Publish:08Mar,201400:00:00

RoleofBWCCIindevelopmentofwomen
entrepreneurship
SelimaAhmad

TodayitiswidelyacceptedthatthewomenentrepreneursofBangladeshareenergetic,willingtolearnandtake
risk, innovative, hard working and an important driving force of the economy. Support and assistance are
extremely helpful in their bid to graduate from micro to and medium level entrepreneurs. As wellsupported
women entrepreneurs have the scopes to make a significant impact on competitiveness, job creation and
economicgrowth,acongenialenvironmenttowardwomenentrepreneursneedstobefostered.Butwomenatthe
grassroots are not adequately skilled and their lack knowledge of products and design development. They are
unaware of the need for market access or having a policy which would boost her enterprise and create gender
friendlybusinessenvironment.Thereforeaninstitutionisverymuchneededtoplayaveryvitalroleinthetaskof
identifying the problems of women entrepreneurs, providing training and counselling, for ensuring assess to
market, creating opportunities for networking and making advocacy with government for introduction and
implementationofappropriatepolicies.Insum,suchaninstitutionissupposedtoactasaonestopservicecentre
foroverallsmoothfunctioningandgrowthoftheirbusinesses.Recognizingthepotentialofwomenentrepreneurs
to play a more effective role in private sector development in the country, Bangladesh Women Chamber of
Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) was formed to act as a center to assist, activate, inform, organize, and
assimilatewomenentrepreneursofBangladesh.
BangladeshWomenChamberofCommerce
andIndustry(BWCCI)
SelimaAhmad,asuccessfulbusinesswomenhavinglongbusinessexperiencehadbeeninvolvedinseveraltrade
organisation,foundedtheBWCCIacutelyfeelingtheneedforanationwideChamberofCommerceforwomenby
persuading and mobilizing women entrepreneurs, government and development partners in Bangladesh. The
BWCCI, established, on 20th June, 2001, is registered with the registrar of Joint stock Companies and Firms of
BangladeshGovernment.ItisalsoaffiliatedwiththeFederationoftheBangladeshChambersofCommerceand
Industry (FBCCI) as an 'A' class chamber, since which envisions women's economic empowerment and
developmentforbusinesswomenandindustrialistsinBangladesh.Itisanonprofitandnonpoliticalorganisation,
astrongcommunityvoice,hasbeenlobbyingforwomenentrepreneursworkinginbothmicroandmacrolevelsto
assistnotonlytheirgrowthbutalsoimprovingtheirsocialandeconomicprospects.ThemembersoftheBWCCI
arefromtheentirerangeofsocioeconomiccontinuum.Ithasalreadyemergedasanadvocacyorganisationwith
increasedacceptanceamongcrosssectionofpeopleatthenationalandtheinternationallevel.Inrecognitionofits
contributiontheBWCCIhasachievedUNconsultativestatuswithitsEconomicandSocialCouncil.
Fromtheverybeginning,manydevelopmentpartnershaveextendedtheirsupporttoBWCCI.AndBWCCIstarted
projectswithCanadianInternationalDevelopmentAgency(CIDA)USAID,UnitedStatesAgencyforInternational
Development, Asia Foundation, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Foreign & Commonwealth Office, UK, US
Embassy, Dhaka, International Republican Institute (IRI), European Commission, International Development &
ReliefFoundation(IDRF),Royal,DanishEmbassy,Dhaka,HumberInstituteofTechnologyandAdvancedLearning
(HITAL),Canada,DevelopmentCooperationandEconomicAffairs,EmbassyoftheKingdomoftheNetherlands,
Dhaka, Trace International, South Asia Enterprise Development Facility (SEDF), World Bank Group,
CommonwealthSecretariat,MatchingGrantFacilities(MGF),WorldBankGroup,SwissContact,Skillfulletc.
