A trillion-dollar economy is not possible without women: Shama Obaid

National

Dhaka Magazine Desk

Published: Saturday, 07 November 2026

If women cannot be included in the mainstream of economic development, the goal of turning Bangladesh into a trillion-dollar economy cannot be achieved, said Minister of State-2 of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Member of Parliament Shama Obaid Islam. She said more than half of the country's population is women; overall development is not possible leaving them behind, development must be inclusive.

She said these things while speaking as the chief guest at the closing ceremony of the three-day National SME Women Entrepreneurs Summit and Product Fair-2026 at the Bangladesh Institute of Management (BIM) premises in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar in the capital on Saturday (November 7) noon. The summit started on November 5 with 60 stalls under the slogan ‘The Bangladesh of tomorrow will prosper through the advancement of women entrepreneurs’.

Shama Obaid said women entrepreneurs do not need special facilities or priority; they want fair rights and equal opportunities like other entrepreneurs. Due to lack of product marketing, new markets, financing and cooperation, many women enterprises cannot grow; an integrated support framework must be built to remove these obstacles.

She further said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to create opportunities for women entrepreneurs to enter the international market; Bangladesh's 81 missions in various countries have been instructed to find potential markets and demand for women entrepreneurs' products.