BWCCI, StanChart to help access to finance for women entrepreneurs

Standard Chartered Bangladesh and Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) have announced a partnership to facilitate greater access to financial services for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

BWCCI Senior Vice President Sangita Ahmed and Standard Chartered Bangladesh Consumer, Private, and Business Banking Head Sabbir Ahmed signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to mark the collaboration.

Under the partnership, BWCCI and Standard Chartered will collaborate to help grant BWCCI members with better access to capital and financial resources. The partnership will also extend to include knowledge exchange on financial services, consultation support, and training sessions for women entrepreneurs, said a media release.

Marking the partnership, Sangita Ahmed said, “BWCCI has been a key contributor of women entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh for more than 20 years, and we are delighted to partner with Standard Chartered to empower our members with better access to finance.”

Sabbir Ahmed said, “We are proud to partner with BWCCI with the goal of improving access to finance for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. BWCCI’s decades-long experience and a strong network of female entrepreneurs will undoubtedly complement Standard Chartered’s global aim of bolstering women’s economic participation and presence.

Standard Chartered Bangladesh General Manager (Business Banking) Shawkat Alam said, “We hope this partnership will gradually expand, and in doing so will further align with our key global strategy for lifting participation in our key markets by empowering women entrepreneurs to unleash their full potential.”

Established in 2001, BWCCI is the country’s first women’s Chamber of Commerce, a trade body exclusively working on women’s economic and social empowerment nationally. Starting with only 24 members at the time of its inception, BWCCI now has more than 5,000 members across the country. It has emerged as an advocacy organisation with increased acceptance among a cross-section of people at the national and international levels.

With over 117 years of presence in Bangladesh, Standard Chartered is the only bank in the country with a unique blend of deep-rooted local presence and capacity to capitalise on its global network and product coverage. The partnership will leverage Standard Chartered’s banking networks both at home and abroad to purposefully connect SMEs with broader local and international markets, it said.