Problems & Prospects of Women Entrpreneurship

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In Bangladesh, a large bit of women diddle in the informal bea, just the real value of their affaire and contribution is non recognized in the society. Differences and inequalities between women and men exist in terms of opportunities, rights, and benefits. There be various trammelts in the way to the up-gradation of their skills and enhancement of their productivity. These include poor access to market, education, technology and finance, poor linkages and networks with support services and an reproving policy and regulatory environment.However, it is heartening to none that despite galore(postnominal) barriers, a new womens attemptr class in the Sm solely and Medium argonna has developed in the countrified pickings on the challenge to work in a male dominated, competitive and complex scotch and employment environment. It has been show that at present women entrepreneurs constitute slight than 10% of the nub art entrepreneurs in Bangladesh wher eas women in go market economies own to a greater extent than 25% of all pipelinees.Inspire of these, in Bangladesh, not all constitute the womens entrepreneurship improved their living conditions and earned more(prenominal) respect in the family and the society, but they capture also contributed to melodic phrase and export growth, supplies, employment generation, productivity and skill using . our guide includes introductory part that contain introduction about women entrepreneur , scope of women entrepreneurs, objective of our carry, methodology, point of accumulation of report that we assemble to prepargon our report on worry and searchus of women entrepreneur in Bangladesh.In second part, we explain literature re observe that contain enigma and prospectus of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. To explain these problem and prospectus of women entrepreneurship. We also explain scope, source, characteristics, growth, profile of some successful entrepreneur, their barriers and the way to everyplacecome the barriers and future scope of women entrepreneur in Bangladesh. In third part, we explain our findings from traceing some women entrepreneurs around us. Here we express our findings by some descriptory relevant points.Concluding some of our findings, recommendation in our respects and I tried to set a figure that Ive raise in this hold up of problems and prospects of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. There adding some recommendation to the occupy. I consume my summary. INTRODUCTORY PART OF STUDY INTRODUCTION Bangladesh is still a poor country, but she is rich in human resource. In Bangladesh women constitute slightly little than fractional the population. The majority of them are underprivileged, under nourished, illite array and poor. There are not enough employment opportunities for women.Therefore, economic activities, by self-employment have become crucial for potential working women. As a matter of fact, women entreprene urship or women in stage business is a real recent phenomenon in Bangladesh. Although women are taking to entrepreneurship in mevery challenging fields, their activities in Bangladesh are not that extensive. In spite of fewer opportunities, many women have succeeded in business, but they are still very small in number. But it is true that they are overcoming their obstacles and build a strong contribution in our national economy. Objective of the studyThe overall objective of the study is to identify the problems and prosperity of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. The objective of our study is described in be crushed a) To identify the present status of women entrepreneurs in different sectors and the role of women entrepreneurs in the national economy, b) To determine the women entrepreneurs profile, their success indicators with reference to a particular sector c) To examine and assess the socio- cultural/educational and legal barriers to womens entry into endeavour, as wel l as performance and growth in entrepreneurship ) To examine the issues quest to address to development access to economic opportunities and formal in vomits which promote entrepreneurship development. e) To reexamine the circulating(prenominal) policies towards sex activity equating and identify gaps f) To examine how womens business associations can strengthen womens position in business and international vocation promotions g) To indicate heavenss in contain of further research with understanding of economic contributions by female enterprise owners h) To put up st driftgic directions on how to promote and strengthen potentiality of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.Scope of the study The scope of the present study covers women entrepreneurs of 34 districts of Bangladesh, irrespective of their ownership pattern and type of enterprises. The study also reaps an attempt to project a broad view of the status of the existing women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. more or less heavy factors much(prenominal) as personal, affectionate, psychological and economic-factors have been examined in order to understand whether these facilitate or constrain women to emerge as successful entrepreneurs.The study also throws light on women entrepreneurs strength and helplessness that have impact on entrepreneurship on the socio-economic status of two urban and rural women and their living conditions. Methodology Selection of Study Area He sample data is collected randomly from different parts of Bangladesh. sample Design Random sampling procedure was followed to select the sample. the number of total sample is 10. Sample was taken from Dhaka and Chittagong City. The Questionnaire A set of questionnaire was prepared to take in the field discern.The questionnaire contain some relevant question about women entrepreneurship and their problem and prospectous in this field. Method of Data Collection Our method of data collection are establish on * Primary Data * Seco ndary Data * Questionnaire Survey * Questionnaire Interview * Website Limitations of the study Since the study is based on problems and prospectus of women who in use(p) in Bangladesh, it has some obvious limitations. These are as follows * 1 . Data collection through primary source or through interview was a season consume matter. The respondents some clock times were ready non-cooperative with the interviewers. 