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Women entrepreneurs to redefine economy

Tarique Afzal
THE pedigree of success of a “woman” can be demonstrated in various ways of practical life. Unfortunately, we know very little about female entrepreneurs, and our ignorance of this important demographic is a serious issue in any effort to increase the total number of entrepreneurs participating in Bangladesh economy.
According to the State of Women-Owned Businesses Report, commissioned by American Express OPEN, women-owned firms have continued to grow in number and economic stature. They are standing toe-to-toe with competitors in a broad range of industries, including construction and transportation, where women-owned firms are just as likely as all firms in those sectors to generate more than half a million dollars in annual revenue.
The growth in the number (up 54 percent), employment (up 9 percent) and revenues (up 58 percent) of women-owned firms over the past 15 years exceeds the growth rates of all but the largest, publicly-traded firms.
As of 2012, it is estimated that there are more than 8.3 million women-owned businesses in the United States, generating nearly $1.3 trillion in revenues and employing nearly 7.7 million people.
According to the report of the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI), the prevailing sex ratio in demographic structure of Bangladesh indicates that women comprise almost 50 percent of the country's total population. Due to this demographic structure, the issue of the participation of women in the mainstream economy is imperative.
Without a meaningful and active participation of women -- half of the total population in regular economic activities — a dynamic and sustainable economy is impossible. It is also impossible to achieve the target of a poverty-free society without incorporating women in the mainstream of Bangladesh economy.
Bangladesh Bank is pioneering the process of growth and support. Governor Dr Atiur Rahman recently said the central bank is monitoring the implementation status of
refinancing scheme by scheduled banks so that women entrepreneurs can avail themselves of the opportunity to get maximum benefit from it.
Rahman, who recently received the prestigious Indira Gandhi Gold Plaque 2011 in Kolkata in recognition of his significant contributions to international cooperation towards human progress, urged the financial institutions to lend the entrepreneurs with easy terms.
“The help of financial institutions can help them to become good entrepreneurs. Information technology has turned into an inevitable tool in developing the life standard of people as well as building a sustainable world," said Rahman, while addressing the national workshop on Infolady model in Dhaka recently.
Bangladeshi women have contributed and played a pivotal role starting from the nation's Independence and are contributing to everyday life. Unfortunately, the sheer recognition of trust among financial organisations and society at large continues to portray deficiency in assisting a relative and required support.
Rona Begum was awarded the second prize at the Jatiya Juba Padak 2011. At the award-giving ceremony, she said: "When I wanted to expand my small business, I received no support from any commercial bank or financial institution. Nobody gave me any hope before I got involved with the Women Business Forum (WBF), Sylhet."
Amid complaints of a lack of funding for entrepreneurs, BRAC (Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) continues to
help graduate women entrepreneurs and their socio-economic status through credit-based programmes.
The understanding of such success of BRAC has encouraged other similar institutions to follow and attain methods to draw the silver lining and establish definite results.
Women today are a part of the nation’s manpower. The base of such contingent of Bangladesh has already shown its immense potential in different socio-economic sectors. Whatever development Bangladesh has achieved in the last decade has been made possible by controlling population growth, raising education level and increasing its labour force's participation rate.
Available national statistics reveal that women played a dominant role in all these
sectors. It has been found in various studies that even with limited access to productive resources, women have participated in the labour market in large number. Due to the participation of women in the labour force, the overall participation in the labour force has also multiplied in the past few years.
In consideration of the governmental support, the country's budget is the most influential instrument in the hand of the government through which women's potential as entrepreneurs can be reaped the best. The budget can provide all facilities necessary for a woman entrepreneur to be efficient and competent.
The national budget also can solve all problems faced by a woman entrepreneur. The budget has immense role in developing entrepreneurship among women.
We categorically believe such matrix of potentials of women entrepreneurship shall be highlighted to allocate the essentials within the upcoming budget of the country.
Today, successful men and women entrepreneurs share similar motivations, reasons for their success in largely the same way, secure funding from the same types of sources, and face many of the same challenges. These similarities suggest that, under the same conditions, both men and women can be successful entrepreneurs. Based on all research dynamics the financial institutions can play a leading role in extending focused lending support and manage their specific exposures via extensive training and structuring the future of the women entrepreneur sector at large as a part of their process of true contribution.
Women can be driving the economic force, as their leadership gains high loyalty due to the fact that they are the ones that are able to conduct clean, ethical, transparent and honest management. Based on the above advocacy, we intend to look forward to a supportive regime of the financial sector to build on the strengths of Bangladesh's women entrepreneurs and stir the way forward to a better Bangladesh.
The author is the CEO of a rating agency. He can be reached attariqueafzal@hotmail.com.