US Ambassador in Bangladesh Visits DCCI and CIPE/ERRA Project

  H.E. Mr. Harry K. Thomas, US Ambassador in Bangladesh visited DCCI for a meeting on “Bangladesh-United States Business Development” on 15 May, 2005. President, DCCI Mr. Sayeeful Islam informed him about the activities of DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project.

Welcoming the Ambassador Mr. Sayeeful Islam, President, DCCI, sought US cooperation in upgrading Bangladeshi enterprises with supports through specific program in terms of transfer of technology, market access and connectivity to US enterprises.

The DCCI President said the government’s export diversification strategy, despite all good intentions, is not achieving the targets to provide a source of employment to the level that is required to match the population growth.

Assuring US support for improving and diversifying Bangladesh’s industrial base, Ambassador Thomas suggested the Bangladeshi entrepreneurs to concentrate on other sectors, apart from readymade garments, to achieve competitive advantage over other exporting countries.

He stressed the need for identifying market opportunities and taking advantage of them for successful diversification.

The US Ambassador listed shrimp industry, food processing and agro-based industries, ceramics, light engineering and IT services as the sectors in which Bangladesh could be competitive.

Mr. Thomas, however, pointed out that these industries and other local factories are facing hindrances due to problems of infrastructures such as road, railway, port, telecommunications, power and energy. He stressed the need for development of basic infrastructure on priority basis.

Some publications of the project was handed over to him. He appreciated the role of Dhaka Chamber in implementing ERRA project funded by the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, USA and hoped for better future. He requested to send these publications to US Trade Centre.

The news was highly acclaimed by electronic and print media of the country.  

Report of the Women Entrepreneurs’ Products Expo-2005 in Chittagong

A three daylong Women Entrepreneurs’ Products Expo-2005 from June 15 to June 17, 2005 was jointly organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce & Industry (CCCI), in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, USA. The program has been implemented under CIPE grant fund # 0105201-000-00  (February, 2005 to January, 2006).

As partnership building is one of the strategies to be competitive in this global business world, this program will act as a vehicle in this regard to promote women entrepreneurship.

The objective of the fair is to build rapport, enhance cooperation, explore business opportunities and facilitate trade in goods, investment and services between Women Entrepreneurs of Capital City (Dhaka) and Port City (Chittagong) and Product diversification through the interaction of manufacturers/exporters of the two prominent cities.

The expo was an ideal platform for new business opportunities for the participants and it has contributed significantly to establish rapport between entrepreneurs of two areas creating awareness about the products, quality standard and distinct feature of tastes of the consumers.

Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Altaf Hossain Choudhury M.P., Hon’ble Minister for Commerce, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh inaugurated the Expo-2005 as Chief Guest at the Chittagong Chamber Conference Hall, Chittagong on 15^th June, 2005 where Mr. Sayeeful Islam, President, DCCI was present as Special Guest. Mr. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury, President, CCCI was present as Session Chairperson. Mr. Omar Faruque, Director and Coordinating Director, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standing Committee, DCCI were also present.

Air Vice Marshal (Retd.) Altaf Hossain Choudhury M.P., Hon’ble Minister for Commerce, GoB in his inaugural speech said the joint efforts of the two Chambers will create a milestone for the development of women entrepreneurs. In his speech, he said that in our Readymade Garments sector 85% of total worker are female. This work is tremendously laudable. He told to the audience that his Government has taken various steps including establishing 3 specialized vocational training institute for the development of women. Endorsing the steps taken by the Chamber, he said Chittagong Chamber can be termed as the international commercial business hub”, collaborative activities between Dhaka Chamber and Chittagong Chamber could create a long term impact on the business development of the country.

Special Guest and President of Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry Mr. Sayeeful Islam said that through this fair cooperation will be developed between two premier Chambers of the country. He mentioned that women have lots of scope to prove their efficiency, as they are capable and inherent quality of taking risk. Referring to the success of micro credit where 95% are female, he added by saying that women have already proved their worth in repaying loan and developing entrepreneurship. He urged the Government to setup a special cell to give easy, collateral free loan to women entrepreneurs. He told that without developing half of the total population, nation would not achieve economic growth. He also delineated that DCCI & CCCI can work together for the greater interest of micro and small enterprises. At the same time women entrepreneurs have to be trained up, he suggested. He informed the audience that DCCI has published a guideline for attending international trade fair, he sought inputs from the CCCI to make the “Guide” comprehensive and effective for the users.

Chittagong Chamber President Mr. Saifuzzaman Chowdhury chaired the meeting. He told that now we are facing tough competition. He emphasized that we have to ensure quality & price for facing competition arises out of globalization. He also said that “women entrepreneur should be given loans at lower interest so that they can sustain”. He said that in country and abroad, there are huge demands of nurses and  cooks, skill can be developed in these sectors. He assured the women entrepreneurs that CCCI will allocate concessional stalls in Chittagong International Trade Fair (CITF) and requested them to participate with their quality products.

Guest of Honour and Chittagong Chamber Senior Vice-President Mr. S.M. Nurul Hoque in his speech said that this fair will create new women entrepreneurs to come up and contribute.

Mr. Ershad Ullah, Director, CCCI in his vote of thanks said that like Government, CCCI is working for the women entrepreneurship development.

