WB, SMEF launch suppliers’ platform for women entrepreneurs

The World Bank and SME Foundation created The SMEF Suppliers Platform for Women Entrepreneurs to support the sale of products produced by women entrepreneurs to corporate houses in the country.

SME Foundation said that the platform will help women entrepreneurs find a market for their products, especially to ensure that they sell their products to corporate houses.

Through this platform, financial institutions can present their loan information to women entrepreneurs. It is to be managed by the SME Foundation.

The SME Foundation thinks that women entrepreneurs, corporate houses and financial institutions can benefit from using this platform.

SME Foundation Managing Director Mafizur Rahman said there is a chance for entrepreneurs not associated with major buyers to be brought into the mainstream supply chain through the platform.

With the help of its local concerns, the World Bank will monitor the platform’s efficiency all over Bangladesh, he added.

“The number of local female entrepreneurs is increasing significantly every year due to the creation of a supportive work environment and various incentives. However, the participation of women entrepreneurs in corporate supply chains is very low, and that is why the platform was created,” he further said.

Women entrepreneurs who are not able to connect with corporate houses due to various reasons, including inability to produce quality products, lack of necessary resources, inability to connect with a suitable market, and lack of information about the needs of corporate houses, can benefit from the platform.

Due to the lack of necessary platforms, lack of ability to work with women entrepreneurs, and lack of information about products, corporate houses are not interested in buying products of women entrepreneurs, he added.

The SME Foundation said women own one-third of the small-and-medium enterprises (SMEs) worldwide.

Meanwhile, research conducted through the SME Foundation shows that market connectivity or marketing of products is one of the significant barriers for women entrepreneurs. This problem is even more acute in the first phase of a business’s launch.

The study found that while 37 per cent of women entrepreneurs in business reported a capital crisis, 20 per cent identified product marketing as their main problem.

There are about 10 lakh small-and-medium scale industries and 68 lakh cottage industries in the country, of which women are running 7.21 per cent.

A study on 80 multinational corporations by Fortune 500 found that out of an average of $1 trillion in annual purchases and sales, only 1 per cent is with companies owned by women entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, the platform is scheduled to be officially launched at an event today, where Industries Minister Nurul Majid Mahmud Humayun is expected to act as chief guest.

Mercy Miyang Tembon, country director for Bangladesh and Bhutan of the World Bank, will act as a special guest.

Meanwhile, with the efforts of the SME Foundation to procure at least 25 per cent of the country’s public procurement from the SME sector, the Ministry of Industries has already finalised the draft sub-contracting law.

The comprehensiveness of the commodity market for the SME sector is expected to increase significantly if the act comes into force.

The SME Foundation has advised SME entrepreneurs, especially women, to make necessary preparations to take advantage of this opportunity.

Cottage, micro, small-and-medium enterprises account for nearly a fourth of Bangladesh’s gross domestic product.