A research study submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Business Administration in International Public Management

Research Studies Project Report (M.B.A.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2007

The purpose of this research is to achieve a better understanding of the microfinance in poverty reduction in Vietnam. The problem is the lack of information on what the Vietnam Women's Union and International Non Governmental Organizations do in microfinance implementation and how they coordinate their activities. This research uses primary data from in-depth interviews and secondary data from reports, articles and journals. It has been found that microfinance is a powerful tool for poverty reduction and that Vietnam Women's Union and International Non-Governmental Organizations play various roles in poverty reduction such as giving advice, doing training, providing funds, assisting expert, at the operational level they act as pioneers, trainers, guiders, supervisors, evaluators. The good coordination between them is achieved through hierarchy, shared core and policy values such as human dignity, human welfare, equity, and equality including gender equality and coordination is also achieved through market coordination in form of allocating supply and demand. Complementary roles and shared values bring benefits for the poor, the poorest, and poor women has positive microfinance policy impacts. However, the existing problems and challenges are due to resource constraints and other - secondary - aspects of the microfinance policy. They are securing the budget, expanding successful pilot models, not reaching the poorest of the poor, ensuring the sustainability of the projects and low capacity of the staff. The research study ends with recommendations that deal with these problems and challenges.