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director, DCCI in his speech said that DCCI will continue its effort for further development of women entrepreneurship development. He invited women entrepreneurs of CCCI to visit Dhaka with their products. He gave a brief picture of DCCI-CIPE/ERRA project activities for the information of the guests present in the inaugural ceremony with special emphasis on development of women entrepreneurs. Ms. Safina Rahman, Convener, Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) Standing Committee, DCCI highlighted the activities of the project related to women entrepreneurship development and emphasized the importance of sharing experiences of WED activities of CCCI.

The Inaugural Session was also addressed by Mr. Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, Director, CCCI & Convener, Woman Entrepreneurship Development Sub-Committee, CCCI. Mrs. Monowara Hakim Ali, Co-Convener, Woman Entrepreneurship Development Sub-Committee, CCCI also spoke in the inaufural function.

Among others, in the inaugural session, the Directors of Chittagong Chamber Mr. Syed Jamal Ahmed, Mr. Kamal Mostafa Chowdhury, Alhaj Md. Nurun Newaz Salim, Mr. Mahbub Alam, Mr. Mahfuzul Hoque Shah, Mr. Hasanuzzaman Chowdhury, Mr. Rafiqur Rahman, Mr. Syed Ahasanul Hoque, Mr. Jahirul Islam Chowdhury (Alamgir), Mr. S.M. Nuruddin, Mr. Abu Haider Chowdhury (Amzad) and Mr. Mohammed Mohsin, Former President of CCCI Engr. Ali Ahmed, 1st Vice-President of BGMEA Mr. M.A. Salam were present. A large number of women entrepreneurs, chamber leaders, bureaucrats, bankers, academicians and leading businessmen of the country also attended the inaugural session.

In 67 stalls, 47 participants from Chittagong and 22 participants from Dhaka exhibited their different range of products like home textiles, towels, kitchen linen, kitchen accessories, fruits and vegetables, dairy products, juices, soft drinks, men, women & children wear, leather garments, embroidery and block prints, bags, fashion accessories, handicrafts, sharees, food products, boutique, leather products, jute items (ladies bag, purse, moneybag, bottle bag, home fashion & jewellery box), herbal products, nakshikatha, wall mat, bed cover, cushion cover, show pieces, bed sheet, fabrics, artificial jewellery, garments item, hand painted silk, coir products, dry flower & paintings etc.

A musical soiree and dinner party was arranged in the Hotel Agrabad at Chittagong, at the end of the exhibition, which delighted the audience.

DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project senior officials were present to facilitate the 3-day gala program. CCCI secretariat extended all out cooperation to make the expo a real success.

Report of the training workshop on Preservation and Packaging of Agro-Processing Products

Introduction

A training workshop on “Preservation and Packaging of Agro-Processing Products” jointly organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) and Agro-based Industries and Technology Development Project (ATDP) in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC, USA was held on 29 June, 2005 from 10:00 a.m. to 5:50 p.m. at DCCI Auditorium. The objective of the workshop was to train technique of preparation and preservation of green foods & vegetables, sauce/ketchup, etc.

Rationale

Bangladesh is primarily and agrarian country. Apart from producing agricultural crops like Rice, Wheat, Pulse, Tobacco, Tea etc. it produced fruits and green vegetables in abundance. The fruits like Mango, Lichi, Jack fruits, Melon and Vegetables like Tomato, Cauliflower, Bean grow abundantly with little effort. As the producers do not know the technology of preservation, the fruits and vegetables are rotted during the season and the producers do not get fair price for their products. On the other hand though there is huge demand for fruits and vegetables, the consumers do not get them in the off season and they had to meet their demand, with the low quality products, which are processed in indigenous method and in unhygienic way.

Justification

To meet the demand of the consumers and to make the fruits and vegetables available throughout the year, it was found that preservation of fruits and vegetables is essential. Moreover, some of the small producers of jam, jelly, pickles etc. who exports in small quantity in Middle East, where good number of Bangladeshis are residing receives complain that their products are not of quality. The people, who also participates in export's and buyer sellers meet both at home and abroad, also possess the opinion that the quality should be improved through processing in hygienic and scientific manner.

The Program

The DCCI-CIPE ERRA Project has a component on 'Women Entrepreneurship Development'. Under this component, we are trying to bring the women in the mainstream of the economy through training, workshop, field visits etc. Originally the course was meant for Women Entrepreneurs. However, hearing the news of the program their male counterparts also showed their eagerness to participate.  In all 38 participants, which includes 6 DCCI Secretariat Officials participated in the training.

We invited a renowned resource person from Agro-based Industries and Technology Development Project (ATDP), another U. S. funded project in the country to conduct the Training Program.

The training program offers two tracks: theoretical and practical. The theoretical portion was about preliminary knowledge and technique of preservation and processing and their benefits and was conducted in class room basis. After receiving the preliminary knowledge, they were taken to kitchen (specially made for the course), where they wash the fruits, cut the same, mix the ingredients and recipe, put them on big pots and place the pot on oven. After keeping that for certain specific time, they make it cool, bottle them and seal them for sending the same to market.

