, safe, and sustainable development.

SHB partners with the “Women Entrepreneurs, Leveraging Local Resources” competition

In 2024, the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union organized the competition “Women’s Innovative Entrepreneurship and Green Transformation” to select outstanding startup projects meeting green transformation requirements and contributing to the implementation of the Government’s National Strategy on Green Growth for the period 2021–2030, with a vision to 2050. SHB participated as a Silver Sponsor of the competition, as part of a series of events and the final awards ceremony at the national level.

To support WSMEs in recovering production and business operations affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, since late 2021 SHB has cooperated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to implement the “Covid-19 Relief Grant for WSMEs”. Notably, SHB recorded the highest loan disbursement volume for WSMEs among the five participating banks, with total disbursements reaching USD 1.7 million.

In March 2023, SHB signed a USD 120 million loan agreement with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to expand its SME loan portfolio, which includes women-owned businesses and those involved in the supply chain. SHB commits to set aside a minimum of 37.5% of the loan on- lending to women-owned businesses, and the bank will receive a grant of $226,000 from the Financial Initiatives Fund for Women Entrepreneurs. (We-Fi) and the Women Entrepreneurs Opportunity Fund (WEOF) – global funding initiatives with the purpose of enhancing access to funding for women entrepreneurs.

SHB has recently introduced a range of preferential incentives for WSMEs.

The Bank has also collaborated with ADB to organize a Gender Awareness Training Program, reaffirming SHB’s commitment to integrating ESG principles into its sustainable development strategy. The program contributes to promoting gender equality while supporting female customers—particularly WSMEs—in enhancing capacity, expanding access to finance, and strengthening the role of women in the economy..

Firmly positioned as one of Vietnam’s leading private commercial banks, SHB continues to create and spread positive values, foster the entrepreneurial spirit, nurture a strong community of entrepreneurs, and make practical contributions to the country’s sustainable development.