1. INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background:

Entrepreneurship pertains to the creation of new business ventures, product offerings or services or a new

venture entry into an existing industry. It is crucial to economic development and growth in the essence

that creation of industry generates employment, income, greater flow of economic resources and an

increase in net investment. With the ever dynamic nature of businesses, their subsequent growths,

expansion and diversification, entrepreneurs are increasingly being presented by a broad range of

challenges in Bangladesh. These include personal, professional, skill-based, technical, financial and

political challenges. An interesting and challenging aspect of entrepreneurship in Bangladesh pertains to

women entrepreneurs and their subsequent emergence in Dhaka through various small and medium

enterprises, startups and even the securing of top positions at various local and international companies.

However, given the patriarchal nature of the society, the lack of trust and goodwill in women to be

entrepreneurs, and the shortage of technical and managerial acumen present a host of challenges to

women. In most cases women working is socially frowned upon which presents a lack of opportunities,

let alone allowing women to take up entrepreneurship. Furthermore, even financial institutions are known

to hesitate in providing women entrepreneurs with financial assistance due to the pre-conceived

perception of women. Also, the primary role of women as home makers and their expanded responsibility

of the household present a host of challenges to them developing skills, pursuing higher education and

gaining managerial expertise. It is appalling that a single prejudiced notion of women sprouts

exponentially to areas of education, experience, financial, political and various social repercussions and

challenges to them as entrepreneurs.

1.2 Problems:

In Bangladesh, entrepreneurship for urban women is presented with a host of problems as listed below:

(a) Social stigma: Women entrepreneurs are generally frowned upon by society due to the patriarchal

mindsets of the people. They are perceived to be solely responsible for the household and

initiation of a business venture is not often met with patronage from family and peers. From a

general societal outlook, similar negative responses are observed when women initiate new

ventures.

(b) Lack of business opportunities: Due to the outcome of a male-driven society, urban women

entrepreneurs face difficulties in penetrating existing business sectors. They are mostly confined

to small and medium enterprises related to the household, such as boutiques, hairdresser parlors

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and small handicrafts companies. Even for top management positions in service oriented

companies operating on a large scale, the number of women executives is minimal.

(c) Skills and competencies and work-life balance: As most urban women take care of the household,

education is hindered while maintaining the household and family. In cases where women do

complete the required level of education, they are met with the lack of managerial acumen and

practical business management due to their lack of exposure. Also, when setting up and operating

ventures, balancing work and family life poses an inevitable hindrance.

(d) Government policy: Corruption, bureaucracy and political instability are recipes for disaster for

any business and apply to women entrepreneurs as well. On the note of developing and nurturing

entrepreneurs, the government has no adequate policies for training women entrepreneurs unlike

its Entrepreneurship Development Program (EDP) which caters to male entrepreneurs mostly.

(e) Financial aspects: In the case of women urban entrepreneurs, financial institutions hesitate to

provide financial assistance. Furthermore, the unstable nature of the financial system of

Bangladesh, liquidity factors and banking sector challenges collectively affect financing

opportunities for women.

The above problems will be discussed and researched upon in the report.

1.3 Objectives:

1.3.a Broad objective: The objective of the report is to identify the challenges for women

entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh.

1.3.b Specific objectives: The specific objectives include:

I. Impact of education on women entrepreneurship

II. Social aspect and perception of women (culture, perception, religion)

III. Financial limitations for women

IV. Business environment for women

1.4 Hypotheses:

For objective I, the impact of education on women entrepreneurship:

Hypothesis: the level of education does not have an impact on entrepreneurship

For objective II, the social aspect and perception of women:

Hypothesis 1: women are differentiated in society when they want to start new ventures

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Hypothesis 2: woman face interpersonal conflicts when establishing a new venture

For objective III, the financial limitations for women:

Hypothesis: women face challenges generating capital and managing finances for business

For objective IV, the business environment for women:

Hypothesis: women face challenges in the male-centric business environment

1.5 Rationale:

The research will provide valuable insights into the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, not only

because of social perception but also due to interconnected and unknown reasons. It will also seek to

explore the contribution of women entrepreneurs and their significance in the economy, which will help

advocate their cause for greater representation and presence in the industry.

