আমার সম্পর্কে

আমার ফটো
Dhaka, Dhaka Division, Bangladesh
I would like to write and share feelings with visible world . Also like to travel and communicate with people.

রবিবার, ১ আগস্ট, ২০১০

Women entrepreneurs: Transforming society

Women entrepreneurs: Transforming society
Tithe Farhana

Women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh have been transforming their small individual house-based business activities into a new business venture or enterprise for the last three decades mostly from the family back-up rather than institutional support, and they proved that they have a tremendous potential in empowering women and transforming society.

"While my husband faced loss in his business in early 90s, my mother Jahanara Begum, renowned as the queen of cottage industry, inspired and guided me that time to set up my own business. I got enough opportunity to organise resources to establish my business. Nevertheless I had to struggle that period against the hurdles of surrounding environment. Now I have been running 8 business ventures and almost 200 people are working in them," expressed Setarra, owner of Purbasha & Agrani Cottage industry of Comilla. Similarly, Awadita Mou, owner of Prothoma, a renowned fashion brand of Sylhet, shared her own story: "From my childhood, I had deep passion on designing and product of handicraft which came from my parental inspiration and their work. After completing HSC, I started my own business with financial aid from my father. In spite of having completed education in English literature, I have established myself as an entrepreneur that has helped me to be empowered."

Setarra and Mou's experiences are actual phenomenon of woman entrepreneurship of Bangladesh. Women entrepreneurs are not only playing a dominating role in household management and woman empowerment but also contributing to movement in economic development. According to ILO, an entrepreneur is that person who has a set of characteristics that typically includes self-confidence, result-oriented, risk-taking, leadership, originality and future-oriented.

Over the past two decades, woman development programmes have gradually shifted from the consumption-oriented approach to the development approach. Article 38 of the Constitution of Bangladesh has ensured the rights of women while article 19 focuses on government's role to the removal of social and economic inequalities between man and woman. The government of Bangladesh has set distinct strategies in its National Action Plan (NAP) for the development of women entrepreneurship that includes tax holiday, gift tax etc. The Beijing declaration platform for action includes the right of women for credit as a basic precondition for the development of women entrepreneurship.

Rubina H Farouq, General Secretary of Women Entrepreneurs Association and Director of Institute of Hotel Management and Hospitality Ltd said, "In spite of having implemented rules and regulations by government, women entrepreneurs operating in the rural and urban areas are bounded by some social customs, strong religious barriers and unsatisfactory traditional norms creating obstacles in their smooth operation."

ASM Mashi-ur-Rahman, General Manager, MIDAS (Micro Industries Development Assistance and Service) commented in this regard: "In view of this problem it is somewhat difficult for the organisations to perform their activities and programmes, especially in dealing with women entrepreneurs working under several social constraints, from getting trade licences to assess to banks."

Md Mizanoor Rahman, Md Ibrahim Hossain and Abdus Shahid have demonstrated in their research "Problems of Women Entrepreneurship Development: A Study of Grameen Bank Finance on Some Selected Areas" - social dishonour especially in rural areas are a common societal norm while rural women entrepreneurs constitute a vital segment for loaners of Bangladesh.

Poor access to institutional finance is another factor for smooth operating of their business. Rubina H Farouq said in this context, "Most of the women entrepreneurs of all categories opined that they could not expand their business mainly due to shortage of capital."

Md Saiful Islam and Md Aktaruzzaman have conducted a research on rural entrepreneurs. They conducted a research on Bangladesh Krishi Bank. Out of the total 120 rural entrepreneurs, 75 per cent faced marketing problems; 14.4 per cent forum desirable competition in the market, 21.1 per cent pricing problem due to high production cost, and 11.1 per cent low demand of production.

According to Mashi-ur-Rahman, risk assess management capacity is a major factor for development of entrepreneurship. Our entrepreneurs especially rural women mostly depend on traditional technologies. They don't have many financial resources. Most of them depend on monetary support from husband and family, so they are not conscious about taking risk by introducing new technology. In the same way, Fatima Choudhury, a promising woman entrepreneur and owner of beauty parlour - Women's World - of Sylhet expressed, "We cannot take risk as we have limitation in financial factors. Most of the female entrepreneurs depend on family support, so there is no outcome to improve in technology. Banks are not so interested to give loan in large scale. Moreover, business plan and skill developments are totally absent from ideology of professional development of women entrepreneurs."

Another survey by Md Saiful Islam and Md Aktaruzzaman reveals that most of female businesswomen lack business ideology and professional proficiency. For example, their survey data reveals 78 per cent females have no knowledge, only 4 per cent rural entrepreneurs have experience and knowledge more than seven years.

Professor Masuda M Rashid Choudhury, former director of FBCCI and Vice-President of National Association of Small and Cottage Industries of Bangladesh and President of Association of Bangladesh Women Entrepreneurs and Professionals, pointed her fingers to women organisations and associations who are broadcasting their activities through media, more than performing responsibilities to rural and marginal women. She also expressed her dissatisfaction about programmes of commercial banking systems that are not actually practicing the policies of Bangladesh Bank in favour of women entrepreneurs.

A recent study of MIDAS recommended that young women both in rural and urban areas are expressing their engagement in diversified entrepreneurship including agriculture, livestock, service industries, fisheries and cottage industry that is shown in the table below (according to divisional categories):

"From the above study it is clear that women are interested to be empowered and self-employed," commented ASM Mashi-ur-Rahman. Rubina H Farouq considered that commitment of the government might flourish entrepreneurship development but such commitment would require establishing entrepreneurship development policy and rules. The government requires setting up the rules by putting into operation the existing laws and generates code to uphold income-generating programmes in rural areas and hilly regions and need to be more proactive in monitoring credit operations of various NGOs through proper audit and control. Similarly, she stressed the role of family and appealed the civil society to come forward and take different initiatives in order to change social attitude towards women.

Rubina H Farouq has recommended the following to facilitate the women entrepreneurs such as, simplification of sanctioning loan procedures, reducing the rate of interest, loan without collateral security, linking loan with industrial policy and women development policy. Further, Professor Masuda M Rashid Choudhury emphasised providing necessary financial assistance and skill development programmes to the tribal women especially in Sylhet, Mymensinh and Chittagong Hill Tracts who have affluent and diversified weaving heritage that have emancipated tribal women to achieve a self-employed identity. She called for attention to introduce technology to women entrepreneurs, develop and organise programmmes through women organisations and associations to marginal and under-privileged females which are prime conditions for women advancement, socially and economically.

E-mail: tanes_of_mono@yahoo.com

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