Mr. Ron D. Gillespie, Chief of Party, ATDP graced the workshop as the Chief Guest. Mr. Omar Faruque, Director and Coordinating Director, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standi ng Committee, DCCI, Mr. K. M. H. Shahidul Haque, Director, DCCI and Ms. Safina Rahman, Convener, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standing Committee, DCCI were present in the training workshop.

Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary (R & P) and Coordinating Officer, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project paid vote of thanks. Consultant Mr. Mollah Shahidul Haque, Documentation Officer Ms. Faizunnahar Khan and Junior Officer (IT) Hasan Iqbal of the DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project facilitated the training workshop.

President DCCI Mr. Sayeeful Islam and some other Directors of DCCI had a separate meeting after the inauguration to discuss on future joint activities of DCCI and ATDP.

Expected output

After completion of the training the participants will produce the goods in hygienic way. Their goods will be of quality and their markets will be expanded both locally and outside the country.

On the other hand the producers of fruits and vegetables will get better price for the product and the country will be benefited by earning foreign exchange.

Certificate Awarding Ceremony

Mr. Manzur-Ur-Rahman (Ruskin), Sr. Vice-President, DCCI awarded the Certificate to the Participants. In the certificate awarding ceremony Mr. Manzur-Ur-Rahman (Ruskin), Sr. Vice-President, DCCI requested the participants to use the knowledge of training in practical fields. Mr. Omar Faruque, Director, DCCI and Coordinating Director of Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) Standing Committee, DCCI, Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary (R&P) and Coordinating Officer, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project was present in the certificate awarding ceremony.

Report of the Workshop on Enabling Environment for Women Entrepreneurship Development

1. Introduction

A Workshop on Enabling Environment for Women Entrepreneurship Development was organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC, USA, on 30 April, 2005 at 3.00 p.m. at DCCI Auditorium. The objective of the workshop was to develop women entrepreneurs, discuss their problems and how to solve these problems. More than 100 participants including a large number of women entrepreneurs and high officials of the concerned organizations took part in the workshop. Ms. Hua Du, Officer In-charge, Asian Development Bank (ADB), Bangladesh Resident Mission graced the workshop as the Chief Guest while Ms. Rokia A. Rahman, former Adviser, Care Taker Govt. and President, Women Entrepreneurs’ Association, Bangladesh (WEA,B) was the special guest. Mr. Sayeeful Islam, President, DCCI was session chairperson and delivered address of welcome and Ms. Ferdausi Sultana Begum, Social Development and Gender Officer, ADB presented keynote paper.

Ms. Sabrina Islam, Vice President, WEA,B; Mr. Omar Faruque, Director DCCI; Ms. Roubina Toufiq Shah, Commercial Secretary, Pakistan High Commission were the designated discussants.

The overall program of the workshop was co-coordinated and moderated by Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary (R&P), DCCI concerned women entrepreneurs spoke in the general discussion and made the workshop a fruitful and productive one. (A Program of the workshop is enclosed at Annex-A)

2. Proceedings of the workshop   

The workshop started with recitation from the Holy Quran. Then Chief Guest and special guest of the program received crest from Mr. Sayeeful Islam, President, DCCI. In his address of welcome President, DCCI said that now world economy is coming to central Asia and Bangladesh is a good potential country of trade and investment. He said readymade garments is the engine of our economy and most of the women are engaged in this sector. There are a lot of opportunities in Bangladesh for women entrepreneurs. We will have to take all out efforts for women entrepreneurs’ development.

DCCI President also said that finance and marketing are the weakest limbs of women entrepreneur’s business activities. They had the skill and capacity to produce quality goods but due to lack of finance they are unable to produce the same in appropriate time. Though the government is fully aware and committed to create enabling environment for women entrepreneurs. One of the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDG) is to promote gender quality & empower women. Eliminate gender disparity at all levels of education the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh upholds the spirit of mainstreaming, which provides the basis for working towards equality between women and men. The Industrial Policy-2005 also included a new chapter for the first time on participation and development of women entrepreneurs in industrialization process.

DCCI President said that collateral free loan facilities need to be expanded for the women. Guarantee from male relatives becomes crucial in receiving collateral free loan. This point needs some reforms. He also said practical and need based training support for the women can contribute towards the success of an enterprise. (Speech of the President, DCCI is enclosed at Annex-B).

2.1 Presentation of the Keynote Paper

Ms. Ferdausi Sultana, Social Development and Gender Officer, ADB presented keynote paper. She mentioned in her keynote paper that women’s contribution to the economic development is often not recognized. Policies and measures of the public and private sector are influenced by the gender relations. Gender inequalities affect and are affected by the macro economic and trade policies and in the globalization process. Women often face the adversities of such policies. She also said that ADB supports the women entrepreneurs under small and medium enterprises development projects, she said mentioning that an agribusiness development project is also under process. (Key-note paper enclosed at Annex-C)

2.2 Discussion by designated discussants  

Ms. Sabrina Islam, Vice President, WEA,B

Ms. Sabrina Islam, Vice President, WEA,B said that concerned ministry should play an effective role for the development of the women entrepreneurs and female should be included in policy making levels. She also said that women entrepreneurs can not run their business due to lack of information. Govt. should publish a lot of information regarding rights, laws and regulations of the women entrepreneurs’, why and how to invest, where to invest, etc. She also mentioned that most of the women entrepreneurs do not appropriately know existing business rules and procedures such as trade license, custom, VAT, IRC, ERC TIN etc. so govt. should take a necessary steps in this regard to facilitate women entrepreneurs. (Full text is enclosed at Annex-D)

Ms. Roubina Toufiq Shah, Commercial Secretary, Pakistan High Commission

Ms. Roubina Toufiq Shah, Commercial Secretary, Pakistan High Commission said that women entrepreneurs of Pakistan get sufficient govt. support for the development of their businesses. Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) can play a vital role to support women entrepreneurs. She also said that there are many problems of women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh such as lack of exposure, lack of family support, lack of mobility out let and lack of proper marketing knowledge. (Full text is enclosed at Annex-E).

