Women Entrepreneurs‟ survival in the course of COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh

Abstract

Aim of this paper is to identify the endurance Bangladeshi women entrepreneurs’ amid the COVID-19 epidemic. The paper is focused on women entrepreneurs, conducting business mostly (99.93%) in Bangladesh’s micro, small and medium size enterprises. The study is qualitative hence various secondary sources like private and public publications, newspapers, and web-based materials were used to examine the situation. Findings of this study indicate that only 20% women-headed business in Bangladesh has got highly hampered while 90% women entrepreneurs faced tremendous mental, social, and economic stress during the pandemic. In addition, gender inequality has risen. However, even after the tremendous sufferings of this pandemic period, in Bangladesh only 1% of women entrepreneurs wish to leave their businesses. Interestingly, some of these business leaders have discovered a new opportunity to survive and expand through online business. Along with the government’s stimulus package, women entrepreneurs demand more specific and supportive initiatives to endure their business. As an implication, both government and non-governmental organizations can formulate their policies and take measures based on the findings and recommendations suggested in this paper to overcome the crisis of women entrepreneurs.