ADB & BIDV Sign $250M Deal for Agri & Women Businesses

• ADB and BIDV agreed a finance package worth $250 million on 19 December
• The package promotes sustainable agriculture and women-owned businesses
• It targets women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs)

The Asian Development Bank and the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam have entered into a $250 million loan package for supporting agricultural development and improving access to financing for businesses owned by women. The loan was finalized on December 19 and targets women-owned small and medium enterprises.

The funding package comprises funding of ADB’s ordinary capital of $100 million, funding of $20 million from the Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CANPA), a parallel loan of $50 million from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and a parallel commercial loan of $80 million from Cathay United Bank.

According to ADB country director for Vietnam Shantanu Chakraborty, this is a significant milestone not only for ADB and BIDV but also for realizing a greener, more inclusive, and prosperous agriculture sector for the economy of the country: "The combination of non-concessional and concessional funding, and also technical assistance, will be helpful for improving the capacity of BIDV in supporting farmers, agri-businesses, and, especially, women farmers, and aligning with the country’s transition towards a green economy," said Shantanu.

The agricultural sector still tops the list of major sectors within the Vietnamese economy, employing about 45 percent of the Vietnamese workforce.

The agricultural sector experiences setbacks such as scattered land distribution, lack of technological integration, and rising difficulties caused by the current climate crisis.

Vietnam, which wants to place in the global top 15 agricultural exporters by the year 2030, requires investment of almost $100 billion to improve their resilience against climate change, overcome emissions, and gain competitiveness.

The financing is supported by a technical assistance agreement that will enhance BIDV's capacity on environment and risk management.

This includes training for both BIDV staff and clients, including WLSMEs, to identify opportunities for sustainable agriculture investments in addition to raising awareness on sustainable finance.

This will be supported under the Women Entrepreneurs Finance Initiative through the development of gender-responsive financial products, the introduction of sex-disaggregated management information systems, and the conduct of a gender assessment of BIDV's corporate policies and services.