On the occasion of the 75th birth anniversary of the Honorable Prime Minister of Bangladesh Sheikh Hasina, The Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA) Project of Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under the ICT Division organized the "Smart Women Entrepreneurs Grant Giving Ceremony 2022" on Thursday, 29 September 2022. The ceremony was held at the Hall of Fame of Bangabandhu International Conference Center (BICC) located in Agargaon, Shere-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka and 1000 women entrepreneurs were given grants of Tk 50,000 each at the program.
Dr. Shirin Sharmin Chaudhury MP, Speaker, Bangladesh Jatiya Sangsad was present as the chief guest at the program. She said that Hon'ble Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the pioneer of women empowerment in Bangladesh. She established Bangladesh as a shining example or a role model of women empowerment, women's rights and gender equality all over the world. Through her tireless hard work and visionary thinking, sensibility and all, the women of Bangladesh have visibly advanced in every area.
He commented that Bangladesh, like the rest of the world, is going through the golden age of free information technology. Finally, she advises us to embrace information technology in every aspect of our work and ensure its utmost use in every aspect of our development.
The program was chaired by the Honorable State Minister for the ICT Division Mr. Zunaid Ahmed Palak MP. In his speech, the State Minister said that Bangabandhu has highlighted the importance of women's financial ability in the real empowerment of women through his writings. And Bangabandhu's daughter Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is implementing it. She is a pioneer of women empowerment and job creation. Through her different initiatives and implementation of Digital Bangladesh, e-cab has turned e-commerce into a lifeline in Corona. Therefore, the state minister announced that this grant will also be given to teenage entrepreneurs below 18 years of age through technology. He also promised to provide grants to 2 women entrepreneurs in each parliamentary seat as suggested by the Chief Guest. The state minister said that the desired development of the country is not possible if the women of the society are not involved in the mainstream of development. Palak also said that the "Her Power" project has been taken up by the initiative of the ICT Division. Under the project, 25000 smart women entrepreneurs will be created providing 5 months of training in four divisions at a cost of Tk 250 crore.
The Senior Secretary of the ICT Division Mr. N M Zeaul Alam PAA, the President of e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB) Ms. Shomi Kaiser and the President of Women and e-commerce Trust (WE) Ms. Nasima Aktar Nisha were the special guests of the program. Finally, the Project Director (Joint Secretary) of the iDEA Project Mr. Md. Altaf Hossain thanks everyone at the program.
The role and contribution of SMEs in industrialization, creation of employment opportunities, poverty alleviation and economic development are recognized worldwide today. Women have a substantial role in the SME sector. The iDEA project undertakes this initiative to provide grants to startups as well as small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurs, especially women entrepreneurs, to encourage, develop, and accelerate their businesses. In this context, 1000 entrepreneurs are selected after screening the applications received from the respective platforms/associations through a committee formed by iDEA Project. Through this event, 1000 women entrepreneurs selected from different platforms were given a total grant of Tk 5 crore as the Smart Women Entrepreneur Grant from iDEA project.
The initiative is supported by Women and e-Commerce (WE), e-Commerce Association of Bangladesh (e-CAB), Anondomela of UNDP, Women Entrepreneurs of Bangladesh (WEB), SME Foundation, BRAC, Thengamara Mohila Sabuj Sangha (TMSS) and ekShop of a2i. Finally, e-cab founding president Rajib Ahmed was given a special memento by the guests of the program.