2 Present study covered women problems and prospectus in entrepreneurship sector. Large scale business had been kept outside the vista of the present study. * 3. Gathering information from some of the women entrepreneurs was sometimes very difficult and extremely time-consuming. They did not give enough time to the interviewers. * 4. Further, it was also lay out that women entrepreneurs have a tendency to disclose lower income and higher expenses. They think that this would help them to get more credit. This is considered to be a limitation to the research study. * 5. Contacting women entrepreneurs to gather information was a very difficult task. * 6. The study was conducted among women entrepreneurs all around Bangladesh where all the Upazillas were not covered and as such this may not reflect the total picture of Bangladesh relating to women entrepreneurs. * 7. In view of time and resource constraints, conducting a comprehensive study in full depth and width has not been possible. Literature review A. Concept of women entrepreneurship Women Entrepreneurs may be defined as the women or a group of women who initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise.Government of India has defined women entrepreneurs as an enterprise owned and controlled by a women having a minimum fiscal interest of 51% of the peachy and giving at least(prenominal) 51% of employment generated in the enterprise to women. Like a male entrepreneurs a women entrepreneur has many functions. They should explore the prospects of starting new enterprise undertake risks, in troduction of new innovations, coordination judgeship and control of business and providing effective leadership in all aspects of business. It is noticeable that entrepreneurship development and em springment are complementary to each other.Women empowerment depends on taking part in various development activities. In other words, the involvement of women in various entrepreneurial activities has empowered then in social, economic and cultural fields. The power of an access to taking decisions has improverd for women in Bangladesh, within as well as outside the family. Yet, women entrepreneurship development varies a chase rural and urban areas B. growth of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh Ten years ago, a majority of the women workers in Bangladesh worked in the informal sector.They were in the main unpaid and did not contribute directly to formal economic activities. However, the demographic structure of the labour participation in Bangladesh is witnessing a remarkable c hange. An increasing number of women are working in the formal sector as entrepreneurs and paid workers, a situation that was not seen in the past. This gradual transformation of womens participation from the informal to the formal sectors has resulted in an upward mobility in the social and economic status of women, e supernumeraryly that of poor women in the country.In order to collide with an understanding of the current situation, it becomes important to trace the factors that are contributing towards a industrial transformation in the status of women in the country. Since the early 1990s, the growth of manufacturing industries provided women an opportunity to enter the formal labour market. A large number of rural women migrated to cities at a very young age, in that respectby reducing women labour in agriculture in rural areas. A new generation of women workers emerged in the country that was financially independent and lived alone in urban areas without male supervision.Mo reover, blow uping upon of credit facilities gave women access to funds. Initially, women had access to less than one percent of the credit in the formal fixing companying sector in Bangladesh. However, with the advent of the micro finance sector, many women had the opportunity to actively participate in income generating activities. Women, who mostly participated in non-farm activities and homestead farming, engaged in small-scale production, especially in rural areas. On an average, women earn 40% less than men in Bangladesh and have limited ownership over assets.Although there is a persistent problem of under-remuneration of women employed in formal sector activities, the potential of womens economic contribution is slowing gaining recognition. A coarse with the expansion of the manufacturing sector and credit facilities, the growth of the Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) has had a positive impact on womens empowerment. A advanced number of NGOs engaged women not just i n implementing development projects but also in the planning and human bodying stages. Women were actively involved in all stakeholder consultations. As a esult, womens role and participation in health and community development activities has been steadily increasing at the local level. At the same time, active participation in development projects has embossed womens awareness on their legal rights and benefits, which is also contributing towards their empowerment. In 2009, womens labour force participation rate stood at 31. 5%, an increase of around 2% since 2005. During this period, although the participation of women in the labour force has increase by roughly 1 million as compared to 3 million of men, there is definitely a progressive change taking place.The changing role and status of women in Bangladesh today is characterized by increased opportunities. A research study conducted by the Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry reveals that women entrepreneurs are m ore carely to hire other women. In addition to creating jobs opportunities for women, such a trend forget result in an overall increase in the progress of women in the country. Greater participation of women in remunerative work will not only improve their living conditions but also improve their bargaining positions.Employed women will have fall apart access to mainstream banking services which will help them to save and entrust their income in tangible assets. Furthermore, formal sector employment opportunities for young women could reduce early marriages. Roughly 33% of women aged 15-49 in Bangladesh get married forrader the age of 15. Participation of young women in formal employment will not only prevent early marriages but also reduce fruitfulness rates and health- associate problems caused by early marriage.Looking ahead, while access to labour markets is rising for women, mental ability building services for women workers such as comprehensive provision programs need to be developed alongside in the country. One of the important challenges lawsuitd by most women entrepreneurs is lack of access to market information. Therefore, supportive infrastructure such as information centres must be established to disseminate information on potential buyers, available technology and finance, which will make their business sustainable and profitable.Addressing such key challenges presents a strong prognosis for womens employment in the long run, which will in turn result in owing(p) empowerment of women and gradually eliminate social barriers in the country. C. Main scope Scope of women enterprise covers a wide range of activities. The activities which are found specially amenable to and can be successfully. The scope of women enterprise are represented Figure Scope of Women Entrepreneurship in Bangladesh D. Capital Structure Capital is most important part to start up business.Women take initiative to start their business if she is financially strong or if she get financial support. We can define the outstanding structure of women in two way- 1. Long Term Sources 2. Short Term Sources 1. Long Term Sources These are the loans taken for a fairly long term of time ranging from 5 to 10 years or more. Long term loans are raised to visit the financial requirement of enterprise for acquiring the primed(p) asset including land,building,plant and machinery etc. Figure Sources of Long Term Capital 2. Short Term SourcesShort term slap-up is obtained for aperiod upto 1 year. These are required to meet the day to day business requirement. In other words,short term capital is obtained to meet the working capital requirement of the