Directory of women-owned enterprises published

Most of the businesses owned by the women in the country have come under a single database.

The International Trade Centre has launched a business support organization (BSO) directory for women-owned businesses as a central repository for BSO services and information open to women-owned businesses in the country.

The directory under the SheTrades Commonwealth project financed by the UK Department for International Development and support of the SME Foundation has been announced open from a virtual ceremony held on Monday.

Industries ministry Secretary KM Ali Azam was the chief guest at the event while Safiqul Islam, managing director of SME Foundation and Simon Balfe, programme manager of the SheTrades Commonwealth spoke at the event.

KM Ali Azam said achieving real development is impossible excluding women who are half of the country's population. The government is working to create a women-friendly business environment.

Safiqul Islam said having a one-stop shop for business associations and other crucial information will provide women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises easy access to much-needed information on BSOs.

The SME Foundation is very pleased to collaborate with the International Trade Centre on this initiative and support SMEs in Bangladesh, he added.

Nurun Nahar Fancy, managing director at String Technology – a tech start-up, said at the event, "We have struggled a lot to identify which kind of support BSOs provide that our business needs."

"Often we had to rely on information from unknown sources. Now, all the essential information about the associations is available in one place," she said.

Organisers of the event said the directory contains information of enterprises owned by women associated with 14 business associations.

Bangladesh Association of Call Centers and Outsourcing, Bangladesh Association of Software and IT Services, E-Commerce Association of Bangladesh, Bangladesh Federation of Women Entrepreneurs, Chittagong Women's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry are among the organisations.