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director DCCI

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director DCCI said that DCCI has been playing an effective role for the development of the women entrepreneurs. DCCI has prepared 31 Economic Policy Papers. A Regional Exposition of Products of Women Entrepreneurs-2005 was organized on February 12, 2005 and it was very successful. He also said that there are a lot of problems of women entrepreneurs. Some of these are lack of infrastructure, port and custom problems, corruption and bureaucracy these are always hampering the development of the women entrepreneurs. These problems should be removed.

2.3 General discussion

During general discussion Ms. Khadiza, Secretary General of WEA,B suggested for setting up a Women Entrepreneurship Development Center at DCCI to facilitate women entrepreneurs. Ms. Suraiya Alam a member of DCCI, WED Standing Committee said that ADB should provide financial support for women entrepreneurs as funding is the main problem of the small and micro women entrepreneurs. She also said that interest rate should be reduced for women entrepreneurs.

Ms. Selina Ahmed Daisy a member of WED Standing Committee said that lack of sufficient training is one of the vital problems for the women entrepreneurs. Public and Private sector may arrange many training programs for the development of women entrepreneurs.

2.4 Chief Guest, Ms. Hua Du, Officer In-charge, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

In her concluding speech Ms. Hua Du, Officer In-charge, Asian Development Bank (ADB) said ADB highly emphasizes on promoting women entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. She identified networking and access to finance and information sharing a very important issues to improve the ability of women entrepreneurs. She also said that family and social problems are the main hurdles for the development of the women entrepreneurs. She assured that as a “development partner” ADB will continue to focus on the empowerment of women and narrowing of gender gaps through measures aimed at fostering women’s effective participation in all projects and programs.

2.5    Special Guest, Ms. Rokia A. Rahman, former Adviser, Care Taker Govt. and President, WEA,B

Ms. Rokia A. Rahman, former Adviser, Care Taker Govt. and President, WEA,B said that the female section of the society is primarily engaged in small-scale business. Women should get themselves involved in bigger businesses, she said.

The WEA,B President said some land should be allotted specifically for the women entrepreneurs as procurement of land is a big problem in the country. She stressed on the need for women’s participation in policymaking, and expressed her opinion in favor of their participation in DCCI. She suggested for establishing a Cell in DCCI like “Women in Business” to facilitate women and reducing their burden of official  harassments.

3. Recommendations

After long, elaborate and lively discussion the workshop made the following recommendations:

• Women have to be integrated with the mainstream of the economy. They do not get appropriate policy support though women entrepreneurs (WE) have got tremendous potentials.

• Some specific sector can be identified for development and investment by the women entrepreneurs.

• Lack of information and regulatory barriers are one of the main problems for the WE to flourish. DCCI can help in accessing information.

• Women face problems in getting license, permission, tax certificate, banking certificates, access to finance etc. Network within the women organization and other related organization is necessary to resolve these issues.

• Women should get discount in respect of renting stalls while participating in fairs, going abroad for training, etc.

• Training for WE should follow hands- on approach so that technical issues of a specific sector can be well aware before starting a new business.

• Counselling and documentation services are also required for the WE.

• Small cubicles can be set up in the offices of the women chambers so that WE can get office facilities, phone, fax, internet for continuing their businesses.

• Product Development skills training is required.

• Technical Training on Fashion Design is also required.

• Asian Development Bank (ADB) can come up for providing financial support to the WE for funding knit fabric, agro based and other sector.

• Packaging, preservation  & Quality of products should be improved for getting into international market.

• Speeches of the women programs should be both in Bangla & English.

• Export promotion fund gives loans for exporters, EPB has got national export promotion training programs. DCCI can suggest for special quota for WE to participate in these trainings & fairs organized by EPB.

• Women have proved their capability to be a good loan payer, situation has now changed a lot, banks should not think women as a risky customer.

• Appropriate feasibility studies should be carried out accommodating projects for women entrepreneurs so that women can upgrade their position from micro to large.

• Land is very expensive in Bangladesh. Women should get land at a reasonably reduced rate. At the same time some land can be earmarked specifically for women.

• Gender focal points in the Ministry of Commerce, Finance & Foreign Ministry should be sensitized and strengthened appropriately to extend cooperation to WE.

• Women should get special interest rate.

• Women should be appointed at the higher ranks / posts specially in banks.

• Women should take initiative & join together with confidence to fulfill the objectives of PRSP.