enterprise- Figure Sources of Short term capital E. PROFILE OF SOME SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENEUR The assignment also includes conducting of 30 case studies of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. The entrepreneurs were selected for the purpose at random. However, the accessibility of the entrepreneurs in terms of their t ime and convenience was also a factor in the selection.The studies are presented in the quest pages. The case studies mirror some important aspects of women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. PROFILE 01 nuptial WEAR AND FASHION DESIGN DALSANEA Dalsanea, an exclusive fashion house is a popular brand name to Bangladeshi fashion loving slew. The enterprise represents the beauty, women power and sprit of our time. Inspired by the theme, the enterprise was established in 1989 in Chittagong by Afsana Ahmed Shoma, the Chief Executive. Shoma is a sincerely yours self motivated business woman. Although she is an M.Com (Finance), had a great interest in women fashion from her teenage life with a dream to be a fashion designer which inspired her for establishing the enterprise. She learns from new fashions that came to her notice. Today, she is specialized in wedding outfit design. Now Shoma is utilize a rented house in Dhaka as her work place and residence. She employs over 60 men and women to design and manufacturing wedding and party collection and soft evening dresses. She also uses contract workers for electric shaver initial works. She is looking forward to establishing a separate workshop for her business, if financial support from banks is available.The demand for her products is quite high and she has no trade problem. Her products go mostly in big cities such as Dhaka and Chittagong. Most of the time, she receives advanced orders from the showroom owners of the big cities. She has participated in a number of national and international divvy up fairs and received recognition for her customized fashion brand. Investment Originally, she invested about Tk. 1. 5 lakh in her business mostly from her own savings and borrowings from the close family members and about Tk. lakh from a private Bank and repaid. Recently, she applied for a loan of Tk. 10 lakh to MIDAS pay limited and the application is under process. Today the total enthronement in her business kee p downs to about Tk. 40 lakh. Income /Expenditure Her average disturbance per month is over Tk. 60 lakh with an run cost of Tk 35 lakh. Social and environmental factors The social factors that generally hinders Bangladeshi women in taking up business as a profession does not affect her much although her family members could not take her decision positively.However, she has cut across these problems with perseverance and determination. Environmental problems dont affect her much since the by products from her operating room are mainly dry and degradable materials that are disposed by the Municipal waste collector. She is a member of several(prenominal) professional bodies and a familiar person in business and social life.. Future Prospects The Dalsanea has good prospect for further development. At present, it is growing at the rate of about 25% per year. It has a plan to export mainly in the South Asian region. PROFILE 02 LEATHER AND JUTE GOODS KARIGARKARIGAR, a welt and jute go ods producing enterprise is a pride and inspiration of young entrepreneurs in Bangladesh. The enterprise was established in 2005 by a young graduate in Leather Product Technology, Tania Wahab and her friend. Tania is a self motivated business woman at a time when a large number of young professionals look for job after(prenominal) outset instead of becoming entrepreneur. Bangladesh is an exporting country of lathe products and jute goods. Animal skin and hide are available in Bangladesh and the climate made the country as the maker of best quality jute in the World.After graduation, Tania spends no time to take the advantage of raw materials availability in the country and the skill she acquired from the Bangladesh College of Leather Technology to actualize her dream to be a business women. She is a self motivated, energetic and heard working woman with keen interest to learn. Although Tania is specialized on leather products but she is learning business management by doing. KAR IGAR has two factories and a showroom in Dhaka- the second showroom is on the way. It has over 50 products such as Leather goods (jacket, wallet, belt jewellery box, slipper etc. , Jute goods (bags, cushion cover, table matt, table runner etc. ) and promotional items. The lodge employs 35 people of whom 95% are women to run the manufactory and the showroom. The enterprise also uses contract workers during the peak season. Tania is looking forward to establish an international standard factory in course of time. She markets her products by selling from her showroom and supplying to different clients office on order. She has participated in national and international occupation fairs with her products and gain respects. Investment Initially, she and her friend have invested about Tk. 0. lakh in the business mostly borrowing from the close family members. Today they have accumulated about Tk. 15 lakh as operating capital. This year they borrowed Tk. 5 lakh from a private Bank. Socia l and environmental factors The social factor affected her very much, initially. comrade business men at the hub of Leather business in Dhaka could not believe that she will survive with the business because she is a woman. Gradually she has overcome these problems with enthusiasm and determination and become a member of their association, which makes her presence acceptable to the member of the association.Environmental problems, especially disposal of waste materials affect her and she is trying to dispose the waste, scientifically. She is a member of several professional bodies. She is a resource person in different educational activity programs. In 2006, Tania received National Best WomenEntrepreneur Award from SME Foundation, Bangladesh and listed as a raising business woman of Bangladesh by the International Trade centre, Geneva. Income /Expenditure Her average turnover per month is over Tk. 10. 0 lakh with an operating cost of Tk 8. 0 lakh. At present the enterprise is grow ing at a rate of about 60% per yearFuture Prospects KARIGARs products have good prospect for marketing both at home and abroad. The enterprise exported about Tk. 18. 