SWAPNO (Strengthening Women’s Ability for Productive New Opportunities), a productive employment and climate adaptive livelihoods-based poverty graduation project and joint initiative of the Ministry of Local Government, Rural Development & Co-operatives, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Marico Bangladesh Ltd., has recently reported significant progress in empowering Bangladesh’s ultra-poor rural women.
Marico, a major stakeholder in the SWAPNO project, has significantly contributed to empowering the project’s beneficiaries by ensuring sustainable livelihoods for them.
Highlighted as one of Bangladesh’s flagship social safety net projects (as certified by the Cabinet Division), SWAPNO has worked in five poverty-stricken and climate-vulnerable districts: Satkhira, Kurigram, Lalmonirhat, Jamalpur, and Gaibandha.
The project has yielded impressive results since its inception, benefiting 588 women-headed households with formal employment (in RMG and leather sectors) and another 393 through local enterprise development projects, namely Bindu, Shunipun, Kallyani, Deshi, Areca, Dhorola etc., fostering significant sustainable economic growth in the targeted regions.
Speaking about SWAPNO’s latest accomplishments, Rajat Diwaker, Managing Director of Marico Bangladesh , said, “Marico’s commitment to the SWAPNO initiative remains firm. Our collaboration with SWAPNO aligns with Marico’s values of fostering inclusive growth and making a meaningful impact in the communities we operate in.”
About SWAPNO
Since 2015, SWAPNO has empowered ultra-poor rural women in 5 poverty-stricken and climate-vulnerable districts in Bangladesh, targeting 12492 women-headed households across 25 upazilas and 223 unions. The project follows a ‘state of the art’ graduation approach encompassing livelihood promotion, financial inclusion, social protection, and empowerment.
The women are employed for 15 months under public works. Simultaneously, training is provided to improve self-confidence, leadership, financial literacy, basic numeracy, savings, and spending. This process is followed by livelihood training based on their interests and local market opportunities to begin micro-enterprises or find formal employment. After completing their employment tenure, they can access funds to invest in their enterprises. SWAPNO contributes to Bangladesh’s national and global commitments. On the national level, it promotes an inclusive and equal-opportunity workforce, including increasing women’s labor force participation. On the international level, the project reflects Bangladesh’s commitments to eradicating extreme poverty as part of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). For more information, visit https://www.swapno-bd.org/.
About Marico Bangladesh
Beginning its journey in 1999, Marico Bangladesh Limited is one of the top 3 FMCG multinational companies in Bangladesh and a trusted brand with a wealth of beauty and healthcare products. The company has reached households all throughout Bangladesh with 43 brands in the categories of Hair Care, Skin Care, Baby Care, Edible Oil and Male Grooming. With a strong and ever-expanding consumer segment, the flagship brand of Marico Bangladesh Limited, Parachute Advansed, has been ranked among the top 10 trusted brands in Bangladesh. In recent times, the company has diversified its product range after launching new brands such as Parachute Advansed Onion Enriched Coconut Hair Oil, Parachute Just for Baby, Parachute SkinPure, and the StudioX male grooming range, which includes shampoo, facewash, gel and deodorant. As proud ambassadors of “Made in Bangladesh”, 99% of Marico’s portfolio is manufactured in Bangladesh and exported to Nepal, Bhutan, Vietnam, Dubai, Egypt, South Africa, Tanzania and India.
