Leveraging System Readiness to Address Socio-Cultural Barriers in Rural Female Entrepreneurship

In the heart of rural Bangladesh, where the hum of progress is often drowned by the echoes of tradition, lies a silent revolution waiting to be unleashed: the untapped potential of rural women entrepreneurs. Women in Bangladesh have made significant strides over the last decade in terms of coming out of their homes to engage with the economy. However, according to a study by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), women own around 7.2% of the total business enterprises in the country. The top barriers hindering growth in rural female entrepreneurship are limited access to finance, limited education and training, and socio-cultural barriers.