5 lakh worth of leather, jute and leather-jute mix products to UK and Australia in 2007-8 through a buying house. To increase the export, the enterprise must have international standard environmental friendly workshop for which Tania has a plan to setup. However, she needs promotional support from SME Foundation and long term loan from banks. PROFILE 03 HEALTH FOOD EYA DON ENTERPRISE EYA DON, an exclusive health intellectual nourishment supplier is a popular fast food in Dhaka.The enterprise represents the quality test andnutritious food for all. Khalida Ahmed, the director, is a children story writer, wanted to do something for the children. She is a very good cook of specialized Indian food from her family life and develops her brand with special sugar content food which is good for children test and growth. Khalida raised her three children and learned the requirement Of nutritious and red-blooded food for children. She is now an expert of testy food especially for children. With the help of husband and other family members, she established the enterprise in 2000 at Mohammedpur, Dhaka.Khalida is a truly motivated social worker and business woman. She makes ready polau in 10 minutes, prepares Makhna, a special nutritious food for children, mixed acher (pickles), frozen kabob and many other food items. Eya Dons food items received Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) approval for marketing by fulfilling quality, nutrition and hygienic requirements. Khalida is using a rented house in Dhaka as her work place and residence. She employs seven men and women to prepare and market food items. She also uses contract workers for minor initial works.She is looking forward to establishing a separate kitchen for her business, if financial support is available. She supplies foods to schools, Gov ernment and non-government offices on a contract basis. She also markets her products through super stores such as Agora, Nandan, Destiny, Prince Bazar etc. in Dhaka. She also made push sell, participated food fairs in Bangladesh. In 2004 she has exported a ton of frozen food to UK but could not continue collect to lack of sufficient fund to build a bigger factory. Investment Originally, she invested about Tk. 1. lakh in her business mostly from her and husbands saving. She has now accumulated about Tk. 20. 0 lakh as operating capital. Recently, she applied for a loan of Tk. 8. 0 lakh to MIDAS financing limited and the application is under process. Income /Expenditure Her average turnover per month is over Tk. 1. 5 lakh with an operating cost of Tk 1. 2 lakh. Social and environmental factors The social factors do not affect her much rather her husband and family members helped to establish the enterprise to keep her busy when children grown up. Environmental problems dont affect he r.She is a member of several professional bodies and a familiar person in business and social life. Future Prospects The EYA DON Enterprise is growing at the rate of about 16% per year with good prospect for further growth. It has a plan to establish a frozen food factory with international standards for which the staff needs HACCP training technical know-how and the company need financial support. F. Problems of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh Our study paid a lot of attention to check out the challenges and problems faced by women entrepreneur. According to the study 94. % entrepreneur face different types of challenges and 5. 95% does not face any challenges or problems to start their enterprise. The challenges or problems are categorized in hobby ways Figure Problems of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh 1. Financial Problem Inadequacy of capital is the main problem of women entrepreneureneurs. Women have limited capital mainly from family savings and for initial capital they have to resort to the relative and other sources. For bank loan women need to give the collateral. Most women cannot expand their business due to financial problem.Marketing Absence of marketing facilities for women or comfy access and the absence of proper sales centre are some of the major obstacles to do business. Women supply their products in markets through middleman. callable to shortage of capital women cannot afford to establish sale centers and they cannot expand their market for this. Raw Material Women often face problem of price increase of the raw materials they use and have to pay high rate for retail purchase. Due to lack of capital they cannot purchase bag quality of raw material and have to pay a high rate for retail purchase.Price Due to lack of market facilities women do not get the proper prices for their products,which are under priced by the customers or wholesalers who order their products. Other problems arise when the buyer does not provide the actual p rice or the wholesalers takes goods on credit. Labor Moreover, on-availability of efficient or skilled labor is another problem. Equipment Lack of improved equipment and machinery,existing competition faced due to expansion of production. 2. policy-making Problem Political unrest like hartal /strike hindrance brings harm to their business .In that time the entrepreneurs face a problem to produce and sale their goods . 3. Family problem Some entrepreneurs mention that they also face family problem, they cannot spend. Much time for their business because they are engaged with their house hold work and take care their children . Women are in traditional and skill based business because the household members want that women should be involved in home based business which require less mobility or interaction mainly women customers . 3. Social problem Women are handicapped in the current centralized wholesale market set up controlled by men.The men in business do not welcome womens entra nce in the market and they often discourage women. Women entrepreneurs are often cheated by their male partners. 4. Transportation Problem Linkages with the markets and flow of constant supply of product are hampered by the lack of quality transportation problem. 5. Lack of technical problem Technology is changing and women have very little access to new technology and market information. Women normally work within a small geographical area with limited mobility. 6. Stiff CompetitionWomen entrepreneurs do not have organizational set up to pump in a lot of currency for canvassing and advertisement. Thus,they have to face a stiff competition for marketing their products. 7. Limited Mobility Unlike men, women mobility in Bangladesh is highly limited due to various reasons. A single women asking for room is still looked upon suspicion. 8. Lack of Education In Bangladesh, around 60% of women are still illiterate. Illiteracy is the root cause of socio-economic problems. Due to the lack of education and that too qualitative education, women are not aware of business, technology and market knowledge.Thus, lack of education get tos problems for women in the setting up and track of business enterprises. 9. staminate-Dominated Society Women suffer from male reservations about a womens role, ability and capacity are treated accordingly. Thus in turn, serves as a barrier to women entry into business. 10. Low Risk Bearing Ability Women in Bangladesh lead a protected life. They are less educated and economically not self-dependent. Risk bearing is an essential requisite of a successful entrepreneur. 