Women’s Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh

1. Women’s Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh WEP Workshop, Bali 20 February 2014

2. 1 Women’s participation in the economy 2 Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship 3 ECON’s WE development experience in Bangladesh 4 Lessons learned: Why it worked

3. Rising female labour force participation*, particularly in services and manufacturing • Female labour force participation (LFP) has doubled since the mid ‘90s, but is still low, at 26% • Particularly steep rise for young women • Anomalously low no. of women in agriculture (in South Asia context) • Garments industry has been vital in creating social change, but is a relatively small contributor to overall rise in female employment • Major industries experiencing growth in female LFP: • Education: +7% • Health and social work: +29% • Manufacturing: +6.5%

5. 1 Women’s participation in the economy 2 Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship 3 ECON’s WE development experience in Bangladesh 4 Lessons learned: Why it worked

6. Norms and knowledge barriers are impeding women’s entrepreneurship • Social norms regarding women’s work and earnings • E.g. for 1 in 8 women who earn a wage, someone else decides how that wage will be spent • 48% of Bangladeshi women say their husbands alone make decisions about important matters such as their health, work, and travel • Women tend to be excluded from ownership of property and assets, making formal-sector financing difficult to obtain • Lack of networking connections to district-level value chains and platforms for interacting with policymakers • Lack of experience and knowledge regarding: • Business development: business entry, finding customers/suppliers, maintaining accounts, developing high-value products based on market awareness • Government services and regulations: incentives being offered to women entrepreneurs, licensing requirements, etc.

7. 1 Women’s participation in the economy 2 Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship 3 ECON’s WE development experience in Bangladesh 4 Lessons learned: Why it worked

8. Platforms for collective action and networking have been developed

9. Platforms for collective action and networking have been developed

10. Results: Increasing recognition of platforms, and provision of public services • DWBF membership increased from 175 to 700 in 2013 • Senior Joint Convener of the DWBF Sylhet selected as one of the Directors of the Bangladesh SME Foundation. • Recognition of DWBF Rangpur as the first ever government-approved Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry at district level • Collateral-free bank loans extended to DWBF members • Allocations for women owned businesses in City Corporation markets • Members of DWBFs recognized with national-level awards for entrepreneurship • 4 members won “Best Woman Entrepreneur” from the SME Foundation • 3 members won awards from Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce • Inclusion of DWBF members in policy meetings

11. Two vignettes: Role of technology and emerging sectors Mobile Phones in Kerala Solar panels in Bangladesh • The Market: • Hundreds of fishing villages along 590 km coastline • 600 k tons annual production • Fish primary source of protein • 5-8% of total catch wasted due to inability to sell in local market • Effects after mobile phones (1997): • Sales in non-local markets rose from 0% to 35% -> no wastage • Profits rose 8% • Consumer prices fell 4% • Formation of women’s cooperative for assembly and sale of solar panels, batteries, etc. • Resulted in women’s increasing decision-making power in the community, greater mobility, and business and technical skills, alongside added income • Husbands started to share in household tasks once women were working in the cooperative

12. 1 Women’s participation in the economy 2 Barriers to women’s entrepreneurship 3 ECON’s WE development experience in Bangladesh 4 Lessons learned: Why it worked

13. Recognition of unmet needs, and buy-in from influential policymakers facilitated reforms • Private and public service providers were looking to partner with stronger associations, such as the DWBFs • Bangladesh Bank Governor endorsed the association-led model for collateral-free loans • Commercial banks were interested in loaning to women entrepreneurs, but could not find the right model • Leadership development and mentorship at the district level • Vital link between the local and the national level • TAF was able to find influential individuals to champion the cause: • Bangladesh Bank Governor; RokiaAfzal, President of BFWE and ex-Caretaker Govt. adviser; Finance Minister’s Office; FBCCI Vice President • Implementation under the umbrella of the ECONtheme helped gain support from male leaders

14. Future Outlook for women’s entrepreneurship interventions • Capacity building of the associations: basic organizational management skills • Regular meetings, managing subscriptions, recording meeting minutes • Replication of technology-based networking in more districts • Increased focus on ICT-based businesses, rather than traditional products • ICT Secretary is very interested in creating employment for women through freelancing work • Strengthen the capacity of associations to collect and disseminate market information • Ensuring the sustainability of women’s associations by creating income-earning opportunities • Utilizing private-sector CSR to support associations