TheBWCCIisuniquebecauseitisanorganizationforwomenentrepreneursthathaveabusinessplaninlinewith
itsdistinctivemission,visionandcommitments.FrominceptiontheBWCCIhasastrategicplanforsustainability,
having own income generating activities and the Secretariat and the board of directors worked hard to make it
happen.Inordertoprovidedifferentandneedbasedservicestoitsmembershelpingthemgrowandsustainin

their businesses , promoting micro women entrepreneurs to enter SME and ensure their access to institutional
loan and other capacity building facilities, BWCCI started tailor made services and own income generating
activities to sustain and continue its actions. Due to sincere and relentless efforts to promote women
entrepreneurs, the number of member increased from 24 to more 3000 till date. BWCCI is providing services
through its branch offices in every divisional city, owns two apartments in Dhaka and constructing a training
centre in Gazipur. BWCCI is unique as it introduces the idea of Food Court Incubator for the first time in
Bangladesh Arushi. BWCCI leased a piece of land in the most exotic, posh and costly area in Dhaka city and
rentedouttoits10memberswhocouldnotaffordtostartrestaurantsinthatarea.AgainBWCCIhadtakenupa
projecttitledImprovementoflivelihoodandFoodSecurityofSIDRAffectedRuralWomenEntrepreneursthrough
Capacity Building with the assistance of International Development and Relief Foundation (IDRF), Canada to
contribute to the improvement of livelihood and food security of rural women entrepreneurs by increasing
availability and access to food and income generation as well as improving its utilization by the rural women
entrepreneursintwoSIDRaffecteddistrictsofBangladesh.BWCCIisuniqueasittakesupconventionalaswellas
nonconventionalprojectslaunchingofanewprojectwiththeassistanceoftheRoyalDanishEmbassythathas
specialattentiontoindigenouswomenentrepreneursinBangladesh.ItisbeingcarriedoutinRangamatiDistrictof
which50%istribaland50%isBengali.BWCCIisuniqueasitrunsaHotlinecentersince2010forthewomen
entrepreneurs across the country to report problems and concerns related to corruption in confidence through
telephone,emailorcomingattheHotlinecenterdirectly.BWCCIconductedaresearchon"ImpactofCorruption
on Women Entrepreneurs" which showed that women entrepreneurs mainly face corruption in three areas
obtaining TIN certificate, Trade license and Bank loan. Since Hotline center started operating, women
entrepreneurs now have a place to seek support if they face any corruption or confusion while getting formal
businessdocumentsorloans.
Studies of BWCCI show women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh lack sustainability. Thus BWCCI believes
strengtheningofwomenownedenterprisesisgreatlyimportantinrelationtothesustainabilityoftheirbusiness.
Strengthening of enterprises includes issues like enterprise development, capacity building, marketing and
organizationaldevelopment.
Keeping these issues in mind BWCCI takes up programs that would strengthen women led enterprises from
designingabusinessplantomarketingoftheproduct,trainingstonetworkingbetweenandamongentrepreneurs
andwithbuyersathomeandabroadaswell.NeedassessmentcarriedoutbyBWCCIprovidedrequiredtrainings
that covered areas like design and product development, human resource management, good governance and
anticorruption.ActivitiesofBWCCIcoverindigenousaswellasspecializedwomenentrepreneurswhoareinvolved
in Silk business. BWCCI's takes great care in monitoring and evaluating the results of the trainings. It provides
timetotimecounselingtothemembersaswell.
Still, appropriate government policies are required to support any national endeavors that can have impacts on
women entrepreneurs of the country. The government acknowledges the necessity of women entrepreneurs'
contributiontothepovertyreductionprocessandthattheyareanimportantdriverofthenationaleconomy.As
suchneedforgenderresponsivepolicieshavebecomeanurgentissueasthepolicieswillhavesignificantimpacts
on women entrepreneurs to have their access to financial resources and services. Central Bank of the country
(BangladeshBank)andMinistrieslikeMinistryofIndustries,FinanceandCommerce,othergovernmentagencies
like SME Foundation and PFIs have taken policies for facilitating and promoting women entrepreneurships in
BangladeshbyprovisioningaffirmativediscriminationforwomenentrepreneurslikePoliciesofBangladeshBank,
IndustrialPolicy2010,ExportPolicy20092012,ImportPolicyOrder20092012,SMEPolicy,Bangladeshbank's
SMECreditPolicy2010,GenderActionPlanofdifferentMinistries,PoliciesofSMEFoundation,TaxandTariffPolicy.
Theprovisionsstatedinthepoliciesmakeitclearthatthegovernmentisdedicatedtodeployalltheopportunities
availableforthedevelopmentofwomenentrepreneurship.BWCCI'sexperienceshowsthatappropriateandtimely
advocacywiththegovernmentcanpavethewayformajorchanges.
DevelopmentofwomeninBangladeshishinderedduetolackofaccesstoFinance,Market,networkingandlackof
product and design development. BWCCI has been carrying out studies and lobbying for the removal of these
barriers.
To address the issue of access to finance, BWCCI conducted a study funded by Center for International Private
Enterprise (CIPE), USA under the project Promoting Women Entrepreneurship through Advocacy (PWEA) from
March2006September2012wherevariousissuesadverselyaffectingthegrowthofwomenentrepreneurswere
identified and possible recommendation and intervention were suggested that resulted in the First ever Women
NationalBusinessAgenda(WNBA).
