Bangladesh is a country with enormous potential, which is widely recognized. Women-owned enterprises have contributed to Bangladesh’s remarkable economic progress by providing jobs and increasing productivity. Despite numerous obstacles such as patriarchal culture, a lack of family support, insufficient financial support from the government and banks, natural disasters, poor security, and so on, women-owned and led businesses have experienced remarkable growth in recent years by utilizing business-supportive technologies. The article is about How Women-owned Enterprises Technologically Adept!
However, if they were more technologically adept, their progress could have been hastened faster. Women are constantly chastised for their failure to adopt and use technology worldwide. This trend may also be seen in Bangladesh, where many women lack knowledge and abilities in present technology and are uninformed of upcoming innovations. Brick-and-mortar businesses have switched to websites or social media-based firms due to pandemic-induced lockdowns and social distance concerns. As a result, the number of people using online secure payment gateways, order systems, tracking systems, and inventory systems has skyrocketed.
Observation has revealed that female entrepreneurs in Western countries effortlessly embrace and utilize available technologies in their business operations. A similar pattern can be seen in various places around the globe. “Over 252 million women were beginning new firms,” according to the GEM Women’s Entrepreneurship Report 2020-21 which is an analysis of women’s entrepreneurship in 43 countries. Almost all of them have used technology and social media platforms to their advantage.
In Bangladesh, female entrepreneurs also leverage technology to produce, take orders, and distribute goods and services. However, most of them rely largely on their support personnel (technologists), who frequently lead them astray when conducting technology-related business tasks. In many circumstances, this dependence leads to bad decision-making, especially when data-driven judgments are involved, resulting in a loss of reputation, client base, and, finally, business revenues.
Furthermore, many female entrepreneurs are unfamiliar with computers and smartphones. Many Bangladeshi female entrepreneurs are proficient in using basic computer applications such as Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Photoshop, etc. As a result, their businesses miss out on the advantages of various applications and technology that may save them time and allow them to focus on their families.
Moreover, many female entrepreneurs lack a fundamental understanding of using social media platforms, online portals, and essential website-related duties. As a result, they lose their business pages, in particular, due to a lack of understanding of how social media, particularly Facebook, Instagram, and others, have transformed their working methods, generating major trouble and consumer unhappiness.
In addition, many are unaware of the laws, rules, and regulations governing internet firms, which adds to the difficulty of surviving in competitive situations! Therefore, female entrepreneurs should lead and manage such technologies and processes instead of relying on technologists and other individuals to solve these problems. As a result, they may be able to capture market share from Bangladesh’s fastest-growing E-commerce sector, which is expected to reach $3 billion by 2023.
In the circumstances mentioned above, cultivating female entrepreneurs’ digital leadership can be a catalyst for their long-term business success in Bangladesh’s dynamic, competitive, and ever-growing commercial climate. People in remote areas can now order products and services from adjacent towns even if they need something urgently. This is currently fashionable. As a result, female entrepreneurs who better understand digital platforms and technology are more likely to succeed in business. In addition, governments, NGOs, and colleges may help female entrepreneurs expand their digital knowledge, skills, and leadership by assisting them.
The government should set up free mass training programs for female entrepreneurs, emphasizing the technological skills necessary to run online and offline firms. This would be a critical investment in developing capable female entrepreneurs who will lead their enterprises and earn significant profits! In addition, basic information and communication technology (ICT) classes should be required at public and private colleges, where students will learn how to use online portals, online order and payment systems, social media platforms, and other such technologies.
It’s also needed because many graduates don’t know how to type or send an email. As a result, when it comes to technology adoption, female graduates are more vulnerable than their male counterparts. As a result, these university efforts have the potential to significantly increase female graduates’ online-based entrepreneurial mindsets and facilitate their development of digital leadership abilities.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) should also provide frequent free training on websites, social media platforms, and online security issues to their female clientele, who will be able to use technology in their business activities. As a result, the missing spark, female entrepreneurs’ digital leadership, can be established to lead their respective business fields.
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