Press releases

ITC launches SheTrades Commonwealth – Bangladesh

18 July 2018
ITC News

(Dhaka/Geneva) – The International Trade Centre (ITC) today launched the Bangladesh chapter of SheTrades in the Commonwealth to deliver greater economic returns for women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh.

A dedicated project of ITC’s global SheTrades initiative, the SheTrades in the Commonwealth Bangladesh project aims to drive increased trade, productivity and competitiveness for women entrepreneurs and women-owned companies to ensure that they play an active role in international trade. Through intensive training and mentoring activities, the goal is to strengthen the capacities of 3,000 women-owned businesses with a view to generate sales worth £28 million ($38m) by 2020.

Officially launched in April and funded by United Kingdom’s Department for International Development (DFID), SheTrades in the Commonwealth was endorsed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May during the opening of the Commonwealth Business Forum (CBF) in London.

SheTrades in the Commonwealth – Bangladesh will address challenges faced by women entrepreneurs, including access to and control over land, cumbersome business and financial institutional processes amongst other entrepreneurial challenges.

‘Women entrepreneurs in Bangladesh will receive tailored support through SheTrades in the Commonwealth enabling them to propel their existing market representation and secure greater access to global trade,’ said Nicholas Schlaepfer, Senior Programme Officer at ITC’s Women and Trade Programme.

The SheTrades in the Commonwealth project will provide governments with better tools and information to implement gender-responsive policies and share best practices. Over a two-year period, ITC will initially work to increase the competitiveness of women entrepreneurs in the agriculture, apparel and services sectors in four Commonwealth focus countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

Notes for the Editors

About SheTrades
The SheTrades initiative aims to connect one million women to market by 2020 and rallies stakeholders around the world to work together on seven actions to address trade barriers and create greater opportunities for women entrepreneurs. It is supported by a web and mobile digital platform. For more information, please visit SheTrades.com

About ITC
The International Trade Centre is the joint agency of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations. ITC assists small and medium-sized enterprises in developing and transition economies to become more competitive in global markets, thereby contributing to sustainable economic development within the frameworks of the Aid-for-Trade agenda and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
For more information, please visit www.intracen.org
Follow ITC on Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram

Contact
Jarle Hetland
Media Officer
Office of the Executive Director
P: + 41 22 730 0145
M: + 41 79 582 9180
E: hetland [at] intracen.org (hetland[at]intracen[dot]org)