Supporting Women’s Entrepreneurship in South Asia

OVERVIEW

Women in South Asia continue to face a range ofcultural, financial, and legal barriers to their abilityto start and grow businesses. This is reflected inthe fact that South Asian women own less than10 percent of small and medium enterprises inthe region. Additionally, the UN reports that 80percent of working women in the region are invulnerable employment. To enable women tofully contribute to and benefit from economicgrowth, barriers to women in business need to beaddressed. These barriers include limited access tofinance, markets, skills training, networks, andinformation, as well as onerous and/or discrimi-natory laws and regulations.

In response, The Asia Foundation and the Bureauof South and Central Asian Affairs in the U.S.Department of State designed a targeted programto address many of the critical barriers identifiedby participants at the SAWES meeting. The pro-gram engages women entrepreneurs and women’sbusiness associations in Bangladesh, India, theMaldives, Nepal, and Sri Lanka in a set of target-ed, mutually reinforcing activities to foster thesuccess of business women and aspiring entrepre-neurs. In addition, the program has incorporatedparticipants from Afghanistan, Myanmar, andPakistan into certain program activities.

KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS

A strong, highly engaged network of womenentrepreneurs has emerged with a prominentonline and in-person presence. With over 32,000likes, the SAWES Facebook page has become aconnecting point for SAWES participants andaspiring entrepreneurs. Exposure visits havebrought together women from all SAWES coun-tries and facilitated innovative regional collabora-tion. This has led to the creation of new businessesand organizations in support of women entrepre-neurs across the region.

The SAWES program has also built capacity oflocal organizations. Afghan women who are partof the SAWES network were motivated to estab-lish the advocacy organization, LeadingEntrepreneurs of Afghanistan for Development,to represent women’s concerns and interests in theeconomic sector. In addition, five small grantswere awarded to local organizations to implementprojects in support of women’s participation incross-border trade and regional collaboration. Keyaction items identified at the SAWES meetingcontinue to drive program priorities and direction,and are the focus of these small grants. To sup-port business skills development, a series of webi-nars for women entrepreneurs was created, whichhave drawn participants from across the region.

Since September 2012, The Asia Foundation has run an innovative South Asia regional program toadvance women’s entrepreneurship. This program, supported by the U.S. Department of State (DOS),advances the U.S. Government’s “New Silk Road” goals of enhanced regional economic integration andincreased trade across South and Central Asia and builds directly on the DOS 2012 South Asia Women’sEntrepreneurship Symposium (SAWES).

“Studies show that

investing in women

is a high yield

investment as gender

equality in access

to education, health-

care, political

and economic

participation is key to

a country’s competi-

tiveness and

prosperity. It is a fact

that women-run

SMEs drive

economic growth

and create jobs.”

– Amb. Melanne

S. Verveer, Former

Ambassador

at Large for

Global Women’s

Issues and

Asia Foundation

Trustee

WOMEN’SECONOMIC

EMPOWERMENT

PROGRAM OBJECTIVES

Country-level Analysis: In order to understandcountry-level strengths, weaknesses, and opportu-nities, The Asia Foundation conducted an assess-ment and mapping of business associations andChambers of Commerce in each country.

Building Online Connectivity: The Foundationestablished a SAWES Facebook page that continuesto expand its reach and serve as a connecting pointfor SAWES participants and aspiring entrepreneurs.Quarterly calls and an online newsletter ensureSAWES participants are involved in ongoing dialogue and program activities. In addition, the Foundation has partnered with eWIT, anIndia-based Women’s IT Forum, to develop a business-to-business web portal that will provideregional market access for women entrepreneurs,facilitate cross-border networking, and be an information hub on trade and business regulations.

Regional Exposure Tours: The Foundation organized three exposure tours to bring womenentrepreneurs from each program country toBangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka. The tours were an opportunity to network, visit successfulwomen-run businesses, participate in trade fairs, and discuss key issues related to women’sentrepreneurship.

Small Grants: Five small grants awarded to localorganizations are underway to advance regionalcooperation and SAWES priorities. TheBangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce andIndustry is enhancing a women-friendly businessenvironment for cross-border trade throughincreasing responsiveness and gender-sensitivity ofcustoms. The National Institute for Technology,Tiruchirappalli and Women Entrepreneurs’Association of Tamil Nadu are supporting busi-ness and management capacity development ofrural women entrepreneurs in India and SriLanka. Based in India, the Bombay Chamber ofCommerce & Industry is supporting womenentrepreneurs from the textile sector through providing mentoring, exposure to internationalmarkets, and trainings on trade policy. In Nepal,EduVision in Makwanpur district is helping tolink rural and urban women in the district topromote entrepreneurial skills and facilitate cross-border trade with women entrepreneurs in India.Finally, the Women’s Chamber of Industry andCommerce in Sri Lanka is fostering regionalexpansion and secure markets for Sri Lankanwomen entrepreneurs in South Asia.

Webinars: A series of five webinars is being heldin partnership with BizDivas, a national networkof professional women in India, to supportwomen’s business development. Webinars havebeen held on topics including business plandevelopment, personal branding, and networkingfor success.

Public-Private Dialogues: Public-private dia-logues are being held in each country to provide aplatform for women business owners to discussissues related to regional trade and integrationwith concerned stakeholders including representa-tives from governments and financial institutions.

HEADQUARTERS465 California Street, 9th FloorSan Francisco, CA 94104 USATel: (415) 982-4640Fax: (415) 392-8863info@asiafound.org

WASHINGTON, DC1779 Massachusetts Ave., NWSuite 815Washington, D.C. 20036 USATel: (202) 588-9420Fax: (202) 588-9409info@asiafound-dc.org

www.asiafoundation.org

04/2015

The Asia Foundation

is a nonprofit international

development organization

committed to improving

lives across a dynamic

and developing Asia.

Headquartered in San

Francisco, The Asia

Foundation works through

a network of offices in

18 Asian countries and in

Washington, DC. Working

with public and private

partners, the Foundation

receives funding from

a diverse group of

bilateral and multilateral

development agencies,

foundations, corporations,

and individuals.

STORIES FROM THE FIELD

Connecting Women in InformationTechnologyAlthough IT is a booming business inSouth Asia, there is a dearth of womenworking in this field. Those who aspire tostart or grow IT businesses have difficul-ty navigating a range of legal, regulatory,and cultural barriers. The SAWES exposure visits have had important results in catalyzingnew ventures to support women in IT acrossthe region. One example is a new partnershipformed to generate and share innovative ideasacross borders and collaborate in businessdevelopment between Luna Shamsuddoha,chairwoman of Dohatec New Media andfounder of Bangladesh Women in Technology(BWIT), and Vijayalakshmi Rao, president ofEmpowering Women in IT (eWIT), both partici-pants of the India exposure tour.

Inspiring Women to be Changemakers Sabita Mahajan’s first time leaving Nepalwas to fly to New Delhi for the SAWES exposure tour in India. Ms. Mahajan spentsix days in India where she met many entre-preneurs who seemed much like herself. Shevisited factories and organizations ownedand run by women. When she returned toNepal, she decided to end the cycle of violence in her home and left her abusivehusband to start a small collective of women knitters; soon they were generatingincome—most for the first time. With herprofits, Ms. Mahajan was able to pay rent for her one-room apartment and fees for herson’s education. Today, Ms. Mahajan is asuccessful entrepreneur who has helpedother women earn an income.