1.6 Scope:

Due to the limited number of women entrepreneurs currently operating in Bangladesh, the population size

will be significantly small. However, the scope of the report will not only be confined to women

entrepreneurs but also aspiring women entrepreneurs and the educated population of urban women who

may help provide valuable insight into the dynamics of this limited group.

1.7 Limitations

Also, due to the qualitative nature of the survey, in most cases social stigma and perception will be

highlighted as the root for every challenge faced by women entrepreneurs as gender difference stands out

as most significant. The respondents may not cooperate, i.e. they might not provide us with sufficient

time. Another limitation may be that respondents may feel uncomfortable to reveal personal details about

personal problems such as family and social constraints.

2. METHODOLOGY

2.1 Data Collection

We will be relying on interviews and questionnaires mainly for our data collection. We plan to reach out

to about 50 women entrepreneurs. The questionnaires will be self-administered and if respondents are

unable to give us time, we will mail them the questionnaire so that they can fill them in at a time

convenient for them. We will also use journals, articles and reports by qualified individuals as reference.

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For interviews and questionnaires, each individual will be assigned a code. This will allow us to make an

index of the respondents, and help us to keep track of them. We also plan to do data consolidation using

excel spreadsheet.

2.1a Primary Sources

The primary sources include the first-hand information we would gather from the subjected sample group.

The data collected directly from the women entrepreneurs by interviews and questionnaires are the

primary set of information we would be using for our research.

2.1b Secondary Sources

The secondary sources include a relevant set of sample that would give us information about the

subjected sample. Pertinent data could be collected from sources like employees, coworkers and families.

Other information sources would be the articles and journals our research would be using as reference.

2.2 Sample Size

The sampling technic used on a broad scale is non-probability sampling followed by a combination of

quota and convenience sampling. Initially the samples will be divided by the quota system creating three

different tiers namely small enterprises like boutiques and bakeries, medium and rising businesses like

beauty parlors and event management companies, and the third tier will focus on large scale established

businesses. Due to a large portion of the women being involved in business in the informal sector it will

be difficult to determine the best sample size, so initially we shall start with a sample of 50 women

entrepreneurs. Also to ensure that the sample is more representative of the population we shall try to

choose women entrepreneurs from different localities and in as diverse industries as possible.

2.3 Sample Frame

For the purpose of our research it is impossible to know the sample frame mainly due to the reason that

women are more involved in the informal sector as we have mentioned before.

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2.4 Coordination Schema:

Parameter Complex

Variable

Simple Variable Value (Qualitative/

Quantitative)

Source Q.

No.

Techniques

Of

Research

Personal challenges Education Highest Level Of

Education

Illiterate (no

traditional schooling)

Primary school

Up to class 10 (SSC)

Up to class 12 (HSC)

Under graduation/

Bachelors

Graduation/ Masters

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

Concentration

Field Of Study

Business (Finance,

Marketing,

Accounting etc.)

Science

Arts

Technical subjects

Islamic studies

(madarasa)

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

Quality Of

Education

Educated abroad

Local public

institution

Local private

institution

(quantitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

5

Skills Rank skills in

order from most

challenging to

least challenging

Managing workforce

Managing resources

Maintaining

financials

Inspiring employees

Networking

Adapting to changes

Maintaining

interpersonal

relationships

Time management

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

Skills acquired

from

Education

Training

Experience

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Content

Analysis

Lack Of

Networking

Due To Religious

Constraints

Due To Cultural

Norms

Lack of opportunity

Lack of time

(Qualitative)

Interview Content

Analysis

Personality

traits

Which of these

factors do you

feel is a

challenge to

you?

Need for

achievement

Risk taking

propensity

Passion

Innovativeness

Self-efficacy

Leadership

Intelligence

Focus

Adaptability

Decisiveness

Intuition

Perseverance

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Setting

priorities

Main reason for

working

Working for

achievement and

recognition

Working for benefit

of family

working to reduce

boredom

working to make

some money

(Quantitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Content

Analysis

Rank in

accordance of

importance

Family

Work

Social life and status

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire Content

Analysis

Importance of

work as

perceived by

family

Gives priority to

work only

Gives more priority

to work

Gives more priority

to family

Gives priority to

family only

(Quantitative)

Questionnaire Content

Analysis

The Societal Challenges Culture “The society

believes that

women should

not work”- how

far do you agree?

