Application of e-commerce in women-owned micro and small enterprises in Vietnam to access international markets

Abstract

E-commerce is an opportunity to bring favourable direct access to foreign markets, but many businesses still face barriers in taking advantage of the benefits of e-commerce, especially businesses in women-owned micro and small enterprises (MSEs). This study surveyed 151 MSEs from January to April 2020 in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh city, Thai Nguyen and Lam Dong provinces in order to i) Review policies to encourage e-commerce application of production - business focusing on women-owned MSEs to analyse whether they have equal access to these businesses; (ii) Analyse the limitations of women-owned MSEs when applying e-commerce with comparative analysis of the MSEs owned by men; (iii) Suggest some policy recommendations in the coming time.