11. Other Problems Law and other situation poses problems for womens mobility. Another problem is insecure feelings.Sometimes police, admen cook problem to carry their goods. Women have no legal knowledge or help in protecting their industries and often fall victims to illegal threats or sad offenses. Frequent power failures are another important factor which hampers their production in time which effect on their business market. Women suffer from information crisis. In addition to above problem, inadequate infrastructural facilities, shortage of power, high cost production, social attitude, low need for achievement and socuio-economic constraint also hold the women back from introduction into business.G. Prospects of Women Entreprenuer Though women entreprenuer have a lotos of problems,still there are lots of opportunities also for them to continue. Women get preferential treatment in different official matter, handle with considerations, to better quality controlling and can conserve good customer relation. Now days educated women are coming forward to entreprenuership just after comleting their education. This is a very good sign for women empowerment and as well as material development There are several areas where the women entreprenuers have good prospect.The areas where the women entreprenuers can get an easy access are discussed Figure Pros pects of Women Entrepreneur 1. Self Employed These women have acquired on own, especially from parents, relatives or friends, the skills and capacities to operate enterprises. Some have undergone training and apprenticeship or worked as skilled labourers and obtained enough knowledge to start their own business. So women can move toward self employment. 2. Enterprise ownership Women can be the owner/operators of existing micro-enterprises, prove management and technical skill in self-employment. They often wish to xpand, upgrade or diversify their business through employment of family members as apprtenticeship especially in the rural areas or engage and hire workers for the production when the business progresses in the urban areas. 3. Manufacturing Womens traditional skills enable them to take up manufacturing in areas where raw materials for the products is available. Women in these activities employee workers skilled, non-skilled, permanent or as seasonal workers. With the expa nsion of business and the development of quality products, training in skill, technology, management and marketing becomes essential. . Family Trade Many women can involved in the family shifts, hereditarily performed through generations and the skill is traditionally kept within the family. Manufacturing handicrafts pottery, involved in food preparation operating individual units of embroidery, tailoring printing, dyeing, weaving, spinning, net marketing, etc. 5. Agricultural Activities The rural women participate more in the agricultural sector, especially in operating vegetable gardens, horticulture production, nursery or even rice husking and preparation of varied rice products. 6. Sub-contractingThis new system of generating income in the non formal sector is providing opportunities for women through negotiable procedure obtaining orders for product from either, exporters, procedures, whole sellers or middlemen. 7. Women as exporters Women can venture into exports directly by themselves or through other exporters. Export fairs, international trading fairs, single country fairs and initiative by importers have helped the women to produce quality products for exports. FINDINGS 1. the contrinution % of the women entrepreneurs in different districtsA questionnaire survey conducted among 130 women entrepreneur and based on this survey and statistical data the approximate result of women entrepreneur in Bangladesh are come out. The number of women entrepreneur in different district can be mentioned as follows__ 2. Motivating factors to enter into business The respondents were asked to describe factors that encourage them to enter into business and entrepreneurial activities. The opinions they denotative in response to this questions are compiled and given in the spare-time activity table with relative frequency and ranking.Factors that encourage women to enter into business % Ranking Inspiration from family and family had business 29 1 To create self-depend ency 24 2 Self inspiration 22 3 Extra income for the family 22 3 For economic ceasedom 14 4 Self employment 12 5 Inspiration by friends 9 5 To upgrade social status 6 6 blow over leisure time 5 7 Economic development 4 8 Inspiration from some organizations 3 9 No alternative to have a job 1 10 Inspired by training 1 10 To establish womens rights 1 10 Eradicate gender discrimination 1 10 Creating opportunity for others 1 10 . previous occupations Previous occupation of women entrepreneur are describe by the following pie chart _ 4. Nature Of Ownership individual ownership is dominant type Among 130 enterprises established by women entrepreneurs. Their nature of owner ship are shown by following figure_ individual ownership is dominant type Among 60 women entrepreneurs, 73. 2% is owned by individual, 15. 9% is jointly owned by family members and only 7. 3% business is run in partnership with other members. Partnership is also dominated by the traditional kinship relationships as 38 . % of women entrepreneurs have partnership with mother, 26. 9% with sisters, and 3. 8% with brother. nevertheless 3. 8% of women entrepreneurs interviewed have partnership with husband. In 15. 4% cases, partnership is found with friends. Domination of partnership by the kinship relationship can be explained by traditional patriarchal social values and social system, under which, womens social dealing with the people, particularly men, outside of the family is highly restricted. This is also associated with the reverence of social insecurity and social stigma. 5. Types of work Where Women enteredPercentage distribution of women entrepreneurs by the types of business are shown in following. Type-1 Type-2 Type-3 Description % Description % Description % Manufacturing 61. 6% Only Export 15. 6% Whole sell 16. 2% Service 12. 8% Only Import 0% Retail 43. 0% Trading 12. 8% uncomplete Export Nor Import 82. 8% Both 40. 8% Other 12. 8% Both Export & Import 1. 6% 100% 100% 00% Table Types of Business Where Women Are Entered . Among 130 women entrepreneurs interviewed, about two third of them (62%) were found to be involved in manufacturing sector followed by service (12. %) and trading sector (12. 8%). Among them, 82. 8% has no relation with export-import business as only 15. 6% were found to be involved in export-oriented business. Retail is the dominant trend among women entrepreneurs in the sample. More than one third of them (43%) were found to be involved in retail business. Only 16. 2% enterprises were found to be wholesellers and 40. 8% were involved in both retail and wholesell business. 6. Experiences in Trade Licensing and Company Registration Women Face various types of Problme to Register their enterprise.It Causes various harassment for women. Thats why they are not interested for register their business. Their modification status are shown in following figure-eight Figure Status of enterprises in term of having company Registration The figure sh ows that almost half of the women entrepreneurs (49. 7%) interviewed did not get their enterprises registered with any legal authorities. Among women entrepreneurs, who have slyness license, most of them run their business in the city corporation like Dhaka, Rajshahi and Sylhet. About 90% of the women entrepreneurs from Dhaka have trade license.Most of the women entrepreneurs, who do not have trade license, are from the district town or local area like Jessore (85. 