In Vietnam, where it is led by chief executive Michele Wee, Standard Chartered has focused its diversity and inclusion efforts on investing in financial literacy and developing ways to help more households feel the benefits of rapid economic growth.
The bank wins Asiamoney’s award for best bank for diversity and inclusion in Vietnam thanks to its focus on some of the industries with the greatest potential to achieve both.
For all Vietnam’s macroeconomic volatility and microeconomic growing pains, the country punches far above its weight in creating tech unicorn startups. The country may have one-10th the annual gross domestic product of Japan, but it beats Asia’s second-biggest economy in establishing new companies with a $1 billion-plus valuation by any metric.
Take the bank’s 'Women in Technology' (WiT) programme. This supports female-led entrepreneurial teams with business management training, mentoring and seed funding. It is a transformative initiative that drives sustainable growth and empowers women entrepreneurs in this vital sector. It is an accelerator initiative designed to foster innovation, diversity and economic development.