<![CDATA[Background of study: Vietnam’s Resolution 198/2025/QH15 and the mandatory abolition of the presumptive tax (thuế khoán) regime by 2026 are transforming millions of informal business households into a formalized, digitally-integrated segment of the private economy. Female-led business households (FBHs) in the ecologically fragile Mekong Delta face a distinctive combination of digital, gender-related, and climate-related constraints that has received limited scholarly attention. Aims and scope of paper: This paper examines how FBHs in Cần Thơ and Cà Mau adapt to Vietnam’s new private economic development framework, focusing on policy absorptive capacity, digitalization (including the role of Artificial Intelligence), and the institutional bridge provided by the Vietnam Women’s Union. Methods: A sequential explanatory mixed-methods design is used, comprising a structured survey of 300 female business owners across three growth-stage strata, followed by 24 in-depth interviews and focus groups with FBH owners, local officials, Vietnam Women’s Union representatives, and technology providers, complemented by four case studies. The analysis draws on the Policy-Actor-Context-Interaction (PACI) framework, Moser’s 5M framework, and the Technology-Organization-Environment (TOE) model. Result: Policy adaptation is shaped by “Time Poverty,” limited access to formal credit, and uneven digital infrastructure, while the Vietnam Women’s Union functions as a trusted intermediary that improves technology adoption and formalization. Artificial Intelligence-enabled tools show potential to reduce compliance burdens, but adoption remains constrained by limited AI competence, data privacy concerns, and financial constraints. Conclusion: The adaptability of Mekong Delta FBHs depends on a “Support Ecosystem” combining differentiated policy deadlines, minimalist AI-driven accounting platforms, reformed credit documentation, and continued Vietnam Women’s Union intermediation, so that the 2026 mandate becomes an opportunity for the economic empowerment of women entrepreneurs.]]>
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