The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) jointly held a ceremony on October 25 to mark the launch of a $5 million technical assistance (TA) program.

Sponsored by the Government of Switzerland, the initiative aims to foster financial technology (fintech) that can help improve financial inclusion in Vietnam. The ceremony was graced by the presence of a distinguished delegation from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO).

The funding will be bolstered by an additional $2 million from the Japan Fund for Prosperous and Resilient Asia and the Pacific (JFPR), funded by the Government of Japan, to facilitate the expansion of inclusive and climate finance within the country.

“The SBV highly appreciates this technical assistance project and considers it an important form of support to help create a favorable environment for the development of fintech to improve quality and diversification in providing financial products and services to people and businesses, thereby actively contributing to promoting national financial inclusion,” said SBV Deputy Governor Pham Tien Dung. “The project also makes an important contribution to promoting green growth through the development and contribution of green banking and green credit.”

For his part, Mr. Shantanu Chakraborty, ADB Country Director for Vietnam, highlighted that, in Vietnam, fintech is key to accelerating innovative and convenient financial solutions and services to reach the unbanked and underbanked segments, including SMEs, and enhance efficiency and financial security. “Following earlier fruitful collaboration with SBV, we are excited to join efforts in further fostering the digital banking transformation in Vietnam’s fast-growing market,” he said.

Barriers to finance in Vietnam extend beyond individuals and particularly affect micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In such a landscape, the impact is notably severe for women-owned and women-led SMEs (WSMEs), with a substantial estimated financing gap of $1.2 billion. Therefore, the TA is crucial in helping advance financial access by SMEs and WSMEs and will do so by helping the SBV in developing and implementing a regulatory framework for strengthening the digital finance sector, ensuring safe market conduct and a thriving ecosystem.

The TA contemplates training opportunities in fintech and green banking best practices for SBV staff, targeting 25 per cent female participation, and offering consultancy to WSMEs on preparing green loan applications. It will also build capacity at relevant government ministries and members of fintech and banking associations and assist selected commercial banks in developing digital banking.

“This technical assistance program further expands Switzerland’s comprehensive support to strengthen and deepen Vietnam’s financial sector,” said Mr. Dominique Paravicini, Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs. “Through strengthening Vietnam’s fintech industry and fostering the digitalization of the banking sector, the program offers new opportunities for SMEs to improve their access to financing.”