7% have no trade license), Comilla (57% have no trade license). It could be fake that having trade license is associated with the access to information. Since the women living in the city corporation areas have greater access to information and public institutions, most of them were able to get their company registered. It is also evident from the result of cross tabulation that education and training has a great influence to inspire women to get their company registered.About 70% of women entrepreneurs having trade li cense completed at least secondary level of education and have some training experiences on various issues. Year of company registration Although 50% of women entrepreneurs did not get their company registered from any legal authority, the tendency to have trade license is gradually increasing, as it is evident from figure 8. that 59% of enterprises become registered during 2001-2007. It can be assumed that educated women are entering into business and they have better knowledge of regulatory Trade license-providing agenciesIn Bangladesh there are some agencies that provide trade license who are authorized by Govt. the license providing agencies are shown in following figure. Figure-9 Percentage distribution of women entrepreneurs by the trade-licensing authorit Among 50% of the respondents having trade license, majority of them (67. 9%) got trade license from the City Corporation, 17. 9% from Municipality, 3. 6% from Union Parishad. It is also evident from the findings that 40% wer e unable to complete trade licensing procedures on their own resulting in increased expenditures for company registration.About 45% of them had to expend, on average, extra 2000 taka only to get help in trade license processing. The median value for this purpose was found to be 5000 taka, which means about 50% of the women entrepreneurs, who were unable to accomplish trade licensing process on their own, had to expense, on average, 5000 taka or more than 5000 taka. Expenditure for acquiring trade license It is evident from the findings that most of the women entrepreneurs have experiences of informal source of expenditures like bribery in the process of getting trade license. Expenditure Name of the trade licensing authority City corporation Municipality Union parishad Mean 2400 1200 Not available Median 2250 1200 Not available expenditures like bribery in the process of getting trade license. The women entrepreneurs interviewed mentioned that they had to informally pay from 50 to 1200 taka to get trade license from the city corporation. Regarding informal expenditure, they had better experiences with municipalities. Average expenditure including formal and informal for getting trade license from the City Corporation was found to be BDT 2400 and median was calculated for this category as BDT 2250.In case of Municipality, both mean and median were found to be 1200. It means getting trade license from municipalities is less expensive. It is also mentioned by the respondents that getting trade license from Municipality was less bureaucratic and complication free compare to the services from the city . corporation. Reasons behind not having trade license The women entrepreneurs, who did not have trade license, were asked to describe the reasons. The opinions they expressed as reasons for not having trade license were as follows faith % Unaware of the necessity of having trade license 37%Aware but not familiar with the process 41% utilise for trade license and t he process is going on 3. 7% Others 18. 3% Total 100% Problems faced by the women entrepreneurs with different trade licensing authorities The following table Show the Problems faced by the women entrepreneurs with different trade licensing authorities Types of Problemsmentioned by thewomen entrepreneurs CityCorporation Municipalities UnionParishad Taxdepartment Complex process X X X Time consuming X X X X Bureaucratic process X X X Bribery X X X Indecent port X X X Sexual harassment,teasing X X X XLack of cooperation X X X Problems faced by the women entrepreneurs due to not having trade license Due to not having trade license women faced different types of problems and harassments. The problem that they face are represented in following tables Major Problems % Could not get access to bank loan and financial institutions 80 Could not participate in trade fair 60 Could not get membership with the chamber of commerce 45 Could not enter into export-import oriented sectors 35 It is detect from the table-13 that women entrepreneurs faced various problems due to not having trade license.As per responses by women entrepreneurs, for the lack of trade license, 80% of them were refused by banks or financial institutions to give a loan to them, 75% of them could not participate in trade fair. Since, it is mandatory to have trade license for getting membership with the chamber of commerce, 60% of them failed to apply for membership. Another 35% told that they could not enter into export-import business Opinion of the women regarding company registration The women entrepreneurs in the sample were asked to express their recommendations about existing company registration process.The major issues they raised were as follows. Opinion % falsify registration process easier 75 Make information available towomen entrepreneurs 70 Create awareness regardingregistration process 60 Create awareness regardingregistration process 85 Make the people gender sensitive 66 Organize training on regulatory process 58 Reduce company registration fee 70 Reduce complexity 55 Fasten registration process 45 7. Main sectors Sector-wise percentage distribution of the respondents. Name of the sectors % enterprises Garments/Home textile 16. 1 mental picture 1. 6 business 69. 4 Agro based 3. 2 Parlor 4. 8 Food 3. 2 Others 1. 6 Total 100 Among the respondents, majority of women entrepreneurs (69. 4%) were found to be involved in handicraft sector followed by garments/ home-textile (16%). The table-8 also shows that women are becoming in non-traditional sectors like printing and media, food business, etc. It is observed that 60% of women entrepreneurs did not know how to conduct feasibility study before selecting a specific product, 26. 7% of them were completely found unaware of feasibility study and 6. % of them did not feel necesity to conduct a feasibility study. Only few women entrepreneurs told that they conducted feasibility through market observation and participa tion in trade fair. 8. reading and Human Resources tuition Percentage distribution of women entrepreneurs by the status of training Whether received training % of therespondents genuine before starting business 35. 5 Received after starting business 42. 1 Received before and after starting business 13. 2 Did not receive any training 9. 2 Total 100 n=60 instruct is a vital issue for women entrepreneurship development.It can facilitate women to internalize required business skills and attributes. The table-15 shows that among the women entrepreneurs interviewed, almost half of them(48. 7%) had received training on various issues before they entered into business. Different NGOs, public institutions like women and children affairs department, youth development department, chamber of commerce, trade bodies provided these training. 42. 