ILO and Chattogram Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry host workshop to understand the challenges and opportunities of women entrepreneurs in Chattogram region

DHAKA (ILO news)- Today, the ILO’s Government of Canada-funded ProGRESS project and the Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CWCCI) organized a divisional level workshop on “Women Entrepreneurship: Challenges and Opportunities in the Chattogram Region.” The workshop saw the participation of approximately 200 entrepreneurs from Chattogram, Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari, who also took part in a buyer-seller meetup.

The workshop was graced by Chattogram Divisional Commissioner Tofael Islam as the chief guest. Other notable attendees included Arif Hasan Khan, Executive Director of Bangladesh Bank; Sayed Nazrul Islam, Managing Director of Well Designers Ltd.; Tuomo Poutiainen, Country Director of ILO; and M.A. Malek, Editor of Dainik Azadi. The event was chaired by Monowara Hakim Ali, President of CWCCI.
 

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Discussions during the workshop focused on the challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs in the Chattogram division, with insights aimed at informing national policy development for SME and industrial growth. Dr Amir Mohammad Nasrullah from the Department of Public Administration at the University of Chittagong presented a key paper highlighting the importance of women entrepreneurs in society. His paper underscored that investing in women entrepreneurs will drive economic growth, reduce poverty, enhance human capital development, and boost global competitiveness. Key prospective areas for women entrepreneurs identified included trade-related businesses, manufacturing, tourism and hospitality, agriculture and agro-based businesses, IT and digital services, health and wellness, and handicrafts.

Tofael Islam, Divisional Commissioner, Chattogram, emphasized the need to focus on future business opportunities both within Bangladesh and internationally. He remarked, "This region has numerous agri-products and resources from the Bay of Bengal that can easily be integrated into the global value chain. We just need the skills to process export-quality products with proper packaging and connect our entrepreneurs globally."

He also highlighted the critical role of financial institutions, noting that women entrepreneurs rarely default on bank loans, and committed to supporting CWCCI in advocating for policy changes to improve access to finance for women entrepreneurs.

Tuomo Poutiainen, ILO Country Director said, “Chattogram Division is uniquely placed as a vibrant economic hub, pivotal to Bangladesh's economic development. The ILO is committed to supporting women’s entrepreneurship which is crucial for economic growth, ensuring decent work and advancing social justice. We must support women entrepreneurs to overcome challenges like low productivity, informality of enterprises, limited access to finance, skill gaps, and overcoming care burden”. 

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Representatives from the women chambers of commerce in Rangamati, Bandarban, and Khagrachhari shared the barriers they face and their specific needs to improve their businesses, considering the keynote paper presented at the workshop.

Monowara Hakim Ali, President of CWCCI, concluded by stating that the organization will focus on enhancing financial inclusion, education and training, digital literacy, cultural sensitization, market linkages, policy and regulatory support, business protection, and women's cooperatives to boost businesses run by women entrepreneurs.

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Chittagong Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CWCCI) is one of the implementing partners of ILO Canadian Government supported ProGRESS project since 2023. The project is providing technical support to the CWCCI to improve Business Support Services and Value Chain Governance for women entrepreneurs along the tourism, agro-food processing, ICT services and care work sectors.