F88 sponsors gender equality promotion

Pawnshop chain F88's initiatives to support self-employed low-income women and promote opportunities for female employees have been highly appreciated by international organizations.

F88 launched a loan package on March 8 specifically for female customers at half the cost of a normal loan.

The new product is part of activities that aim to bring benefits to female employees and customers after the Australian Development Investment Organization (ADI) provided F88 with technical assistance worth AUD43,000 ($28,200).

The goal of this sponsorship is to support F88's diversity initiatives to promote fairness and gender equality within the company, increasing the presence of women in leadership positions and in company services.

Majdie Hordern, secretary in charge of development cooperation, Australian Embassy in Hanoi, said that the Australian government is proud to deploy technical assistance through ADI to support a company on Australia's investment list. F88 has helped self-employed women access capital and develop products that are suitable for women business owners, which is a smart decision.

"I look forward to seeing how F88 and other lending institutions expand their customer base by customizing products for thousands of women-led businesses in Vietnam," Hordern said.

Before receiving support from ADI, F88 was a partner of Lendable with an investment of $10 million in foreign funds for a convenience store chain.

Lendable, after working with F88, introduced this partner to ADI as a business that regularly organizes activities for the community, including on promoting gender equality.

Lendable currently operates in 12 countries and territories. A company representative said that it is pleased to be the bridge connecting ADI and F88, helping its partner create financial products for women as well as strategic gender initiatives in the company.

Lienda Kavindele, head of impact and ESG at Lendable, said that F88's initiatives in supporting low-income self-employed women are very important and reflect a vision of inclusive economic development.

"We appreciate that F88 not only focuses on the external but also implements internal gender equality programs, demonstrating its commitment to positive change both in business and the workplace," Kavindele said.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Finance for 2023, women make up 47% of the Vietnamese workforce.

However, the female workforce is largely unprofessional; jobs such as housekeeping and cleaning performed by female workers account for 94.7% of the total number of hired workers.

During the pandemic, the unemployment rate of female workers was higher than that of male workers. These numbers show that Vietnamese women find it more difficult to be financially independent, and it is necessary to provide a loan solution for self-employed women.

Phung Anh Tuan, general director of F88, said that in the past five years, since receiving investment from foreign funds, the company has increasingly focused on gender equality.

Currently, the proportion of female employees in the company is 53%, of which 20-30-year-olds account for nearly 70%, those holding management positions account for 45%, and those holding executive management positions make up approximately 20%.

The proportion of female customers is currently 30%. Female customer growth in 2022 compared to 2021 reached 234%.

For F88, becoming a partner of Lendable and ADI in gender equality initiatives is a great achievement. This recognition shows that its efforts in the past have been highly appreciated by the community.