Women entrepreneurs constitute 10pc of total business people

The number of women entrepreneurs in the country has reached 10 per cent of the total entrepreneurs over the last one decade against 25 per cent in the developed countries, said an SME Foundation release Sunday.

It said the rate will increase if the services like registration of the enterprises, getting trade licences, certificates of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), patents and trademarks are made available.

Besides, opportunity for taking part in various national and international trade fairs, business consultations and use of modern technology can also contribute to the increase in number.

The observations mentioned above were made at a workshop on Establishing and Management of Help Desk for Women Entrepreneurs in various government and autonomous organisations as part of the initiatives to bring women entrepreneurs to the development process at SME Foundation.

Chaired by the foundation's managing director Syed Ihsanul Karim, the keynote paper was presented by deputy general manager of the foundation Farzana Khan, director of Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) Abdur Rouf, deputy director of BSTI Shamim Ara Begum and senior scientific officer of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) Nasir Uddin.

The speakers at the workshop attributed the success to different initiatives taken up by both government and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) which helped develop women entrepreneurs.   

They also underscored the need for establishing help desks for women entrepreneurs at various government and autonomous offices to provide more effective services to the women entrepreneurs.