1% of them started their business without having any training on business development although they received training after they had entered into bus iness. In 9. % cases, there was no opportunity to receive training and they did not receive any training on business. This group is from the remotest area that means women entrepreneurs live in the rural areas or local areas are more vulnerable than their urban counterpart is. Percentage distribution of the respondents by the name of courses that they received before and after their business initiatives Name of the trainingcourses % of the respondents Before starting12business After starting13business sales and marketing 44 69 Training on sewing 44 6 Training on block and boutique 40 28 Training on embroidery 19 0Training on cutting 11 0 Training on Tailoring 26 9 Handicraft 41 19 Computer 4 22 Financial Management 11 9 Business Management 7 16 Leadership of women 4 0 Poltry 15 3 Mini garments 4 0 Screen print 4 3 Cooking 4 3 Beauty & herbal tea care 4 0 The above table shows training courses which were organized for women entrepreneurs before or after their entry into business. I t is expected that those training courses were helpful to buildcapacity of women entrepreneurs at entry level but in terms of the degree of effectiveness, there is a scope to raise questions.The women entrepreneurs who did not receive any training mentioned that they did not know where to go to receive training. They do not have proper idea about training providing agencies. It is also observed that public training providing agencies do not have proper mechanism to go to women entrepreneurs, particularly to rural women with their services, as said by the respondents. 9. Sources of capital Starter Capital and Trend in Investment The picture of starter capital are representing by following table- Starter Capital (BDT) Current substance of capital (BDT) Mean 207265 290884 Median 20000 600000 flair 100000 300000 Minimum 500 10000 Maximum 4000000 5000000 Out of 130 women entrepreneurs interviewed, 77 women entrepreneurs were able to provide information about the amount of their starter capital. found on available informationprovided by them, mean value of starter capital for 77 women entrepreneurs were found to be BDT 207265 but the median value was found to be BDT 20,000, which means 50% of 77 women entrepreneurs starter capita was equal to or less than BDT 20,000. The minimum starter capital was found to be only BDT 500. The maximum amount of starter capital was BDT 4000000.This extreme case has positive influence on the value of mean. Compare to the current amount of capital, it is evident that average capital has been increased from the amount of the starting point of business. For 69 women entrepreneurs, mean and median for existing capital were calculated as BDT 290884 and BDT 600000. In case of starter capital, 50% of women entrepreneurs investment was from BDT 500 to 20000 while 50% of women entrepreneurs current investments were found between BDT 10000 to 600000. It can be considered as significant growth in investment for micro women entrepreneurs.Sour ces of Starter capital Percentage distribution of women entrepreneurs by the sources of starter capital are presented by following table- Opinion %Of Respondents Own savings 61 Parents 39 Husband 18 n-laws 6 Relatives belong to kinship group 2 Friends 3 Public commercial bank 1 Private commercial bank 1 NGO 5 Other government agencies 3 Cooperative society 0 Leasing company 0 Mahajan 0 Others 0 Credit Facilities For Women In our social world the women did not get enough forwardness for the credit facility. The face various problem for collecting their capital.If an women goes for institutional facility then she does not get enough respons from them. Percentage distribution of women entrepreneurs by their first impression at bank Level Of Impression % Of women Entrepreneurs Very good 11 go for 67 Bad 22 Total 100 Among the respondents, 98 women entrepreneurs out of 130 visited various banks and financial institutions for a loan but only 5 of them managed to get a loan from banks. 9 8 women entrepreneurs were also asked to express their first impression about bank. Only 11% mentioned that they have very good impression. 7% of them expressed their moderate impression and 22% told they had bad impression while they went for a loan to a bank. SOWT Analysis about women entrepreneur according to survey Here the SOWT analysis from the survey explain the internal capacity and external capacity analysis of an women to establish en enterprise. According to our survey the explanation of strength, opportunity, weakness and threats. A. Strengths of Women * Initiative * Self-inspiration * Efficiency at work * Self-confidence * Growth oriented * Good organizer * Ambitious * Imitation of innovations B. Weaknesses of Women Low risk-bearing ability * Low literacy rate * Low work participation rate * Low urban population share * Low utilization capacity of resources * Low level of mobilitys * Inability to hardwork and tencious work * Confusion in decision making C. Opportunities of Women * Tchnological opportunity * Support from government * Professional consultancies * Micro-finance facilities * Availability of raw material * Tax facility * SME * Export facility D. Threats of Women * Unfavourable cultural practices * Social inhibitions * Unaware of government facilities * Huge competition * High cost against loan Lack of training facility * Inadequate infrastructural facility. * Family ties * Male dominating society. * poor linkages and networks * unfavorable policy and regulatory environment RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION Recommendation Based on the present stydy the following recommendations are put forward for further improvement of the condition of women entrepreneur of Bangladesh. * Establish a separate cell to deal with women entrepreneurs regarding trade license and company registration. * Create easy access for women entrepreneurs to the local administrative support public institution . The central bank should fix up a target for each bank to provi de loan for women and from a monitoring team to monitor the implementation of its circular. * A comprehensive credit policy should be initiated under the supervision of the central bank in order to create access of women entrepreneurs to finance. this policy must keep a provision of collateral free loan, credit without interest or low rate of interest (maximum 8% interest),loan for long time duration etc. for women entrepreneurs. * Establish a separate bank for the development of women entrepreneurs.Impose an obligation for other banks to maintain a minimum quota for women entrepreneurs in loan disbursement and ensure the implementation of this quota. * All types of new women entrepreneurs should given a provision of tax-exemption for at last phoebe bird years. * Include a special provision for women entrepreneurs in the policy and procedures of value added tax (VAT) and keep a provision of VAT exemption for new women entrepreneurs for at least first five years. * Increase budgetar y allocation to facilitate women entrepreneurs, particularly women entrepreneurs to participate in the national and international trade fair. Provide special support to women entrepreneurs who are involved in export-oriented activities for promoting marketing of their products. * The required amount of credit and its timely disbursement have an important role to continue and expand the enterprise. * Timely support of credit facility has to be ensured. * Collateral requirement of bank should be revisited and procedures should be made simple. * All banks should allocate a parcel out of their loan for women entrepreneurs