Beyond the Factory Floor
Bangladesh's ready-made garment sector is facing its most significant transformation since its founding. The brands that survive will be those that move up the value chain — fast.
Sultana Begum11 min read
business
The Women Reshaping Bangladesh's Economy
A new generation of female founders is transforming every sector
Sultana Begum
Business Correspondent
14 September 20267 min read
From microfinance to machine learning, Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs are driving economic growth at an unprecedented scale — and changing the face of business in the process.
Bangladesh has always had formidable women. The mother of the nation, Begum Fazilatunnesa Mujib. Grameen Bank's microcredit movement, which disproportionately empowered women. Two female Prime Ministers leading the country for the majority of its modern history.
Now, a new generation is carrying that tradition into the startup economy.
"I am not building a 'women's brand'," says Lamiya Rashid, founder of MediTrack, a health records platform used by over 400 hospitals. "I am building a healthcare company. The fact that I am a woman is incidental. The fact that I am building in Bangladesh is not — this is where the need is greatest."
Rashid is one of a growing cohort of Bangladeshi female tech founders who are scaling companies that address local problems with global-quality solutions.
#women#entrepreneurship#economy#diversity