Report on 3-Day Women Entrepreneurs’ Products Expo-2005 inaugurated in Jessore

A 3-Day Women Entrepreneurs’ Products Expo-2005 (February 12-14, 2005) jointly organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and Annex Society (AS) Jessore, in cooperation with the Centre for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)- an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington DC USA, was inaugurated by Mr. Sayeeful Islam, President, DCCI at the office campus of AS, Jessore. Mrs Nargis Begum, Chairman of Jatiyo Mahila Sangstha and Chief Adviser of AS was present in the inaugural program as a Chief Guest.

President, DCCI  in his inaugural speech said women are more capable in management and training. They will be able to do more if they get chance to be involved in big businesses. He said, starting export business is not very easy deal. Entrepreneurs should know the total process of operating a business to be qualified for export business. He said DCCI has got a full fledged training institute.

In her speech Mrs. Nargis Begum said, a misconception is still prevails that women are not involved in production, she argued by saying that though in the past involvement of women were indirect but today they are getting involved in production directly. We should evaluate their contribution in the economy and Entrepreneurship development. She recalled, the name of noble social worker Ms. Ayesha Sardar in making the famous “Jessore Stich” commercially viable all over the country. We should help women entrepreneurs to produce quality products, so that local products can compete with the easily available and cheap imported products in the market. She appreciated the assurance from DCCI to provide technical assistance and training to the women entrepreneurs of Jessore.

Dhaka Chamber can help Women Entrepreneurs’ by providing them training and other assistances. He further said instead of organizing fair for exhibiting all kinds of products together it is advised to go for single product fair which will help developing new products and export diversification.

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director, DCCI and Co-ordinating Director of Women Entrepreneurship Development (WED) Standing Committee, DCCI, Mr. Kazi Azam, Executive Director, AS, Mr. Abdul Wazed, DC, Jessore and Mr. Delwar Hossain Khokon, Chairman, AS spoke on the occasion. Ms. Safina Rahman, Convenor, WED Standing Committee, DCCI extended vote of thanks to the Chair. In total 31 participants are exhibiting a good range of products like Handicrafts, Sarees, Food Products, Boutique, Leather Product, Gift Item, Sweaters, Cut flowers, food items prepared by mushrooms, etc. in the fair. All the participants in the fair are trained and assisted by the DCCI-CIPE/ERRA project.

After completion of the fair, the participants along with CIPE Project officials went to Kolkata, India to participate in SAARC countries small industries conference exhibition, which was held on 16 to 18 February, 2005. Four CIPE trained participants participated in the exhibition. In addition to introducing their goods at foreign market they sold huge quantity of goods and receive spot orders worth Tk. 1 million.

The participants and fair organizers praised CIPE for their interest in marketing products of the women entrepreneurs of the grassroot level.

Women Entrepreneurs Products Expo-2004 and Award Giving Ceremony

A 3 day long Trade Fair of Women Entrepreneurs Products Expo-2004 and Award Giving Ceremony held on 7 to 9 September, 2004 at DCCI Auditorium (5th floor), Dhaka with great enthusiasm. The Fair was inaugurated Begum Selima Rahman, Hon'ble Minister of State, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, GoB. The Expo-2004 was organized jointly by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) and Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) drew huge crowd. 31 participants displayed their own products like dry flower, handicrafts, foods, home textile, saree, leather goods, food items, boutique, building materials, travel bags, imitation jewellery, etc., covering wide range of products of more than 200 numbers. More than five thousand people including some foreigners visited the fair. Goods worth Tk. 5 lacs were sold in the fair. They also received orders from foreign buyers, as some of their goods were unique in nature and of superb quality.

In her inauguration speech Begum Selima Rahman, Hon'ble Minister of State, Ministry of Cultural Affairs, GoB lauded the role of DCCI and CIPE for arranging this exhibition for populating the products of women entrepreneurs. He also praise the role of women for producing excellent products which shows the cultural heritage of our country and at the same time products with latest design. The taste of consumers is changing very fast with the advent of globalization our markets are being flooded with foreign goods. In order to compete with those goods our products should be of quality and at the same time price should also be cheaper.

Mr. Fazle R. M. Hasan FCA, President, DCCI told in his speech that it is very encouraging that our women people are coming up with excellent products and most of them are of export quality. DCCI in cooperation with CIPE is arranging training for women entrepreneurs, assisting them in production and also marketing.

Two successful women entrepreneurs Ms. Rima Zulfiquer of M/s. Griha Sukhan and Ms. Viquruennessa of M/s. Rosona were awarded crest in recognition of their contribution for the development of SME.

Mr. Omar Faruque, Coordinating Director, WED S/C and Director, DCCI, Ms. Safina Rahman, Convenor, WED S/C, DCCI also spoke on the occasion.

A musical soiree was arranged, at the end of the exhibition, which delighted the audience.

Orientation Workshop for Women Entrepreneurs on "How to Invest and Operate Share Business in the Stock Market"

An Orientation Workshop for Women Entrepreneurs on "How to Invest and Operate Share Business in the Stock Market" organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) and the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE) was held on 30 October, 2004 at the Board Room of DSE. The objectives of the workshop were to give the women entrepreneurs an orientation and a practical idea on the operation of share business in Stock Market.

