Bangladesh moves two notches Up

Bangladesh has moved two notches up in the World Bank’s Women, Business and the Law 2020 study but the country still has a long way to go in creating opportunities for them in employment and entrepreneurship. The country’s score was slightly up to 49.4 from 49.38 a year ago on a scale of 0-100, with 100 representing the best. The WB put Bangladesh at the 171st in this year’s ranking out of 190 economies, up from the 169th last year out of 187 nations. Of the other South Asian countries, India was the 117th, Sri Lanka 137th and Pakistan 172nd. The index measures only formal laws and the regulations which govern a woman’s ability to work or own businesses – a country’s actual norms and practices are not captured. The global average score was 75.2, which improved slightly from 73.9 two years ago. Clearly, much more work remains as women in many countries have only a fraction of the legal rights of men, holding them back from opportunities for employment and entrepreneurship. Advanced economies continue to make progress on the indicators. Of the 40 economies with scores above 90, 27 are OECD high-income economies. The Czech Republic and the United States reformed laws related to paternity and parental leave, giving parents more opportunity to share childcare responsibilities, while Italy and Slovenia equalised pension benefits between men and women.

Source: https://www.thedailystar.net/business/news/bangladesh-moves-two-notches-1854733

Five teams get Tk 0.8m seed funding each

The names of the winners of Youth Entrepreneurship Challenge (YEC), a social initiative by Bangladesh Youth Leadership Center (BYLC) to encourage and promote the promising entrepreneurs, have been announced at a ceremony in the capital, reports UNB. The YEC, an initiative under BYLC’s entrepreneurship development wing in association with DFID and Manusher Jonno Foundation, is part of the organisation’s efforts to nurture the passion of aspiring entrepreneurs with unique revenue-generating business ideas by connecting them to the right tools and networks. Each of the five winning teams received seed funding of Tk 0.8 million (Tk 8 lakh) with an option of further Tk 1.5 million (Tk 15 lakh) in additional investment, based on their performances. Moreover, the five teams will have access to a co-working space, mentoring, and a rigorous accelerator curriculum for six months from BYLC. Over 500 business ideas were submitted in the initial phase of the challenge. The selection process included a residential bootcamp with 200 top founders, further vetting of top 30 teams, and presentation of 16 finalists in front of an investment committee comprising of BYLC management, industry experts, entrepreneurs, and investors.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/five-teams-get-tk-08m-seed-funding-each-1579113015

CAAB inks deal with ADC

The Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) has signed a contract with the Aviation Dhaka Consortium (ADC) regarding construction of Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport (HSIA)’s third terminal. Chairman of CAAB Air Vice Marshal M Mofidur Rahman and Mitsubishi Corporation’s General Manager Yasunori Sakamoto signed the deal at HSIA in the city on behalf of their respective sides, said a press release. After completion of HSIA’s third terminal, it will ensure modern facilities with international standard for about 20 million passengers per year, according to the press release.

Source: https://today.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/trade-market/caab-inks-deal-with-adc-1579112995