Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh lack exposure, financial support

Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh lack market exposure and financial support to expand their businesses. They also face challenges marketing their products due to lacking skills and professionalism.

Manzuma Murshed, a successful woman entrepreneur and the founder and CEO of M and M, a pioneering organisation working to empower women entrepreneurs in Chattogram, shared these insights in an interview with The Business Standard.

She stated that M and M Communication took up the challenge of organising fashion exhibitions to give women entrepreneurs the necessary exposure to help them grow their online and offline businesses.

Q: What are the challenges women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh face?

A: Women are also human beings. To establish their own identity, they need to be financially independent.

When a woman tries to start a business, her first obstacle is opposition from her family. After overcoming family resistance, she encounters societal challenges. Once she navigates family and social barriers and enters the market with her products, she struggles with exposure and financial support. Then, she faces difficulties due to a lack of marketing skills and professionalism, which hinders the growth of her business.

Q: How does M and M Communication help women entrepreneurs grow their businesses?

A: Women entrepreneurs operating on online platforms were not getting proper exposure. Entrepreneurs with 2,000–3,000 followers often struggled to sustain their businesses throughout the year.

Mand M Communication was created to expose them by organising fashion exhibitions in prime locations like Hotel Radisson BLU. When they participate in these exhibitions, they get the exposure to be introduced to 2,000–5,000 new customers, helping them build a customer base that later becomes their regular clientele.

Many women entrepreneurs who started online businesses were encouraged to open offline stores after participating in our exhibitions, which is a significant achievement for M&M.

Q: When do you organise exhibitions?

A: We started organising exhibitions in 2018. We hold four exhibitions annually—two before Eid-ul-Fitr, one before Eid-ul-Adha, and one during the wedding season.

In the last eight years, we have organised 30 exhibitions.

Q: How do you select your participants?

A: Initially, we received participants mainly from Dhaka, with online and offline entrepreneurs participating. As our exhibitions became more popular in Chattogram, we received many applications. However, we cannot accommodate all aspiring participants.

We evaluate the quality of their products and their level of professionalism before allotting stalls. Initially, we started with 35 stalls, later increasing to 50. Due to overwhelming responses from entrepreneurs and customers, we expanded to 80 stalls over the last three years.

Q: What can be done to support the development of women entrepreneurs?

A: Several steps need to be taken for the development of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

First, society must be more aware that women have the right to live independently, just like men. A woman should not have to depend on others for financial stability.

Second, women entrepreneurs should be empowered through training programs on marketing skills and professionalism.

Third, banks and the government should provide financial support with low interest rates and flexible terms. Many women entrepreneurs struggle to secure loans because they lack collateral or a guarantor. In most cases, women do not own property to mortgage for a bank loan, and even their family members hesitate to act as guarantors. This is a significant challenge. I urge the government and financial institutions to find a solution to this issue.

Q: What advice would you give to women entrepreneurs?

A: Many women entrepreneurs give up after facing failure once or twice. Competing in the business world—especially against male counterparts—is difficult.

I urge women entrepreneurs not to give up. There is always a chance. Be patient and make the best use of every opportunity.

I have been an entrepreneur for the last 10 years, and in my short career, I have seen many women succeed by persevering and making the most of their opportunities.