Mr. Omar Faruque, coordinating Director of Women Entrepreneur Standing Committee, DCCI in his brief introductory speech said that the Chamber is working hard for the upliftment of women in the field of trade, commerce and industry. He mentioned that the Women Entrepreneurs' Product Expo-2004 recently organized under the project attracted and generated tremendous response and enthusiasm among the women entrepreneurs'. He said that the women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh are simple and God fearing and less educated, they need appropriate guiding and goading for success in businesses. They don't have also no clear knowledge about investment in stock market.

Mr. Salahuddin Ahmed Khan, CEO of DSE in his deliberation told the participants that there is high profit in the Capital Market and at the same time there is also high risk involved. Share should be purchased examining the fundamentals not based on rumor. The investors may gain from the share market in two ways, i.e., from dividend income which include bonus share, right share etc. and as well as capital gain i.e., difference between buying and selling of the share. With the introduction of CDBL system, the investors should be more careful at least at the initial stage as they will not receive physical paper based copy of the shares in their hand. He said the share market should also be very careful in regard to collect relevant documents duly signed by authorized person.

There were presentations on the brief functions of Dhaka Stock Exchange, Legal issues of the stock operations and analysis part of trading of shares and bonds etc. by the senior level officials of DSE. There was also a physical demonstration of trading of shares to give a primary idea on the share market operation. Second session of the workshop was visit and observe the operations of brokers houses and different sections of the DSE.

About 35-participants attended the workshop. They raised pertinent questions on the topic. The programme was moderated by Ms, Ferdaus Ara Begum and coordinated by Mr. Mollah Shahidul Haque. It was felt in the programme that the women entrepreneurs' desperately needs counseling services to keep their share businesses in right track. They recommended to establish a monitoring and advisory cell for the women entrepreneurs. They also recommended for a one stop service cell for having information on the issue and more transparency in the debenture market to stop fraudulent practices. The function was widely covered by local print and electronic media.

Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on Financial Laws & Regulations and its Impact on Women Entrepreneurs'

A day-long Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on Financial Laws & Regulations and Impact on Women Entrepreneurs' was organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE) on October 2, 2004 at the Auditorium of the DCCI. The objectives of the workshop were to create awareness among the women entrepreneurs about the existing financial laws and inducing them to pin point the loopholes hampering their access to finance and inherent weaknesses in the infrastructure to get benefit from the financial organizations of Bangladesh

Dr. Shirly Randell, Project Implementation Specialists, Capacity Building for Gender Mainstreaming Project of Government of Bangladesh was present in the training workshop as guest of honour and narrated her experiences for capacity building of the women entrepreneurs. She suggested that women should be more vocal to raise their issues and present their problems in getting access to finance. She said, in order to succeed in entrepreneurship development an entrepreneur needs a mentor. She emphasized for building networks.

President, DCCI, Mr. Fazle R.M. Hasan FCA said that today's training workshop will help to criss cross the intricacies of having finance and the issues of financial laws and how to get an access to the finance at a low prices so that your margin of profit increases.

A senior level Banker Ms. Shamsad Begum, Executive Vice President, Dhaka Bank presented the keynote paper on the topic. She gave a brief analysis on the financed laws in Bangladesh and how the women entrepreneurs can get benefit out of it.

Mr. A.M. Mubash-Shar, Sr. Vice President, DCCI in his address of welcome requested them to put forward their opinions on the topic so that the Chamber can lobby with appropriate level to fulfill their demand. He also informed that CIPE has been helping the DCCI since 1999 for policy advocacy in favour of private sector and women entrepreneurship development is one of the components of the Project. DCCI is willing to initiate new and innovative activities for the women entrepreneurs to help them consolidating their position and establish their footing in the export market and earn a reasonable global share. He said weak and cumbersome regulatory frame work, lack of infrastructure and support services like electricity, gas and telephone connection; disruption of power supply, port and customs problems, over regulation by government agencies and procrastination and corruption are some of the already identified bottleneck hampering the grow of industrialization.

More than 40 participants from different business sectors namely; leather handicrafts, food processing units, dress makers, handicrafts etc and representatives from service providing organizations, banks, international organizations attended the training workshop and they raised pertinent points to address their problems and increasing their access to finance. Ms Safina Rahman, Convenor of the Women Entrepreneurship Standing Committee, DCCI conducted the open session. Ms. Maleka Khan, former Director, FBCCI also spoke on the occasion.

Ms Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary, DCCI and Coordinating Officer, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project & Mr. Mollah Shahidul Haque, Consultant of the Project coordinated the program and acted as rapportears to take note of the discussion made by the participants.

Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on "Importance of Brand & Brand Equity in Marketing Products"

A day long Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on "Importance of Brand & Brand Equity in Marketing Products" was organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in co-operation with Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C., USA on 31 August, 2004 at the DCCI Auditorium (5th floor). Mr. A. M. Mubash-Shar, Acting President, DCCI chaired the program.

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director, DCCI and Coordinating Director, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standing Committee, DCCI, Mr. Manzur Ahmed, Director, DCCI and Mrs. Safina Rahman, Convenor, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standing Committee, DCCI spoke on the occasion. Mr. A. N. Wahid, Consultant presented the keynote paper. In total 30 participants attended the workshop.

