Study finds major obstacles in women entrepreneurship

Rokia Afzal Rahman, president of Women in Small Enterprise, speaks at a seminar in Dhaka yesterday.Photo: STAR

A study paper identified six major obstacles in the development of women entrepreneurship in the country's small and medium enterprises (SMEs).
Syeda Farzana Morshed, director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Centre for Development and Competitiveness Strategies Limited (CDCS), and Sheikh Morshed Jahan, assistant professor and chairperson at the Development and Policy Research Centre (DPRC) of Institute of Business Administration (IBA) of Dhaka University, jointly prepared the study paper.
Sheikh Morshed Jahan presented the synopsis of the study at a seminar on "Problems and Prospects in Expansion of Businesses by Small and Medium Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh" in Dhaka yesterday.
The obstacles the two researchers identified are family-oriented mentality of women, government's unfriendly attitudes towards women entrepreneurs, lack of market information and marketing strategies, unavailability of business development services to women entrepreneurs, unavailability of loans at lower interest rates and lack of opportunities for women to develop skills in business management.
In his presentation Morshed Jahan said the private sector census conducted in 2003 estimated the number of SMEs at 6 million, adding that the average number of employed workers in each of these SMEs amounted to less than 100.
The private sector census also revealed that the SMEs contribution in the national economy was 20-25 percent, their contribution in the national export ranges between 75-80 percent.
Chaired by Rokia Afzal Rahman, president of Women in Small Enterprise (WISE), the seminar was inaugurated by President of the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Hossain Khaled.
Rokia Afzal Rahman, also a former adviser to the caretaker government, said the government could provide loan to the women entrepreneurs by changing the existing policies.
Cited the example of the Micro Industries Development Assistance and Services (MIDAS), which provides 10 lakh as collateral free loan to every woman entrepreneur, she said more financial institutions like MIDAS are needed to ensure the access of credit to women entrepreneurs
Dr Yamin Akberi, deputy general manager of SME Foundation, said it has already taken up an initiative to train the SME entrepreneurs in preparing project profiles.