The crying need is a policy

for women entrepreneurs

Feature Reporter Holiday

The government should frame a policy for women entrepreneurs and the penalty for
women due to loan default must be within their affordability, said Rehana Rahman,
president of the Women Entrepreneurs Association of Bangladesh (WEAB) while talking
to Holiday recently.
Otherwise, it would leave a negative impact on the banking sector, she added.
It is a matter of time that women would emerge as good borrowers and they would
borrow and repay without any major difficulty, said the chief of WEABs, established in
2000 by a group of businesswomen with an aim to create a platform for women, who
want to establish themselves in a competitive field.
"What we can do is to bridge the gap between the women entrepreneurs and the loan
providing banks. Women's empowerment in our country is accelerating, which was once
discouraging in a Muslim country like ours. At present our talented women are working
along with men at every stage of economy, society, business and administration," opined
the lady, who won the Most Dynamic Woman Entrepreneur Award in 2009 and Begum
Rokeya Shining Personality Award in 2007.
Giving an outline of the WEAB activities, she said the
association helps women by providing services like SME
credit, improving skill in management, product development,
designing, marketing and other business-related supports.
The association provides financial support to its members so
that they can contribute to a robust economic growth by
empowering women socially, politically and economically,
says Rehana Rahman who is the Managing Director of Bengal
Trade Ways Ltd. She is also a director of Chung Hua Bengal
Building Fabrication Technologies Ltd, sponsor director of
Southeast Bank Ltd., founder life member of North South
University and also member of trade bodies like FBCCI, SME Foundation and SAARC
Women Entrepreneurs Council.
The WEAB organises seminars, workshops and symposiums, where businesswomen,
small, medium and large, meet and benefit from exchange of ideas and experience.
WEAB facilitates participation of entrepreneurs in national and international trade fairs
and exhibitions, where members acquire newer and better ideas and gain immensely from
the exposure.
Since inception products of the WEAB members have gained market access to the
USA, the UK, Canada, India, Nepal, Malaysia, Middle East and other countries.
In a short span of time the organisation is now drawing not only a large number of
members in Dhaka, but also has opened branches all over Bangladesh.
Training programmes including marketing are regularly organised for the WEAB
members in various fields including food processing, textile design and quality
development, production of new and innovative handicrafts and export-import indenting.
Traditionally women in Bangladesh are mostly engaged in handicraft-based business
like cottage craft, handicraft, bamboo weaving, poultry and dairy farming. The
association provides a platform for the women entrepreneurs, who will meet and benefit
mutually, she said.
"Our main problem is we don't have a piece of land. I requested the government, the
industries ministry, FBCCI and IFC several times to help the WEAB have its own land.
But the government is yet to help us in this regard. We finance ourselves, as we do not
get support from donor agencies or from the government. If we can arrange a fair with
participation of our member entrepreneurs to display products and highlight our activity
to the people and the government, it would help our members learn marketing techniques
both in the local and foreign markets", the WEAB president said.
It will also help them promote and improve their products' quality in a competitive
environment. But due to fund constraint and other obstacles it has not been possible for
the association to make any progress.
In the business arena women are also coming up and investing money in small, medium
and large-scale industries, which is a positive sign for the economy. Their contribution to
the GDP growth is higher than many other countries of the world. Banks and bankers can
help and encourage the women entrepreneurs by providing loans on easy terms, collateral
free and at low interest rate. Too much burden and pressure by the bankers should not be
imposed on women entrepreneurs.
The banks can provide some facilities to the female clients by opening a business and
banking counselling cell, a separate counter for comfortable dealing and giving them
different papers and booklets so that they can study at home, she said.