Rubana Huq, President, BGMEA says, Bangladesh will automate around 25 per cent of its garment manufacturing activities by 2023. Addressing a virtual program on ‘Women Power - the Force Multiplier’ organized by the American Chamber of Commerce in Bangladesh (AmCham), Huq said, the sector has already entered the fourth industrial revolution and is witnessing the adoption of artificial intelligence.

She urged the industry to skill and reskill workers, especially females to enable them to make contributions to this important business in the time of automation, she said. Uzma Chowdhury, Chief Financial Officer and Director, PRAN-RFL Group said, women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh have been facing difficulties in accessing finance due to the fallouts of the COVID-19 pandemic

Jatitya Sansad Speaker, Shirin Shamin Chaudhury, said female entreprenuers should get collateral free loans as they face different difficulties in getting a business up and running.

Till date, majority of female entrepreneurs could not avail loans from the government-sponsored stimulus packages, added Ershad Ahmed, President, AmCham