BAT Vietnam - BAT Vietnam expands Women's Empowerment Programme in border areas of Tay Ninh

Building on the success of the Women’s Empowerment Programme over the last years, BAT Vietnam expands the program scale in 2025 through having local Women’s Unions provide underrepresented women located in border areas of Tay Ninh province with micro-financing support to enhance their livelihoods and living conditions.

On March 3rd, the Women's Union of the Tay Ninh Border Guard, in collaboration with the Women's Union of Tan Bien District (Tay Ninh Province), granted the interest-free loans from the Women’s Empowerment Programme of BAT Vietnam to 57 underprivileged women living in border communes of the district.

Women provided with the micro-financing support are from households classified as impoverished, near-poor, or facing economic hardship in Tan Bien District, with 10 million VND for each during 18-month period. This financial support enables them to start or expand husbandry, farming, or small business activities, thereby developing household business and sustainably reducing poverty, aligning with the criteria of advanced new rural development. 

This activity took place at 2025 National Border Defense Day and the 10-year review of Directive 01/CT-TTg (dated January 9, 2015, by the Prime Minister) on mobilizing the public to participate in protecting national sovereignty and border security. The event was organized by the Tan Binh Commune People's Committee, the Vietnam Fatherland Front Committee of Tan Binh Commune (Tan Bien District), and local border guard stations.

Lieutenant Colonel Le Thi Cam Loan, Chairwoman of the Women's Union of the Tay Ninh Border Guard, emphasized that the Women’s Union has consistently promoted the "Accompanying Women in Border Areas" programme, alongside with local authorities improving the lives of underprivileged women in border communities. The program aims to facilitate women to equally contribute to and enjoy all areas of social life, joining hands in building a strong national border defense.

“After our careful assessment, we recognize that Women’s Empowerment Programme of BAT Vietnam aligns well with our ‘Accompanying Women in Border Areas’ initiative and effectively addresses local needs. I believe this interest-free loan will not only provide women with essential financial support to start or expand their economic activities but also unlock opportunities for them to get access to additional resources to improve their lives,” she said. She also highlighted that the Women’s Union of the Tay Ninh Border Guard will continue working closely with local women's unions to monitor and ensure the loan is effectively used with the right purpose.

In 2024, BAT Vietnam previously disbursed interest-free loans to 40 and 16 underrepresented women in My Quy Dong and My Thanh Tay communes (Duc Hue District), and in Nhon Hoa Lap Commune (Tan Thanh District), respectively.

Duc Hue and Tan Thanh are both located in the Dong Thap Muoi region of Long An Province, where livelihoods remain challenging as people there primarily rely on agriculture, earning low incomes and facing unstable employment.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet Nhung, Chairwoman of the Women’s Union of Tan Thanh District, Long An Province, shared: “After a few months, many households start to gain profits from husbandry, farming and small business activities. With those earnings, they are able to purchase essential household items, provide better educational resources to their children, and cover daily living expenses, improving their overall quality of life.”

Since 2022, the Women’s Empowerment Programme by BAT Vietnam has supported 136 women, positively impacting the lives of more than 540 people in Duc Hue and Tan Thanh districts (Long An province).

Beyond financial support, the programme also enables Women's Union, in collaboration with agricultural extension officers, to conduct training in modern farming and husbandry techniques. This initiative helps loan recipients sustain and expand their small-scale agricultural or business activities, ultimately stabilizing their incomes and enabling them to rise out of poverty. To date, 30 training sessions have been conducted, benefiting 539 participants.

All loan recipients have pledged not to engage in, trade, store, or facilitate any activities related to illegal tobacco smuggling or other unlawful practices.

Given its practical impact, the Women’s Empowerment Programme of BAT Vietnam has been recognized as one of the BAT Group’s outstanding sustainability initiatives and was featured in BAT Group’s 2024 Annual Report.