WE-HELP Digital Platform Launched to Empower Women Entrepreneurs in Bangladesh

The "WE-HELP" digital platform has been created in a significant step to help women entrepreneurs by delivering a varied variety of services.

This platform, developed by the SME Foundation in conjunction with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNSCAP), provides 20 different sorts of services, such as policy advice, networking, market creation, marketing aid, exhibits, webinars, and more.

Entrepreneurs can get help with business financial management, product quality assurance, ICT and digital services, skill development, finance and financial assistance, and maintaining international labour rights and factory safety standards.

WE-HELP was launched at the Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation in the capital, with Mustafa Jabbar, the Posts and Telecommunications Minister, presiding. Professor Md Masudur Rahman, Chairperson of the SME Foundation, presided over the ceremony, which was attended by Zakia Sultana, Secretary of the Industries Ministry.

Cai Cai, head of the Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Branch, Social Development Division of UNSCAP; Gwyn Lewis, UN Resident Coordinator; Rita Houkayem, senior development officer of the Canadian High Commission in Bangladesh; and Mantasha Ahmed, president of SAARC Business Council, Bangladesh, were among those in attendance.

According to the Bangladesh Government's Economic Survey from 2013, cottage, micro, small, and medium firms account for 99.93% of the country's approximately 78 lakh small and medium enterprises.

These businesses are critical to the nation's economy, accounting for more than 25% of GDP and providing 85% of job opportunities. Despite this, women entrepreneurs account for just 7.2% of this sector and get only 8% of total SME loans in the country.

Women entrepreneurs, on the other hand, stand to profit from the programme, since they will have access to 25-30% of loans and 70% of all SME Foundation services.

According to the Bangladesh Institute of Development Research, women-owned businesses employ 8.4 lakh people in the country, accounting for 10% of the overall employment. With women currently accounting for more than 36% of labour force participation, boosting it to 45% may possibly enhance GDP growth by 2%.

SME Foundation and UNESCAP are collaborating to execute several programs under the initiative "Catalysing Women's Entrepreneurship - Creating a Gender Responsive Entrepreneurial System."

The launch of WE-HELP is a critical step in this endeavour, which aims to provide essential information and support for entrepreneurial development to women entrepreneurs across the country, including online business information exchange, networking opportunities, training, market connections, and access to loans.