Mr. A. M. Mubash-Shar, Acting President, DCCI in his speech mentioned that women entrepreneurs need to aware about the protection of their innovation. He said developed countries enacted laws to protect the brand and they were enjoying the benefits of brand equity. He said, women entrepreneurs should be aware about the benefits of having brand and take steps in this direction to regularize the name of their products through trade mark registration. In maintaining the reputation of brand they should be careful about the quality of their products, he added. Mr. Faruque, highlighted the importance of brand & brand equity and emphasized its implication on products like pharmaceuticals, healthcare, food and other consumer products.

The resource person highlighted the procedural issues, necessity of brand, cost of procedures of trade marks registration, etc. and presented examples of the comparative scenarios of the similarly placed countries so that women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh can take benefit out of it. The Coordinating Officer of the project & DCCI Additional Secretary Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum, requested the women entrepreneurs participated in the training to mention about their problems in getting trade marks of their products and sought suggestions from them about the possible measures to get rid of their problems. She also mentioned that DCCI-CIPE, ERRA Project is preparing the activities to be implemented for the year 2005 of the project, at this stage their recommendation is very helpful.

A question-answer session was followed the presentation. Mr. Mollah Shahidul Haque, Consultant worked as facilitators in the workshop. Mr. M. Abu Horaira, Vice President, DCCI. was also present in the workshop.

Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on "Trade Organization Ordinance and TO Rules for Women Entrepreneurs"

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in co-operation with The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C., USA organized a day long Entrepreneurial Workshop on "Trade Organization Ordinance and TO Rules for Women Entrepreneurs" on 10th August, 2004 at the DCCI Business Institute.

About 50 participants, who have existing business or going to set up industries from different parts of the country and involved in running chambers/associations along with different NGO officials, government officials and also different service providers to small and medium enterprise participated the Workshop.

Mr. Fazle R. M. Hasan FCA, President, DCCI congratulated the participants for attending the workshop and their lively deliberations. He also praised the role of women entrepreneurs for contributing effectively to provide services through different associations/chambers and their role to the national economy specially in the field of trade, industry and investment. He expressed his satisfaction as women entrepreneurs activities are increasing in Bangladesh and hoped that this will be further increased in future days. He assured of all cooperation from the part of the DCCI to the women entrepreneurs.

Mr. Omar Faruque, Director, DCCI and Coordinating Director, Women Entrepreneurship Development Standing Committee, DCCI said that at present, women entrepreneurs have been playing an important role in leadership and different decision making process both inside and outside of their homes. This workshop is extremely useful for the women entrepreneurs as it will help them in getting an idea on the rules and regulation on how to run chambers/associations, he added. He also mentioned that the govt. has become increasingly aware that support services through the associations/chambers to small businesses owned by women entrepreneurs is crucial to the country's continued economic growth and has implemented several key reforms over the past few years to highlight their support.

Mr. Md. Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, GoB as a resource person presented the keynote paper. He highlighted the main issues of Trade Organization Ordinance & TO Rules. Ms. Nurjahan Begum gave a brief on the changes brought in the year 2002 in TO Rules. A question-answer session was followed the presentation. Mrs. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary, DCCI and Mollah Shahidul Haque, Consultant worked as facilitators in the workshop.

Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on Importance of Patent Law/Copyrights in Entrepreneurship Development

1. Introduction

The Dhaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) in co-operation with The Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE), an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington D.C., USA organized a Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on "Importance of Patent Law/Copyrights in Entrepreneurship Development" on 9 June, 2004 at DCCI Auditorium (5th floor), Dhaka. In all 50 participants who have existing business or going to set up industries attended the workshop coming from different parts of the country. NGO officials, government officials, different service providers to small and medium enterprises and senior advocates, attorney and members of different legal institutions also participated in the workshop. (Program of the workshop is enclosed as Annex-D)

Mr. Fazle R. M. Hasan, FCA, President, DCCI as the Chief Guest inaugurated the workshop. The objectives of the workshop were to aware women entrepreneurs about the Patent Law and Copyright Law and its implications to protect their new and innovative products.

Mr. Sayeeful Islam and Mr. Omar Faruque, Directors DCCI also spoke on the occasion while Mr. Salahuddin Abdullah, Convenor, Intellectual Property Rights Standing Committee & Ms Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary (R&P), DCCI acted as resource persons.

2. Proceedings of the Workshop

The program was commenced with the recitation from the Holy Quran.

Mr. Fazle R. M. Hasan, FCA, President, DCCI in his speech mentioned that women entrepreneurs need to aware about the protection of their innovation. He said developed countries enacted laws to protect their intellectual properties as and when they feel the need. Developing countries also take advantages of it and adopted patent legislation as per their requirement. As an LDC we lag much behind to protect our intellectual capabilities. He recommended for establishing a Patent Facilitating Centre in line with the nature of India to help entrepreneurs. He also recommended for restructuring the required offices and develop institutions with an special emphasize on skill development in this sector.

Mr. Sayeeful Islam, Director, DCCI highlighted the importance of the patent and copy right law and emphasized its implications on products like pharmaceuticals, healthcare and food related products. He mentioned that the complexities of overall process should be simplified and clear to all. He said that LDCs are quite hesitant whether this law will be helpful for the entrepreneurs or not. He recommended for establishing a copy right / patent cell in the DCCI to help the entrepreneurs.

