WE Summit 2022 begins to organise women entrepreneurs

The two-day WE Summit 2022 started at Bangabandhu International Conference Center in the capital on Friday with active participation of thousands of women entrepreneurs from across the country. 

Minister for Liberation War Affairs AKM Mozammel Haque inaugurated the summit.

"The women of our country are moving forward. At present, many women in the country have placed themselves in the top positions of government and private institutions. It is a good sign for the economic progress of the country," the minister said during his opening speech.

The government has launched training centres across the country to make women self-reliant by enhancing their skills, he added.

A Facebook based platform with about 13 lakh members, Women and E-commerce Trust, widely known as WE, has been working since 2017 to create women entrepreneurs. Around four lakh women have become entrepreneurs across the country with the support of this platform.

On the first day of the summit, discussion sessions were organised on various topics including Facebook commerce, use of technology, courier and logistic services to help the women entrepreneurs in their business.

Apart from the WE entrepreneurs, successful businessmen from various sectors and senior government officials were present in these sessions.

A research paper on improving the social capital and development of women entrepreneurs in the country was also discussed at the opening day of the event. The research was conducted by Independent University Bangladesh.

Dr ANM Shibli Noman Khan, associate professor of Independent University Bangladesh, said, "Our research framework is based on gender, social capital, entrepreneurship, government agencies, marketing and management. Through the research, we have learned how the products of women entrepreneurs could earn foreign exchange after meeting the demand of the country."

Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan joined the entrepreneurs at the afternoon session.

Appreciating the role of WE in women empowerment, he said, "Today, women are playing a strong role in the country's economy. Our women are depicting a positive image of Bangladesh in the world. They are advancing in every sector including education, research and sports. This event is proof that they are not lagging behind in terms of business."

WE President Nasima Akter Nisha said, "The community of our women entrepreneurs have entered its fifth year. During this time, I have seen how every ordinary woman in the society is contributing to move forward the wheels of the country's economy."

"Each of our entrepreneurs has a different story, a different struggle. We will very soon strengthen our district level activities so that we can create women entrepreneurs all over the country," she added.

Member of Parliament Meher Afroz Chumki, Mohammad Ziaul Hasan Mollah, deputy managing director of Bank Asia, Soumya Basu, advisor and CEO of Silk Global, Soumya Basu, CEO of Star Tech were present at the event among others.