BWCCI demands a women friendly environment in all borders to increase the cross border trade for women entrepreneurs
DHAKA, June 11 (NsNewsWire) — Bangladesh Women Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BWCCI) organized a national seminar today in cooperation with The Asia Foundation and South Asia Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium under the project “Promoting Women Entrepreneurship through Improving Regional Cooperation”. The Seminar was held with the presence of the Chief guest Honorable Minister H.E. Mr. Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali, MP, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Abdul Matlub Ahmad, President of FBCCI as special guest, Mr. Hasan M Mazumdar, Country representative, The Asia Foundation as the guest of honor, Mr. Bijay Selvaraj, First Secretary, the Indian High Commission to Bangladesh, H.E. Aum Pema Choden, Ambassador of Bhutan Embassy Dhaka, Ms. Farah Farooq, Commercial Counselor, High Commission of Pakistan, Country Representative of UNHCR as distinguished guests. Ms. Selima Ahmad, President of BWCCI chaired over the program. Various stakeholders including representatives from The Asia Foundation, USAID, UN Women, Asian Development bank, UNFPA, different Banks, different national and international NGO’s, women activists, representatives from electronic and print media, general members and directors of BWCCI were also present in the event.
In her speech BWCCI President Ms. Selima Ahmad said that women entrepreneurs are the emerging group for business growth as well as contributor to national economy, It is essential to concentrate more to expedite implementation of women friendly policies to ensure access to cross border trade addressing access to markets, strengthening cross border networking among business and trade associations for market information and product information and increasing capacity building opportunities related to business skills, access to finance and business promotion.
She shared the main obstacles for cross border trade:
* Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) has fixed to carry products equivalent to US$ 500 while attending cross border fairs which is not at all sufficient amount,
* EPB provides a letter of certification to women entrepreneurs which have no importance to the customs officers.
* There are some syndicate who are leading the corruption in border
* poor infrastructure at borders and ports,
* Custom officials routinely exert their power to influence the tariff value,
On behalf of all women entrepreneurs she demanded:
* 50 % discount on stalls and pavilions for women entrepreneurs in DITF.
* Establishment of a help desk and a Focal person for women entrepreneurs at both sides of borders.
* Improvement in customs inspection, assessment and control procedures.
* Computerization and automation of trade procedures.
* Timely publication and dissemination of Information on custom rules, import and export regulation to women entrepreneurs.