This paper examines the relationship between gender, social capital, and access to
finance of micro, small, and medium enterprises in the manufacturing sector in Viet Nam. Our
dataset is from the 2011, 2013, and 2015 waves of the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Survey
in Viet Nam. Using the Heckman technique to control for sample selection bias, the data do not
provide evidence for discrimination against female-owned enterprises in the formal lending
market. Specifically, female entrepreneurs have a higher probability of getting a loan and they pay
lower interest rates in comparison with male entrepreneurs. No discrimination in formal credit
markets may arise from the preference for informal loans over formal loans—that is, entrepreneurs
tend to borrow informal loans before applying for formal ones. Further analysis shows that social
capital could facilitate loan applications: firms that have a closer relationship with government
officials and other business people can get loans of longer duration.