Tk 428cr project to boost women entrepreneurship

The government plans to take a Tk 428 crore project to develop the skills of 256,000 unemployed and disadvantaged women to turn them into entrepreneurs and create jobs.

Besides, the project will aim to make 1,600 women self-employed by setting up 80 sales and display centres and an equal number of food corners and beauty parlours. 

The project proposal may be placed at the weekly meeting of the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council on Tuesday, said an official of the planning ministry. 

The Jatiyo Mohila Sangstha, a women welfare organisation under the women and children affairs ministry, will execute the project between January 2021 and December 2025.

Although women make up half the population of the country, they are yet to participate in socio-economic development in a bigger way, the ministry official said. 

The project will look to create job opportunities for the unemployed and disadvantaged women, make them self-employed and provide them grants to turn them into skilled human resources. 

A feasibility study was carried out to gauge the prospects of the project, according to a document of the planning ministry.

The project will be implemented through 80 centres in Dhaka North and South city corporations and 78 upazilas in 64 districts.

The provision of setting up training centres at the upazila level and in remote areas instead of concentrating them alone at district level has been incorporated in the detailed project plan.

Many people have become jobless because of the coronavirus pandemic, prompting the government to undertake projects to generate employment opportunities for them and increase their incomes.

The project is part of the government initiatives to make the economy more vibrant, said the planning ministry official. A database of trainees will be created.