and should open a separate window for them. Lack of management experience of entrepreneur they should be trained on Entrepreneur Development Training. Proper tint should be taken for this purpose. * Women entrepreneur needs management assistance to improve the administrative capacity and increase productive activity and capacity in quality as well as in volume. Concl usion Entrepreneurship to women in Bangladesh is more than just income generation. It is about working to build a more prosperous country, to lift the many millions of Bangladesh people out of poverty. It is about achieving economic independence and womens empowerment.And it is about striving for emancipation of womens gender roles, to create a better future for generations of women to come. So,all of us who have a role to play must come forward in this extremely important development and growth process to build the nation that Bangladesh should be. The present study show that most of the entrepreneurs were from young and less educated. They were migrating from different areas. According to the survey results women are found to have engaged themselves in different type of enterprises. Women entrepreneurs selected their enterprises with what they were familiar.Most of the cases show that they were previously worked on others as worker from which they earned their working skill and la ter on they started their enterprises in those Ares only. The study clearly indicate that lack of capital is still the remain problem, absence of marketing facilities, absence of proper sales center are some of the major problem. Another common barrier faced by the women entrepreneurs was balancing time between the enterprise and the family. If the major barrier in marketing for women entrepreneurs can be removed then the women lead sector can surely add income for the economy.This study focuses that if the women are provided with appropriate training and need based assistance and make an easy environment they will incrementally enter into the entrepreneurial occupation and will prove their worth through efficiency in operation to contribute to the economy of Bangladesh. Reference 1. Multiple responses were allowed and responses were not mutually exclusive 2. N=36, multiple responses were allowed and data were not mutually exclusive 3. N=32, for both cases, multiple responses were a llowed and data were not mutually exclusive 4.Shamim, Munir Uddin, Report on Promoting Women Entrepreneurship through Advocacy, March 206-February 2007, BWCCI, July 2007, pg. 24. 5. Afsar, Dr. Rita, Bringing Women Entrepreneurs in Policy Focus for SME Development in Bangladesh, A keynote paper presented at the Seminar on Strengthening Capacity of Women organized by BWCCI, February 26, 2008 6. 4. BBS, The Statistical Pocket of Book of Bangladesh, Dhaka, 2006 7. Shamim, Munir Uddin, Report on Promoting Women Entrepreneurship through Advocacy, BWCCI, Dhaka, July 2007 APPENDIX Questionnaire Survey on Women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh 1.Personal Information I. Name_________________________________________________________________________ II. Company name_________________________________________________________________ III. Address_______________________________________________________________________ IV. Address 2_____________________________________________________________________ V. City/Town_____________________________________________________________________ VI. State________________________________________________________________________ VII. zip up/Postal Code_______________________________________________________________VIII. Country_____________________________________________________________________ IX. Email Address________________________________________________________________ X. Phone Number_______________________________________________________________ 2. Establishing this Business is very simple in our country by Women? Strongly concur Agree objective Disagree StronglyDisagree 3. The structure of Women Entrepreneur is appropriate for business world? StronglyAgree Agree indifferent Disagree StronglyDisagree Partnership Corporation sole proprietorship 4.Is the Bank loanword is Difficult to get? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree 5. Have Difficulties in obtaining Financial Capital? StronglyAgree Agree Ne utral Disagree StronglyDisagree 6 . Partners are undecomposed for women enterprise? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree 7. Sole Proprietors are Beneficial for women enterprise? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree 8. Which types of Fund is Cost effective for women enterprise ? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree Personal Savings. Gift from Family and Friends Loan from Family and Friends Loan from previous owner. Credit card/personal loan. Bank Loan Partners 9. What are the noteworthy Problems you face in your business (from the list below)? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree Toomuch competition State and federal regulations Not enough business knowledge gold flow problems Rising costs of business Too much paperwork Too many factors out of my control 10.Reasons for becoming a business owner? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral S tronglyDisagree Disagree To be my own boss Always wanted to start my own business Family responsibilities Good way to find employment To make more money Dissatisfied with my work Thought I could do better job than others * * * * * 11. How much of each of the following kinds of experiences did you have before you became a business owner? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral StronglyDisagree Disagree Job in the same field as the business School education directly related to business Seminars, programs relevant to business Hobby, personal experience in same field Supervisory/management experience Accounting experience 12. What is the type of your current business? ____________________ 13. Is it your first business? * Yes * No 14. Why you come tobusiness? _________________________________ 15. What is the reason behind the business? ______________________ 16. Have you get any help from other in this start up your business? * Yes * No 17. Do you have trade license? Yes * No 18. Have you get support from your family? * Yes * No 19. What is the current amount of your investment? _________________ 20. How to invest it? ____________________________________________ 21. What is your occupational background? ________________________ 22. What is your father/husbands occupational background? _________ 23. Have you face any problem? StronglyAgree Agree Neutral Disagree StronglyDisagree 24. Have you ever taken loan? * Yes * No 25. If yes then from whom? _____________________________________ 26. do you maintain accounts and book keeping? Yes * No 27. Do you have plate? * Yes * No 28. Are you informed about tax and VAT? * Yes * No 29. Are you informed about tax facility? * Yes * No 30. Did you get any training facility? * Yes * No 31. Do you have any future plane? * Yes * No 32. What is your future plane? __________________________________ 33. What types of help is required to expand your business.? 34. What step should be taken to improve situation of the women entrepreneur in Bangladesh? _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________