Women and Children Affairs Secretary Kamrun Nahar said the country has made significant social progress as well as economic progress working towards achieving the status of a middle-income country by 2021, reports BSS.
“The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs is committed to advancing women’s entrepreneurship and economic participation which will support the advancement of Bangladesh as a whole,” she said while inaugurating a national dialogue here today. The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in cooperation with the government of Bangladesh and Global Affairs Canada organised the dialogue focusing on growth of women entrepreneurs as a strategy for poverty reduction and sustainable economic growth.
It was held as a part of the five-year project titled ‘Catalyzing Women’s Entrepreneurship: Creating a Gender-Responsive Entrepreneurial Ecosystem’, said a press release. The project aims to create an enabling policy and business environment toenhance women ntrepreneurs’ access to capital through innovative financing mechanisms, usage of ICT and digital solutions.
United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Executive Secretary of ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana said, “As entrepreneurs make up the backbone of Asia-Pacific economies so that we are seeing more women becoming involved in economic activities in Bangladesh.” She also highlighted the need of ensuring that the women entrepreneurs have the ability, skills and apparatuses necessary to successfully start-up and expand their business.
Managing Director of SME Foundation Safiqul Islam said, “The outcomes of today’s dialogue will contribute to ongoing work we are undertaking , in collaboration with ESCAP, assessing access to finance constraint micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) face in Bangladesh and identifying public-private sector actions which will catalyze entrepreneurship.” More than 80 policymakers, MSME representatives and other stakeholders participated in the discussion.