Promotion of female entrepreneurship

With the evolution of flourishing digital media and changing customer taste, the chances of small-scale startups to earn returns are higher provided they have the right product offerings. Recently, there has been an increase in small-scale startups in Bangladesh and females are not lagging behind. With the intent of encouraging the female entrepreneurs and celebrating the spirit of Women's Day, Jete Chao? and Cookups jointly orgnanised, 'Sheroes of Today' in recent time. The event took place on March 23, 2018, at Cityscape Tower, Gulshan 1, Dhaka. In addition to Cookups, there were several other startups, who were present with their products.

Words from the exhibitors

The event was quite successful according to most of the exhibitors. Waseka Nahar from Triory said, "I feel like the event had a great turnout. It is delightful that artists like me were able to exhibit alongside other amazing establishments. The event was the best mix of everything."

Another startup, 'Made With Love', was also present with a range of products. Humairah Shams, co-founder of the orgnanisation, said, "Sheroes of Today was an interesting experience. We are thrilled to be part of such a huge community of female entrepreneurs, and it is always a fun experience to have so many of them in one place. The turnout was great, and it was so inspiring to meet such amazing artists and entrepreneurs!"

The event was an excellent place for new female entrepreneurs. Adiba Samantha from Numinous felt that the event surpassed the expectations of everyone to a great extent. She said, "From a solid orgnanising team to excellent music and food- the event had everything. The great turnout allowed me to showcase my mugs, framed illustrations, T-shirts, and bookmarks. Moreover, it was a treat learning from other women entrepreneurs in the field."

Words from the customers

The customers seemed very happy with the arrangement made by the orgnanisers. Shaila Jahan, a young professional, said, "I have been a fan of such events. I attended quite a few of last year orgnanised by different hosts. This kind of events provides a platform for these startups to grow."

Another visitor, Alveed Bhuiyan, who came to the event with his wife, expressed his satisfaction and content over the kind of work different startups have been doing. He said, "We should do more for these talented entrepreneurs. Most of them are young and have a bright future ahead."

Words from orgnanisers

The idea for this event was to provide a platform for these hard-working women entrepreneurs to interact with the customers. According to a member of the orgnanising team, Arshae Ahmed, who is also an intern at Jete Chao?, the turnout during the event proved that the hard work and relentless efforts of the orgnanising team paid off. She said, "A lot of the people who attended loved the idea of focusing on women-led businesses, art and music and even came up to us to talk about it, which shows that people believe in women empowerment and appreciate when something is done about it."

When asked about their plans for future events, she said that many visitors asked the members of the orgnanising team about their plans for next events. She stated, "We are already planning our year out regarding the events we can offer with as much versatility as possible. So, hopefully, the next ones will be even bigger and better."

The writer is a final year student of BBA programme at the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), University of Dhaka. She can be reached at [email protected]