The US has announced that it will organise a South Asia Women’s Entrepreneurship Symposium in Dhaka to encourage women entrepreneurs from South Asia, including that from India, and to serve as a platform to access new window of opportunities in the region.
The four-day symposium, beginning December 8 will address the challenges and opportunities faced by women-owned small and medium-sized enterprises and create cross-border linkages between women entrepreneurs and leaders throughout South Asia.
In a statement, the State Department said the programme will focus on several key themes, including empowerment through entrepreneurship and trade, the role of women in technology and economic development, and factors that create an enabling environment for women’s entrepreneurship and governance.
Approximately 120 participants from across South and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka, as well as representatives from outside the region, are expected to attend the symposium.
The US Ambassador at Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, the Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia Robert Blake, and the US Ambassador to Bangladesh Dan W Mozena will deliver remarks at the symposium.
Besides, senior representatives of the Government of Bangladesh are also expected to participate.
“The symposium will serve as a platform for catalysing follow-on activities to advance women’s entrepreneurship in the region and beyond and build stronger economic ties between South and Central Asia,” the State Department said.