Strongly agree

Mostly agree

Agree

Disagree

Mostly disagree

Strongly disagree

(Quantitative)

Questionnaire Descriptive

statistics

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Religion No. of women

entrepreneurs

form different

religious groups

No. Of Muslims

No. Of Hindus

No. Of Christians

No. Of Buddhists

No. Of Other

Religions

(Quantitative)

Questionnaire Descriptive

statistics

Family Primary

responsibilities

towards family

Managing general

household activities

Rearing children

Looking after other

family members e.g

parents, in-laws etc.

(Qualitative)

Interview Content

Analysis

Lack Of

Support

Family Restriction on

working hours

Geographical

restrictions

Restrictions on

working environment

Acceptance of career

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

and Interview

Descriptive

statistics

Peers, co-

workers and

Industry

Not co-operative

Ignoring authority

Lack of faith in

abilities

Gender

discrimination

Questionnaire

And

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

And

Content

Analysis

8

(qualitative)

The Financial

Challenges

Generating

Capital

Getting loans Amount of loan

Types of loans

Source of loans

Conditions for loan

(qualitative)

Questionnaire

And

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

And

Content

Analysis

Criteria For

Providing

Financial

Assistance To

Women

Business type

Collateral

Trust

(qualitative)

Questionnaire Descriptive

statistics

Other Financial

services

Credit facilities

Consultation

(Qualitative)

Questionnaire

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

Financial

Manageme

nt

Lack Of

Technical

Prowess To

Manage

Finances

Computing Expenses

Keeping Track Of

Inventory

Good Investment

Opportunities

Other Pertinent

Financial Decisions

(Quantitative)

Questionnaire

And

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

And

Content

Analysis

The Challenges Faced

By Women In The

Business Environment

Nature Of

Businesses

Issues regarding

Small

Enterprises Run

By Women

Low Profit Margin

Limited Workforce

Leads To Overtime

Lack Of Authority

Interview

Questionnaire

Descriptive

statistics

9

Difficulty in

expanding

(qualitative)

Scope For

Business

Developme

nt

Difficulty In

Operating Large

Scale Business

Money Management

Balancing Quality

And Growth

Lack Of Capital

Investment

Lack of opportunity

for expansion

(qualitative)

Questionnaire

And

Interview

Descriptive

statistics

And

Content

Analysis

3. LITERATURE REVIEW

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Entrepreneurship can be defined as the creation of new products or processes (Schumpeter,

1961), new ventures (Gartner, 1985) or the entry into new markets (Lumpkin & Dess,

1996).Regardless of its description, it is widely believed that entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs

themselves are essential for the growth and development of any economy (Carre & Thurik,

2005). Women Entrepreneurs may be defined as the women or a group of women who

initiate, organize and operate a business enterprise (Goyal, 2011). According to “Doing

Business 2014”Bangladesh ranks 130 out of 189 countries in the “ease of doing business”

category, which is lower than the regional average for South Asia of 121, but higher than that of

India 134. The number of new businesses opening up is increasing every year. In 2012 alone

9135 local limited liability companies started operations. Due to the improvement in business

policies, development of infrastructure, availability of micro credit, support for women

entrepreneurship and scope for social business has resulted in a boost in entrepreneurial activity.

However entrepreneurs still have to face numerous challenges. Research using multiple

regression model on variables that have an impact in entrepreneurship show tendency of taking

risk, need for achievement, education and environment for starting business, job security are

statistically significant in determining the intention of students who want to become

entrepreneurs where except job security, the other variables are found to be positively co-related

(Uddin & Bose, 2012).

The most significant effect on entrepreneurship is possibly that of the characteristics of the

entrepreneurs themselves. The individual characteristics include attributes like the age,

personality, education, managerial know-how, industry experience as well as the social skill set

of the entrepreneur. According to Yusuf (1995) personal qualities and traits, such as self-

confidence and perseverance, have been suggested to affect firm success. In their study of new

small firms, Duchesneau and Gartner (1990) found that lead entrepreneurs in successful firms

were more likely to have been raised by entrepreneurial parents, to have had a broader business

experience and more prior startup experience. The personal attributes of the entrepreneur

determine the motivation and objectives, which in turn determine the firm’s performance. The

process is mediated through the markets in which the entrepreneur operates and the managerial

practices which he or she employs. The dynamic element is incorporated by the possibility that

the business success may reinforce or revise the entrepreneur’s motivation and objectives.

