Diversion helps beat virus

Touhida Tohu, a boutique entrepreneur, had no idea of how an initiative could turn her life from penniless to well-off during the coronavirus pandemic.
Since her earnings remained stopped following the closure of all boutique shops and missing of the peak seasons, single mother Tohu got frustrated because she failed to earn her bread and butter.
But after receiving a non-surgical mask from one person during early lockdown, she stitched herself decorating it with hand embroidery and posted in her Facebook page.
"Only a post putting the mask into my face changed my life. Within few hours, I got a good number of orders... everyday an increasing number of orders has been placed."
So, Tohu had to manage fabrics and factory for stitching even though lockdown restriction was not relaxed.
By supplying each mask at Tk 300, Tohu then recouped the loss caused by the pandemic.
When the Covid-19 pandemic hit many enterprises hard, the scenario of women-run business was different.
With limited resources and financial backup, many women-run businesses could continue their operation. In some cases, they had done better business than that of the pre-Covid period.

Like Tohu, Aney Chowdhury was also able to survive by switching from nursery to cooking services during the pandemic. Started with few orders, she now supplies foods to 500 clients from her 'cooking studio'. Initially, philanthropic organisations like Rotary Club were her clients. These organisations supplied foods to pandemic-hit low-income people. Now Aney gets orders from picnic, birthday, wedding parties etc.
"As I love cooking and I had many pictures on my mobile phone before, I posted those, creating a page and I started getting orders," Aney said, adding that now she maintains staff and kitchens to manage her business.
According to a number of studies, women owned-small and micro-enterprises could manage their businesses by taking timely or visionary decisions. Many of them could continue their businesses either by switching to new time-befitting ventures or diversifying their products taking into account the needs of consumers.
These helped them survive even without getting benefits from the government's stimulus packages for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).
From making decorative masks and preparing healthy cooking items, many women entrepreneurs started online businesses and offered various services. New entrepreneurship also emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Sharing her experience, general manager of SME Foundation Farzana Khan said SMEs run by women had not given up during the pandemic.
From her own experience, she said many female entrepreneurs even moved to villages after losing business but had made a return later.
"They lost all the peak business seasons like Pahela Baishakh soon after the lockdown. But they took the opportunities, choosing new business ventures,' she added.
Tohu also said she resumed her boutique business online after lockdown restriction had eased.
The data collected by South Asian Network on Economic Modelling (SANEM) through monthly and quarterly surveys during the pandemic showed identical results.
President of Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry Selima Ahmed, however, said women entrepreneurs have run out of their savings and are now unable to expand their businesses. They need banking sector support and proper training on digital technology, she said.
Low-interest loan and easy access to finance are still a far cry for female entrepreneurs as the banking sector does not pay due attention to the need of women entrepreneurs.
Due to the complexities in getting bank loan, neither Tohu nor Aney had applied for loan from the government-declared stimulus package. Tohu started her business in 2003 with Tk 5,000 and managed small funds during the pandemic period. Aney said she never applied for the loan.
Farzana Khan said women entrepreneurs' dominance in the informal sector has helped them survive with small capital. As they have started online business, training has been necessary for them to train on various online issues including e-commerce for sustaining into the business.
Selima Ahmed said BWCCI is now conducting a survey on its members and attaching importance to capacity building in the financial sector.
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