Breaking barriers, eliminating chauvinism, and building futures

Carrying the words of author Tiffany Sunday, "Taught my soul to believe, all things were possible because I was to be a woman without limits, without boundaries," today's women around the world have been innovating and contributing as entrepreneurs relentlessly, though the practical scenario might not match up with the lyrical rhythm. Nevertheless, deep inside their souls, women have been crossing those tangible and intangible boundaries; they are breaking barriers with their strong will and continuous integrity in this patriarchal society in a constant, unstoppable manner.

The emergence and development of women's entrepreneurship in Bangladesh have now turned into a strong force for economic and social changes, playing an important part in national development by setting global economic trends. It is triggered by a combination of government policies, financial support mechanisms, and cultural changes that are pushing more women into business activities in agriculture, technology, e-commerce, and manufacturing.

These women-led businesses have created jobs, enhanced innovation, and encouraged sustainable development across communities. The cases of Bangladesh are proof that inclusive entrepreneurship can take place simultaneously with social development and economic progress.

One of the significant protagonists of this rise in entrepreneurship has been microfinance initiatives. This is represented by institutions such as Grameen Bank, ASA, and BRAC. Institutions grant small collateral-free loans that enable women, especially from rural areas, to set up and expand small enterprises. This financial inclusion empowered millions of women, gave full command over household income, and contributed to better living standards.

Besides, the government of Bangladesh encourages female entrepreneurs by implementing different policies such as NWDP (National Women Development Policy), with the help of which they can receive training, enjoy financial incentives, and simultaneously have a straightforward course of action for registering businesses.

While the achievements are immense, there is still some way to go. Besides, societal norms and realities restrict access to mainstream financial services and inhibit women from balancing work with family commitments in the realisation of their full entrepreneurial potential. In many instances, cultural expectations channelled into traditional industries, though reasonable in themselves, narrowly limit the extent to which women can venture into traditionally male-dominated sectors.

Several scholars like Wizar, Cornel at the beginning of 2024, have discussed and found a few core challenges to be addressed, among which are mentorship programmes, networking, skill-building programmes, and a few others, which are being highlighted and resolved by the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On the other hand, according to the Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs (MIWE) in 2020, from a global perspective, Bangladesh got a score of only 36.4 out of 100, which was one of the lowest-ranked countries, more specifically ranked 57th out of 58 countries worldwide.

In another report published in Prothom Alo, the growth rate of women entrepreneurs was only 4 percent from 2019 to 2017. These statistics suggest that more women must explore their entrepreneurial activities to foster economic development. However, in Bangladesh, women entrepreneurs face challenges mainly due to cultural norms and social structure, as well as limited access to connections, collateral, networks, and business skill development.

In 2024, Wizar talked about the chauvinistic attitude of Bangladeshi society and mentioned that it has been one of the leading reasons that women's pursuits into entrepreneurship have been performed without access to critical resources, networks, and leadership roles since time immemorial.

In a report by Dhaka Tribunein 2023, it was found that traditional gender roles have deeply assigned women to household responsibilities, discouraging them from entering entrepreneurship, particularly in non-traditional sectors. Interestingly, even if women entrepreneurs get into the fields, they face drastic systemic biases, difficulty in accessing loans, disbelief, mistreatment, as well as male dominance in every sphere of patriarchal blunders.' These challenges are indeed quite difficult to overcome completely.

Successful women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh inspire other developing countries on a global scale. The country's experience has shown that with proper interventions in finance, education, and policy, the potential of women entrepreneurs can be unfolded to create an inclusive and resilient economy around the world. With further investment in supportive ecosystems and a gradual dismantling of cultural barriers, female entrepreneurs from Bangladesh are likely to increase their impact both on the local and international scenes.

However, the good news is that some mentionable measures have been taken to overcome those challenges. For example, the financial inclusions are trying to develop better access to financial services that are to be taken up by women entrepreneurs, which was raised on the occasion of International Women's Day 2022, jointly organised by UN Women, UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), and UNCDF (United Nations Capital Development Fund). Financial and banking institutions are seeking the same goal. In August 2022, for instance, HSBC decided to introduce the Female Entrepreneur Fund to foster women-led start-ups.

Furthermore, in March 2022, Meta, in association with BWCCI, the ICT Division's a2i programme, and Light Castle Partners, declared the "She Means Business" programme, which was sharply focused on equipping women entrepreneurs with the connections, skills, and technology necessary to grow their ventures online. However, as per Dhaka Tribue, these challenges are increasingly being mitigated through social, financial, and policy-based interventions. For example, microfinance institutions such as Grameen Bank and BRAC have been providing collateral-free loans, allowing them economic independence.

Cornell and Wizar both agreed that government-led initiatives, such as the NWDP, have been letting women entrepreneurs take part in training, access to finance, and mentorship, enabling them to overcome structural obstacles. Dhaka Tribune's report of 2023 highlighted that the cultural shift, awareness campaigns, and activism are propagating economic contributions. As a result, societal norms are gradually changing, and women entrepreneurs have mushroomed across industries in Bangladesh, a sure-fire sign that chauvinism is well on its way out.

With such new initiatives and support programmes by national and international organisations, the future looks promising for women entrepreneurs in this country. The plight of the top women entrepreneurs and how they struggled to clear a path for the newcomers in the course of the big field, as well as their contribution to the country's economy, development, and woman empowerment, will be big in our history. Nevertheless, the patriarchal challenges still do exist in a massive form, where male awareness sessions are highly required in both personal and professional environments to uplift the women entrepreneurs' contributions.

Views expressed in this article are the authors' own.

Dr Tarnima Warda Andalib is an Assistant Professor and Dr Md Mizanur Rahman is an Associate Professor at BRAC Business School, BRAC University.