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According to Lumpkin and Dess (2001), the concept of entrepreneurial orientation consists of

five dimensions: autonomy, innovativeness, risk taking, proactiveness, and competitive

aggressiveness. Among these the fifth dimension, competitive aggressiveness, reflects the

intensity of a firm’s efforts to outperform the industry rivals .High performing, entrepreneurial-

oriented firms are successful in exploiting business opportunities. Before opportunities can be

exploited, they must be recognized. Shane (2000) has discovered that people recognized the

opportunities related to the information and knowledge, they already possess. He also has

noticed that entrepreneurs can and will discover opportunities through recognition rather than

through search.

Entrepreneurial readiness in this study refers to self-efficacy. The term self-efficacy, derived

from Bandura’s (1977) social learning theory, refers to a person’s belief in his or her capability

to perform a given task. According to Ryan (1970), self-perception plays an important role in the

development of intention. Intentions and their underlying attitudes are perception-based.

Accordingly, they will vary across historical and cultural contexts. Cromie (2000) stated that

self-efficacy affects a person’s beliefs regarding whether or not certain goals may be attained.

The attitude provides the foundation for human motivation (Pajares, 2002) and personal

accomplishment: unless people believe that their actions can produce the outcomes they desire,

they have little incentive to act or to persevere in the face of adversities.

A research by Charney and Libecap (2000) found that entrepreneurship education produces self-

sufficient enterprising individuals. Furthermore, they found that entrepreneurship education

increases the formation of new ventures, the likelihood of self-employment. Similarly, the

educational background of the entrepreneur and revealed that 72% of the successful

entrepreneurs had a minimum level of technical qualification, whereas most (67%) of the

unsuccessful entrepreneurs did not have any technical background (Sinha, 1996).

From a sociological perspective, societal upheaval is considered to have extensive impact on the

making of new entrepreneurs. Societal disruptions which affect family life may influence the

choice of non-traditional career paths. If the family of the entrepreneur does not seem to ‘fit in’

society or is seen to be different, then their children may feel the need to create a new niche for

themselves. Some studies indicate that entrepreneurs are more likely to come from ethnic,

religious or minority groups (Bates, 2011; Smallbone, Kitching&Athayde, 2010). The socio-

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cultural environment of Bangladesh presents both positive and negative forces for the

development of entrepreneurship in the country. Bangladesh offers a large pool of easily

trainable employees at relatively cheaper price. The occupational and geographic mobility of

labor is also observed to be one of the favorable conditions for labor market. However,

Bangladesh can be regarded as a country upholding collectivism, uncertainty avoidance,

power respect and masculinity, which are commonly believed to be less friendly for

entrepreneurship development (Azim, 2008).

Based on a large-scale data set of nearly ninety thousand workers in India, it has been found that

religion shapes the entrepreneurial decision. In particular, some religions, such as Islam and

Christianity, are found to be conducive to entrepreneurship, while others, such as Hinduism,

inhibit entrepreneurship (Audretsch, Boente & Tamvada, 2007). In addition, the caste system is

found to influence the propensity to become an entrepreneur. Individuals belonging to a

backward caste exhibit a lower propensity to become an entrepreneur, suggesting a link between

religion and economics. Women run businesses of a much smaller scale, but in specialized

business like boutiques, beauty parlors and handicrafts women are generally seen to

succeed (Billson, J. M., 2005, p 75).

A major setback in the development of entrepreneurs is the unstable state of the political

environment which directly impacts negatively on the economic policies (Anitie). Another issue

is the provision of supporting infrastructure that could help the business. It is recorded that one

of the main items in the social infrastructure agenda is power supply (Stern & Cleveland, 2004).

In case women the most significant barrier to success in their ventures is the exclusion from

the informal interaction networks (Irons and Moore, 1985) a challenge that is prevalent in

every level of development.

