Highlighting the standard of the country’s entrepreneurship, Finance Minister AMA Muhith on Monday stressed the importance of more training and initiatives to maintain the standard.
“Entrepreneurship is seen allover the country, including among women, and this is of high standard. To maintain it, there’s a need for further training and initiatives,” he said.
The Finance Minister was addressing a national seminar, ‘Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh’, organised by Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) at the Bangabandhu International Conference Centre (BICC) in the city in the afternoon.
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroz Chumki spoke on the occasion as a special guest while Asian Development Bank (ADB) country director M Teresa Kho as the guest of honour.
Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh project director and general manager, SME and special programmes department of Bangladesh Bank Sukamal Sinha Choudhury also spoke on the occasion. Senior social development officer (gender) of ADB Ferdousi Sultana Begum shared the experiences of the project.
BWCCI president Sangita Ahmed delivered the welcome address while founder president of BWCCI Selima Ahmad made a power-point presentation on the project.
Speaking on the occasion as the chief guest, the Finance Minister said women are a very integral part of the country as they represent half of the country’s population. “If we are to think about the country’s development, then we’ll have to think about women development.”
In this regard, Muhith said the present government has made big contributions to women development and human resource development, which is a big impetus towards development.
He also acknowledged the participation of women entrepreneurs in the country’s SME sector as now their share to SMEs is around 10 percent adding, “I’m doubtful whether women participation in SMEs was even 1 percent 10 years back.”
State Minister for Women and Children Affairs Meher Afroze Chumki stressed the need for bringing the women more in the mainstream of the country’s economic activities alongside emphasizing easy access to bank loan by the women entrepreneurs.
ADB country director M Teresa Kho said there is a long way to go as women now constitutes only 10 percent of the country’s total business entrepreneurs.
“We believe development is not possible without the development of women and we also need to turn to women to eradicate poverty and underpin growth,” she said reiterating ADB’s support towards women entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh.
Earlier, Begum Selima Ahmad in her power-point presentation showed that under the Promoting Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh project supported by the ADB, so far some 8,372 women entrepreneurs received an amount of Tk 642.70 crore up to June 2013.
Besides, some 900 women entrepreneurs of six districts received training under the project by the BWCCI. Launched in September 2010, the project is scheduled to end by this July.
Source: UNBConnect