In case of market access for the sale of agricultural produce, women engage mainly in production for family
consumption,orforthesaleofsmallsurplusinlocalmarkets.Buttheyneedaccesstomoredistantmarketsfor
whenthereisoversupplyinthelocalonesorwhenpricesarebetterfartheraway.Womenarealsoincreasingly

takingupmarketorientedproduction.ToaddresstheissueBWCCIisimplementingtheprojectentitled"Proactive
engagement of Members of Parliament to enhance women entrepreneurship development through
policy/legislativesupport"fromMarch2012incooperationwithUSAIDandTheAsiaFoundationtohelptoplace
theissueswomenentrepreneurs'faceinaccesstofinanceandmarketbeforethemembersofparliamentaswell
asparliamentarycommittees.
To address the issue Design and Product Development/ domestic and international trade fair BWCCI has
implemented'BWCCIBusinessTrainingforWomen'projectwhere300WomenArtisansfromJamalpur,Tangail,
Jessore,Feni,Sylhet,Rajshahi,Bogra,Rangamati,Cox'sbazarandRangpurreceivedcapacitybuildingtrainingto
developtheirknowledgeandskillinproductdevelopmentandmarketlinkages.Apartfromthisproject,BWCCIhas
otherprojectswhereitiscontinuouslyworkingwithmicroandsmallentrepreneurstodeveloptheirproductsto
competewithotherproducersofBangladeshandabroadbyprovidingcounseling,trainingandraisingawarenessof
qualityandcompetitiveproduct.
Throughnetworkingwomenentrepreneurscanidentifyhowtoattractandwintherighttypeofclientsfortheir
business, have commitment towards business, solve financial, managerial and marketing problems as well.
Learning from each other, sharing successes and failures develop the skills of an entrepreneur. Women
entrepreneursinBangladeshlacktrainingsonnetworkingskills.
To address the issue BWCCI has joined many international organizations to promote networking between
entrepreneurs of home and abroad and among many there are some organizations with which BWCCI is
continuouslyconnected:
StoryofBWCCIisstoryofsuccess
ThestoryofBWCCIisstoryofsuccessfromtheverybeginning.ItwasthefirstchamberofCommerceforwomen
inBangladesh.Itcreatedastrongboardrunbysuccessfulandcommittedwomenentrepreneursbuilddynamic
advocacyteaminalldivisionstoadvocatecontinuouslyforitsmembersandencouragingmemberstogrowand
sustain their businesses with intellect and ethics. It has contributed enormously for the development of
Bangladesh.DevelopmentpartnersjoinedhandstoworkwithBWCCIfortheirsincerity,efficiency,transparency
andcommitment.
Pushandpullfactors
andbusinesswomen
inBangladesh
Women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh have still confide themselves to small and medium enterprises. There is a
largegroupofmicrowomenentrepreneurwhostartedinformalbusinessbytakingmicrocredit.Theyareengaged
inbusinessduetopushandpullfactors,whichencouragewomentohaveanincomeandbecomeselfsufficient.A
sense towards revenue earning, better livelihood, empowerment, independent decisionmaking on their life and
careerandlastbutnottheleastdiscriminationagainstwomenisthemotivationalfactorbehindthisurge.Saddled
withhouseholdchoresanddomesticresponsibilities,womenwanttogetindependenceandempowerment.Under
theinfluenceofthesefactorsthewomenentrepreneurschooseaprofessionasachallengeandasamotivationto
do something new. Such situation is described as pull factors. While in push factors, the compulsion and
responsibilities shouldered by women make them get engaged in business activities to provide a better life and
educationfortheirchildren.
The BWCCI is committed to being a leader of broad based economic development in Bangladesh for business
women&industrialists,tosupportthewomenbusinesscommunitybyprovidingtraining,management&financial
resource, expertise & support networks that enable small businesses to succeed & prosper, serve all businesses
withaspecialfocusonsmall,microruralwomenentrepreneurs
Asthefirstchamberofcommerceinthecountry,BWCCIisexclusivelyworkingonwomen'seconomicandsocial
empowerment.BWCCIisworkingwithanenlightenedaimtoencourageandstrengthenwomen'sparticipationin
theprivatesectorasentrepreneursthroughpromotingawomenfriendlybusinessenvironmentsinceitsinception
inJune2001.
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Thewriteristhefounder