The participants who came from different discipline lauded the effort of CIPE and DCCI for arranging such workshop, which is timely, as the new economic order as prescribed by WTO is knocking at our door. Moreover this is the first workshop of women entrepreneurs on the subject, which is a bit new and bold departure from traditional workshops.

The participants opined that, so long they were not aware about the importance of patent law and copyrights as they are now aware. They should follow this simple path and definitely their market will be expanded both geographically and volume of business. They requested CIPE to arrange more such workshops so that other entrepreneurs, who are in different parts of the country can be enriched with this knowledge.

2.1 Keynote Paper Presentation

The keynote papers prepared by Mr. Salahuddin Abdullah and Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum at placed at Annexes "A" and "B" respectively.

The keynote speakers highlighted the procedural issues cost of patent rights and presented examples of the comparative scenarios of the similarly- placed countries so that Bangladesh can take benefit out of it.

Mr. Salahuddin Abdullah recommended for enriching the patent library of Bangladesh. He informed that entrepreneurs may like to visit the patent library of patent and design office of Ministry of Industries to see different patents and process of new products to take benefit out of it. Mr. M. Abu Horaira, Vice President, DCCI and DCCI Directors were also present in the workshop.

2.2 Open Discussion

In the open session, different speakers freely discussed their problems.

Mrs. Ruby Ali Damal, owner of an herbal pharmaceutical unit, told that registration is time consuming, costly and so long nobody could give them appropriate guidance. As a result the entrepreneurs specially the women entrepreneurs are running from pillar to post for trade marks registration.

Mrs. Umme Habiba, Manager, BSCIC, the govt. organization responsible for promotion and development of SME told that the women entrepreneurs are suffering due to their lack of knowledge and approach. However, the things are being streamlined and some of the organizations like Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution are being restructured.

Mrs. Suraya Alam, a dressmaking and handicraft business entrepreneurs wanted to know how to protect their design innovated by her enterprise.

Advocate M. Rezuanul Haque, a leading practitioner in Intellectual Property Rights Matters, and Advocate, Supreme Court told the laws and acts related to IPR are old and outdated. Though some amendment have been made, still more amendments are necessary to suit the need of the hour.

Mollah Shahidul Haque, Consultant and Mr. A.K.M. Nawsherul Alam, Project Coordinator, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project worked as facilitators in the workshop.

3. Recommendations

After long, elaborate and lively discussion the workshop made the following recommendations:

1. More workshops should be arranged in different places of the country to make the entrepreneurs aware about the importance of patent law/copyrights. 2. Workshop may also be arranged trade-wise, to give the entrepreneurs more service in a better way. 3. Copyright/trade mark law should be made more simple, so that the SME can reap more harvest from it. 4. The service providers should give more attention to patent and copyright registration by SME units. 5. Necessary amendments should be made in copyright/patent laws to meet the global challenges 6. The organizational capacity of the patent law/ copyright enforcement office should be manned by professional and its number should be increased both qualitatively and quantitatively. 7. In the universities intellectual property right should be introduced in the course curriculum of business studies. 8. DCCI should have a separate cell to provide information in this respect.

Workshop on Letters of Credit for Export and Import Business

A day-long Women Entrepreneurial Workshop on Letter of Credit for Export and Import Business was organized by the Dhaka Chamber of Commerce & Industry (DCCI) in cooperation with the Center for International Private Enterprise (CIPE)-an affiliate of the US Chamber of Commerce, Washington, DC, USA on December 2, 2004 at DCCI Business Institute (DBI). The objectives of the workshop were to create awareness among the women entrepreneurs about the L/C opening, documentation, etc. About 40 participants from different business sectors attended the workshop.

In the inaugural speech Mr. Omar Faruque, Coordinating Director of Women Entrepreneur Standing Committee, DCCI told that it is very much encouraging that women entrepreneurs are coming up in large numbers for export business i.e. To meet the demand of the people of other countries. At the same time is also earning foreign exchange. He hoped that women entrepreneurs will be very much benefited by today’s workshop.

Ms. Shamshad Begum, Executive Vice President, Dhaka Bank Ltd. was resource person for the workshop. In her deliberation he congratulated the women entrepreneurs who are moving very fast to merge with mainstream economy of the country.

Ms Safina Rahman and one of the leading women entrepreneurs of the country and Convenor of the Women Entrepreneurship Standing Committee, DCCI lauded the role of CIPE in their contribution towards promotion of trade, commerce, industry and investment of the country. She requested CIPE to take up more and innovative programs to boost up the women sector in the national economy.

Ms. Ferdaus Ara Begum, Additional Secretary, DCCI & Coordinating Officer, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project and Mr. A.K.M. Nawsherul Alam, Project Coordinator, DCCI-CIPE, ERRA Project also spoke on the occasion. The training workshop gave an idea on the export and import procedures and precaution to be taken while opening a L/C through a hands on practical exercise so that women entrepreneurs can independently open an L/C and avoid risk of any fraudulent activities

Ms. Faizunnahar Khan, Documentation Officer, DCCI-CIPE/ERRA Project & Ms. Jebunnahar Hena, dealing officer of the standing committee coordinated the entire program.