Bangladesh, as a rapidly developing nation, stands to gain the most from the inclusion of women in the business world. Women’s economic participation and their ownership and control of productive assets speed up development, help overcome poverty, reduce inequalities, and improve children’s nutrition, health, and school attendance. While women entrepreneurs across Bangladesh have benefitted from the rollout of mobile phones and e-commerce, and are demonstrating strong prospects of gains from the fast growth of the digital economy. According to a 2016 study by the International Finance Corporation, women-owned businesses constitute just 7.2 percent of the eight million businesses in Bangladesh. Some of the most notable limitations include a lack of digital and financial literacy and limited knowledge of aspects of the digital economy, including regulations and logistics and the awareness of technology devices, competitiveness, and technological know-how before starting an e-commerce business.
Session Objectives:
• Discussing the current state and concentration of women participation in business and the labour force.
• Highlight some of the business success case stories that have been led by women.
• Shed light on some high potential trade and investment opportunities for women -led businesses in Bangladesh.
• Discussing how to improve women’s access to finance and access to entrepreneurship skills.
• Deliberating on how to develop skills that are required for women for starting a business.
• How can women be integrated in the digital sector and services sectors apart from the traditional industries.