The dominant patriarchal culture in the Bangladesh & Asia where the man is believed to

be the bread winner of the family, leaving the woman to just domestic chores is a

formidable challenge to the development of women entrepreneurship (Roomi, 2008).If the

woman is seen doing some sort of work, she is believed to be taking the position of the head

of the family. A study done by the ILO (Karim, 2001)on women entrepreneurs of

Bangladesh revealed some major challenges to be lack of training opportunities, credit

facilities, institutional setup, cultural barriers, and a crisis among concerned parties. The

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lack of credit facility die to the financial institutions’ lack of trust in women to pay back

and lack of collateral in many cases or due to the fact that some of the women may not be

fully grounded in their knowledge of the business is a major obstacle. Other challenges

include emotional vulnerability and wanting to please everyone, inferior educational

background, fear of failure and the combined pressure of managing a home and a business.

The availability of and access to finance is an important aspect to the growth and development of

a nation (Beck &Demirgüç-Kunt, 2008). The disparity between savings and investment leads to

financial constraints being a major challenge for entrepreneurs of all stages in Bangladesh. Like

many other countries there have been intensive policy debates over the issue to provide a

foundation for long term development. Despite all the efforts the development seems to be a

stagnant one and access to finance has been sought out as the major impediment in its growth

(Haque & Mahmud, 2003). The loans received from formal sources make up only for the

working capital which is about one third of the total demand. The most important source of

financing is the informal sources such as loans from friends and family followed by trade credit.

Although women entrepreneurs are known to repay loans swifter it is still a challenge for

women to get adequate financing as they usually receive smaller loans (Agier & Szafarz,

2011). The back to back letter credit is popular in our country in the garments sector but not in

the SME’s. In spite of allowing the refinancing facility of Bangladesh Bank since 2004 to

encourage growth of SME’s, the commercial institutions have only extended about 20.6% of

their funds to SME sector which falls way short from the demand (uzZaman& Islam, 2011).

Even if the loan interest rate for women enterprises in Bangladesh is lower (10%) than that

of SMEs (13%) this is still higher than that in neighboring countries like India (5-6%)

(Parvin et al, 2012).

The active and constant support of the Government and related institutions is necessary to

encourage and support entrepreneurs in their ventures. The MCCI suggests that instability of

government policy and lack of adequate financial support are two most important problems in

the process of entrepreneurship development, especially in the case of women. The government

of Bangladesh in its policies has awarded priority to privatization, by especially linking it to

small, medium and micro industries' development. Various government and non-governmental

organizations (NGOs) like Bangladesh Small & Cottage Industries Corporation (BSCIC),

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Bangladesh Rural Development Board (BRDB), BMD, DWA, DYD, BMET, MIDASA, BRAC,

Grameen Bank, GK etc., all are involved in entrepreneurship development in Bangladesh, and

they are working for SME development at the grass-roots level. 

In Bangladesh, the entrepreneurship grooming process lacks in terms of the general education

system and its inability to encourage leadership through its rigid curriculum in all levels of

education. There is however, an entrepreneurship development program (EDP), which

collaborates between governmental and non-governmental organizations, which provide detailed

vocational training, technical assistance and exposure (Aktaruzzaman& Clement, 2011).Courses

have been included in the curriculum of business education and technical education system

which covers areas like motivation, business environment and preparations. Even then there is no

specialized Institution organizing entrepreneurship development program resulting in creation of

a big gap between the requirements and the availability. An in depth study done by the DCCI

shows due to the mismatch in education, the concept of entrepreneurship development is

unfamiliar to the participants as well as a lack of awareness about the scopes of being an

entrepreneur. Moreover the course contents and training programs do not have appropriate

support structures nor are they properly followed or taught by trained professionals.

Initiatives undertaken by the Government so far include the establishment of a separate

ministry on women’s affairs, the formulation of the National Policy for Advancement of

Women in 2008, and the National Action Plan (which was prepared in response to the

Beijing Platform for Action). The Government has also formed a National Women Small

and Medium Enterprise (SME) Forum under the SME Foundation of the Ministry of

Industry to promote women’s participation in formal economic sectors (Al-Hossienie,

2011). The MCCI observes that many organizations have been working for entrepreneurship

development in a scattered manner however their lack of significant success can be due to a lack

of coordinated approach among them. Overall the challenges are multidimensional and needs to

be addressed separately as well as with equal importance to bring about a positive turn in the

business platform in Bangladesh.

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