Women entrepreneurs see business hope

After a recent study showed that Bhutanese women lagged behind in business, international and regional funding agencies have come forward to help enhance economic opportunities for women in Bhutan.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Japanese government are providing a $ 1.95 million assistance to Bhutan, which will help mainstream and monitor capacity of the National Commission for Women and Children and other government agencies for women’s economic empowerment.

Under the grant assistance, the Ministry of Labour and Human Resources will provide trade apprenticeships and skills training for aspiring women entrepreneurs. It will also help build a nexus with non-governmental organisations involved in providing economic opportunities for women and micro enterprises.

“The project will improve the capacity of government agencies and civil society to address gender disparities, while helping increase livelihood opportunities for vulnerable women and girls in selected urban and rural areas,” said Francesco Tornieri, senior social development specialist of ADB’s South Asia Department.

The project aims to complete a 12-month apprenticeship for some 600 youth, of which 80 percent are women. It will also encourage women to take on microenterprises and other livelihood activities.

The royal government will also add $ 548,000 to the project. The NCWC, as the implementing agency, will run the project for three years.

SABAH-Bhutan

Meanwhile, for the first time, the Saarc Development Fund (SDF) has initiated the Saarc Business Association for Home-based workers (SABAH), which is yet to be launched in Bhutan.

According to project officials in Bhutan, a project manager is yet to be recruited by the beginning of July this year, following which the activities will be planned.

The project targets some 50 million home-based workers in the South Asian region, most of whom are women. The project is aimed at improving market access for women who produce home-based products.

Based on a model that allows women to market collectively to replace the chain of middle men between the producer and the market, SDF will be funding establishment of business association for home-based workers in each country.

It will help women to convert their products into fashionable, market-friendly products all under a common, made-in-Saarc label and the SABAH brand.

Currently in the second year of implementation, the initiative is gearing towards sustainability and tracking the progress of home based workers. It has already been set up in Nepal and Pakistan while the process is underway in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Feasibility studies have reached phase two in Bhutan, the Maldives and Afghanistan.

In Nepal, SABAH is providing linkage to more than 1,000 home-based workers and its supply chain while Pakistan has targeted more than 150 women.

By Pushkar Chhetri

One Response to “Women entrepreneurs see business hope”

1. R.Jaiswal says:

   July 12, 2011 at 2:31 pm

   Pl.send me email add of SABAH, Bhutan

   Reply