WOMEN EMPOWERMENT THROUGH ENTREPRENEURSHIP DEVELOPMENT IN BANGLADESH: A MULTIVARIATE ANALYSIS

Needless to say that the women entrepreneurs of Bangladesh lack behind in economic participation, leadership and empowerment compared to men entrepreneurs. Research shows that about seven percent of the total business establishments of Bangladesh are owned and headed by women which are negligible in terms of the women population proportion of the country. This limited ownership, leadership and empowerment of women is a clear gap which is to be fulfilled for the sustainable economic development of the country. In recent years, the rate of new business formation in Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) sector by women has significantly increased which is creating socioeconomic and leadership impact at work, home, and the community. Hence, this study aims at identifying the women entrepreneurship development factors and examining the causal relationship between entrepreneurship development and women empowerment. This is a causal research and the study used primary data collected from the women entrepreneurs engaged in Small and Medium Enterprise (SME) businesses. The study used both probability and non-probability sampling techniques to select 397 women business entrepreneurs who are involved in SME businesses for interview. The data were analyzed by using Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) techniques. The results show that the factors concerning women entrepreneurship development such as regulatory framework, entrepreneurship education and training, role of women business association and husband engagement in women business have direct and significance effects on WED. The access to finance and access to market facilities were not significant. Through the development of entrepreneurship in SME sector, women empowerment factors such as, economic empowerment, social empowerment and women entrepreneurial leadership capabilities were developed among the women entrepreneurs. This study suggests that the policy makers of this sector should emphasize on regulatory framework, entrepreneurship education and training, husband engagement in women business and the role of women business association in formulating the SME policy to increase women empowerment for the sustainable development of Bangladesh