I’m Niall Mackay, founder and host of Discover Vietnam since 2019. I have lived in Vietnam for almost ten years, but talking with Amy Wenham in this episode helped me see the women of Vietnam in a new light.
I always knew they were strong, but our conversation showed me just how much they carry while still building amazing businesses in this country.
Seeing Vietnam Through Its Women
When I first moved to Vietnam in 2015, I worked as a teacher and my school was full of strong women. Every one of my senior managers was female. The CEO and the head of HR were both women. My daily experience taught me very quickly that women here take charge. They run businesses, homes and families with an energy that is both gentle and powerful.
This episode brought all those memories back, because one of the first things Amy said to me was that Vietnamese women are fearless. She had only been in the country for a short time, but she saw it immediately. Women here do not hesitate. If they want to start a restaurant, they start a restaurant. If they want to work in construction, they do it. If they want to launch a fashion line or open a gym, they go for it. They try things without overthinking and without holding themselves back.
What I found interesting was that Amy did not say this as an outsider trying to praise Vietnam. She said it as someone who had lived in other fast growing countries and knew what it looks like when women are given space to thrive. Her background helped her see something that even I had taken for granted. Vietnamese women do not just work hard. Their decisions are always anchored to one thing. How do I support my family? Every choice connects back to that. Not in an arrogant way, not in a way that is about showing off success. It is about care. It is about duty. It is about lifting up the people they love. Hearing Amy explain it reminded me of how deeply family is tied into the culture here.
From Dubai To Vietnam And The Surprising Similarities
Before coming to Vietnam, Amy spent ten years in Dubai. When she told me that Dubai had a strong pro-women business culture, I was honestly surprised. I had never thought about it that way. She explained that Dubai has female founder licenses, grants, and whole systems to help women open and grow businesses. She even said her first company there was given to her because she was a woman.
What shocked her when she arrived in Vietnam was how similar the energy felt. Women built things. Women hustled. Women pushed forward with ideas, side projects and entire companies. She said that in Dubai, the movement to empower women in business was still fairly new. But in Vietnam, it felt cultural. It felt natural. As if women had been doing this long before modern systems existed to support them.
I found this comparison fascinating because people sometimes look at Dubai and Vietnam and imagine they have nothing in common. But both are young in their modern development. Both are growing fast. And both depend heavily on the drive of people who are willing to work, take risks, and adapt. Seeing Vietnam through Amy’s eyes made me realise that this growth here is carried on the backs of women more than we often acknowledge.
The Cultural Layers Behind Fearlessness
At the same time, the conversation also reminded me of the other side of Vietnam. The part that people outside the country rarely see. A side shaped by tradition and older expectations.
Years ago my wife and I were invited to dinner in District 4. It was a classic Vietnamese hotpot around a big circular table. But something felt strange. All the men sat at the table and the women stayed in the kitchen. They cooked, served and cleared everything. My wife was the only woman sitting with the men because she was foreign. You could feel the awkwardness in the air. It was like we were accidentally breaking a rule.
That moment stuck with me because it showed the contrast within Vietnam. Amy saw that too. She said Ho Chi Minh City is its own world. It is fast, international and open to new ways of thinking. But many people living here grew up in smaller towns where expectations for women are completely different. Women are raised to serve the family. They are expected to be gentle, quiet, and obedient.
Even if they come to the city and become independent, the old mindset can follow them. Amy told me she had spoken with women who struggled to balance their own dreams with the fear of disappointing their family or their husband’s family. It was a heavy emotional load to carry.
What we both agreed on is that this is not a Vietnam-only issue. Every country has these divides. Where I grew up in Scotland, people in small towns can think very differently from people in the city. Culture moves slowly in remote places.
People hold on to traditions because that is what they know. So I have always pushed back when expats say something is a Vietnamese thing. The longer I have lived here, the more I see that Vietnam is simply a big country with many layers. Just like anywhere else.
The Real Barriers Women Face When Starting A Business
With all this fearlessness though, I wanted to know what actually holds women back when they try to start a business here. Amy works with both foreigners and locals through the Women’s Business Network, so she sees the struggles up close.
For foreigners, the first barrier is almost always language. Everything is in Vietnamese. The paperwork, the forms, the rules. Even asking questions can be hard. But the bigger barrier is misinformation. There are endless rumours about how much money you need to open a business or what the government requires. People tell each other stories that are not true and it scares newcomers. Amy called these phantom barriers because they exist only in the mind. Once someone sits down and learns the real process, it is usually simpler than expected. Vietnam is full of people who want to help, especially locals who are happy to explain things for free.
For Vietnamese women, the situation is different. They do not face the same paperwork difficulty. But they have their own challenges. Finding the right location can be hard. Rent changes fast. Rules change fast. Many women also face family pressure. They need to take care of their children, their home, their elderly relatives and still run a business. Everyone lives under one roof which is beautiful, but it also means they carry more responsibility than most people realise. They are expected to succeed at everything. And when they marry into a family, they take on a new set of expectations from their husband’s parents as well.
Listening to Amy talk about this made me appreciate these women even more. The success you see in shops and cafés and small brands is often built on long days, little sleep and a lot of emotional weight.
The Social Media Trap That Many Entrepreneurs Are Falling Into
One topic that made us both laugh and sigh at the same time was social media. Amy works in social media strategy, so she sees how obsessed people are with going viral. It is especially strong here because TikTok is huge in Vietnam. You see people filming everything. Eating, drinking, unpacking products, dancing, reviewing food. Sometimes it feels like the whole city is recording itself.
But going viral is not a business plan. Amy said it clearly. Viral content helps influencers, not business owners. If you are running a café or selling clothing or offering coaching, going viral can actually hurt you. You might get thousands of messages overnight that you cannot possibly reply to. You might get orders you cannot fulfil. And if you fail, people will be disappointed and leave bad reviews. The attention disappears as fast as it comes, but the damage stays.
Her advice was simple. Be authentic. Do not copy trends that make you feel silly. Do not focus on views. Create content that answers what your customers are actually looking for. Help them. Teach them something. Show your process. Build trust. I have seen the same thing with podcast creators. When someone tells me they want to go viral, I know they are focusing on the wrong thing. A hundred loyal listeners can grow your show. Ten thousand random views will not.
Why These Conversations Matter
Talking with Amy helped me see Vietnam with new eyes. I have always admired the strength of Vietnamese women. But now I understand the mix of culture, pressure, and family expectation that shapes that strength. I also understand the courage it takes for women, both foreign and local, to start a business here.
Vietnam is a place of energy and opportunity. But it is the women who often drive that energy forward. They build, they hustle, they take risk,s and they do it all while carrying the weight of family on their shoulders. They are fearless, not because life is easy but because they keep moving anyway.
I hope this conversation encourages you to look closer at the women around you in Vietnam. Their stories deserve to be heard. Their work deserves to be celebrated. And if you want to hear the full conversation with Amy, I invite you to listen to the episode. It is one of my favourites so far.