The program to promote traditional handicrafts and OCOP commodities aimed to encourage innovative entrepreneurship and showcase regional specialties produced and marketed by women in Hanoi.

The fair featured 64 booths with hundreds of high-quality agricultural products, all of which met quality and traceability standards.

This initiative also provided a platform for women to assert their role in production and business, leaving a unique mark on the capital's economy.

Speaking at the event, Pham Thi My Hoa, Vice Chairwoman of the Hanoi Women's Union, said that this promotional event is part of a wider series of activities to support women entrepreneurs, cooperative leaders and production units to market their products directly to consumers in the capital. It also promotes the "Vietnamese prefer to use Vietnamese goods" campaign.

She said local authorities and the Hanoi Women's Union have undertaken various practical programs to support women's economic development. One of them is the project to support women entrepreneurs in Hanoi, which was approved by the Hanoi People's Committee in 2018. The project encourages entrepreneurship, facilitates women's access to resources, and enhances their production and business capabilities.

Over the past six years, the organization has helped more than 5,000 women start businesses and connected them to over VND8 trillion (US$314.7 million) in loans, Hoa said.

"Thousands of women-led startups have received support for innovation, scientific technology application, digital transformation, and e-commerce to build brands, improve production efficiency, and expand market reach through both direct and online channels," the vice chairwoman said.

To date, 324 items have been designated as OCOP products and 275 women-owned businesses have been linked to brand development efforts.